Lovely ride along the PassaPaïs cycle route. This cycle path runs the entire length of the National Park of Haut Languedoc, from Mazamet in the west to Bédarieux in the east. The surface is compressed sand and rides quite well. At St-Pons-de-Thomières we left the cycle track and headed SE to the village of Babeau-Bouldoux. There’s a small house there, the door to which I have a key.

Cycled east from Toulouse on a hot sunny day towards the National Park of the Haut Languedoc. The countryside was very scenic and the route was the most rolling so far. Along the way, we stumbled upon the charming hilltop village of Saint-Félix-Lauragais. We got there at around lunchtime and it appeared that the whole village was dining together in the covered market building in the central square. There was Toposcope (Table d'orientation) on the elevated view...

We left the mountains this morning and cycled back down to Lourdes before relocating to Toulouse. The (recent) idea for the next part of the tour is to explore the Haut-Languedoc by way of the newly created Passa Païs cycle route. From its website, “The PassaPaïs cycle route is a greenway that crosses through the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc. It follows a former railway line along its whole length, so you can ride along peacefully ...

With legs still rather achy from yesterday’s unplanned mountain hike (climb!), we set off to cycle up the Tourmalet. The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most iconic Pyrenean climbs and one that we’d wanted to add to our CV (after having climbed Alpe d’Huez, Mt Ventoux and The Stelvio Pass in recent years). It’s the Pyrenean climb used most often on the Tour de France. The road was quiet - with just a few cars and a reasonable number of other cyclists gri...

Day 2 in Pyrenees Today was supposed to be a bit of a rest day, before tackling the high mountain pass of the Col du Tourmalet tomorrow - legs will need to be relatively fresh for that stiff climb. We found a pamphlet with what looked to be a nice route for a gentle stroll. Certainly didn’t need anything too strenuous on this hot and sunny day. In the event, the well marked, route took us all the way up to the top of a mountain - involving some 2,640ft of cl...