#7: Bicycling In Dordogne And Bordeaux

Chain Gang Bike Tour in the Dordogne and Bordeaux France.
Chain Gang Bike Tour in the Dordogne and Bordeaux France. Photo: J. Chung

On my way to join a bike tour with the Chain Gang Bike Co., I stopped in:

  • Carcassonne-spectacular castle built into the hillside. Stayed at the Hotel du Donjon, which is a Best Western hotel still in operation

  • Albi-took me two hours to drive from Carcassonne to Albi. This town is known as the home of the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum

  • Toulouse

  • Chateauneuf-du-Pape—I had to pick up some wine from Mont Redon,                  Cabrieres, and Beaurenard

I drove from Chateauneuf-du-Pape to Angouleme and it took me 5 hours (I got lost!). Upon arriving, I met up with my fellow bike riders…mainly from Great Britain.  Each day we rode about 50 km and thank goodness we did because we certainly ate well.  The picnic lunches, traditional French dinners and wine kept us well fed. During our tour, we visited a number of wineries including Chateau Lynch-Bages in the Haut Médoc and rode into these areas and towns:

  • Les Eyries-lovely town surrounded by prehistoric caves and archaeological sites
  • Lalinde
  • Ste. Foy la Grande
  • Monbazillac (home of the sweet wines)
  • Medoc
  • Haut Medoc
  • Montravel
  • St. Emilion: tough hills approaching this town from Montravel, but certainly worth the trip.
  • Blaye: is a citadel and port town
  • Pomerol
  • Paulliac
  • The tour ended in Vendlet and we took a cab to Bordeaux where I boarded a train to Paris

    In Paris, I only had 2 nights. I visited the Marché aux Puces, Louvre Museum, Musee d’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, and wandered around the Latin Quarter.

Chain Gang Bike Tour, Bordeaux France.
Chain Gang Bike Tour, Bordeaux France. Photo: J. Chung

Trip #7 To France_ Biking in the Dordogne and Bordeaux