Off-road cycling route across the south of France from Toulouse to Sete: John Lambert’s unofficial guide
set up. This is where it all starts. Day one in Tuloo. I am collecting my bike from Lamezon Devel. And um I’m preparing myself for the trip to set along the canal jid. Heat. Heat. Hat. All right. Okay folks, just to give you an idea of my route, I begin in Tulus and then I follow the canal Jumidi south all the way for 60 kilometers to the town of Castelon Nordray which is famous for cellet which is like a a casserole meal. Then my second day, I’m heading off again south along the canal to the famous fortress city of Kakasong. It’s not a city actually. I think it’s a town, but never mind. It’s Kakasong. And then on my third day hopefully I’ll be reaching homes where I’ll stay overnight again and my next day I will be heading down towards Bezier which is south and east. There we are. And my final day again cycling between 50 and 60 kilometers. I will head down towards the Mediterranean, follow the coast and then I will end up at the beautiful resort of set on the Mediterranean. There we are. Here we have the magnificent bike that is going to be my companion for the next 5 days. Double paners on the on the rear wheel and a very useful um container on the front handlebars as well. No excuses. This is where I’m starting my journey into lose and I’m outside the rather grand train station. So this is day one. I’m heading off to Castel Nordie. Wish me luck. This is it. The the canal Jumidi. Only 150 kilometers to go. This is an old lock keeper’s house on the route. And over there is a place you can stay if you are doing a cycling or boating trip down the canal. humidity. This bike has got all my worldly goods for a whole week on it. And as you can see, the toe path is very straight in this part of uh the canal. and you’ve got avenues of beach trees and then on the right hand side and then on the left hand side you’ve got arable land which is mo mostly of sunflowers although this one hasn’t got any. This is another lock at Laval and the lockke keeper’s house doubles up as a restaurant. You can see the avenue of beach trees on the right hand side of the toe path. And then on the left hand side you can just about see arable land through the trees which is normally crops of sunflowers. I’ve stopped for lunch by the canal. On day one, I’m relying on Google Maps and I’ve written my instructions for every day on a piece of paper which I’ve got in front of me highlighting the parts of the toe path where I have to deviate or cross sides. If you get that wrong, then you could cycle for miles on the wrong side of the canal and end up not being able to progress and then turning back again. So quite important. As you can see, my staple diet for lunch is the French baguette. I do admire people on boating holidays as they need to show a great deal of patience. This is just like any other motorway services. Or is it? This is the Port Laren services off the motorway. Yes, this is a rusty old barge on the canal. Of course, the canal was originally built by Paul Oriway as a working ship canal which joined the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Here we see fields of sunflowers and that nice looking village on the hilltop. I don’t know the name of it. If I had the energy, I would cycle up there all this way to get away from scousers and their fans and especially those flying that particular flag. There’s the magic name, Castl Nari. This is where my first day cycling ends. I just need to find my Airbnb accommodation and then I can head or center view and and maybe have a beer or two to celebrate. This is Gaston Nordi from the canal Jumidi. Well, here I am. Day one over 60 kilometers cycled from Tulus to Castle Nordi. I’m enscconced in my Airbnb and uh knackered ready for a shower but um very very good day. No major hitches apart from the Nva app not working properly um which meant that I didn’t really have um my phone to help me figure out the route. Um, I did use Google Maps, but that kept telling me to go on the road. Um, and not the canal toe path. Never mind. Um, I was sensible enough to write out the route from the guide book and I had that in front of me above my handlebars. So, all good. No major mistakes. Um, I left at 10:00 a.m. from Tulus and I arrived here at 4:00 pm and um that is with a stop of around half an hour for lunch and a few um few stops for photographs and etc. But yeah, the end of a nice day and tomorrow I’m off to Carason. This is Castor Nordy in the evenings. Nice little town. Unfortunately, I found a bar that showed the Manchester Derby. Apart from that, this is another view of Castel Nordie. I’ve been cycling down narrow streets, not really knowing which way I’m going and taking my life into my own hands. Um, the idea was to just cycle off road, but uh that hasn’t really materialized. It’s a beautiful day today as you can see. Um, and I’m trying to look for a bakers to get some um lunch. This is where you can see that the town is linked up to the Mediterranean by the canal Jumidi. the start of day two. Um, and the trip to Kakasaw. Um, breakfast is Akish Lorraine Shaw. Not sure why I’m wearing a helmet to eat my breakfast, but never mind. I’m looking a bit tired, but um, I slept okay tonight. Uh, last night, Shay Beatrice. And, um, yeah, all good for the next leg. Typical scene as you go south, more and more sunflowers, fields, and then you can see the blue sky and maybe the uh the shining on the river and then the path souththeast to Kakason. You can see the high quality lock down there attached to the hand uh to the main frame. Um, you can see that the path is gravel now as opposed to tarmac when on the first leg. Um, a little tip, try to cycle down the welltrodden or the the the path that most people cycle along. So, it’s got less flint and less bumps in it if you uh you try and navigate along that the welltrodden part of it. Um, also this is an auto lock, this thing here, which is handy because you can attach your phone to it. Um, if you buy the attachments, so you can actually check your phone whilst you’re on the bike. You can see that the weather is perfect. I’m plotting my way down this gravel track, trying to avoid punches, but that’s impossible. Um, but at least trying to avoid the ruted bits and uneven bits. I’ve been practicing my French. I’ve said bonjour about 65 times already this morning. Well, it’s time for lunch break on day two. Um, this time I’m in Pzans, which is a bit of a detour off the uh off the cycle track. Bit of a one-horse sort of town. Um, I can’t even find a cafe, would you believe, in France, but um I found a shady bit under a tree, which is good enough. The bike is looking a little bit dusty. Um, now I’m cycling along gravel tracks, but it’s doing a good job, I have to say. And just panning down to today’s baguette, which is a ham and egg variety. Blime me, even though I’ve got factor 50 on, I seem to have caught the sun. Um, this town, well, is a bit of a disappointment. Um, some of these little French towns have seen better days, quite frankly. Um, I don’t really like the way that they leave their dog on the pavement, so it’s baked in with the sun. That’s not a nice trait. Um, but I don’t want to sound anti-French because uh, it’s uh, it’s been a wonderful experience so far. The other issue that you may encounter coming on a trip like this is that you are meant to according to the guide books ask permission um from the French waterways to travel along the footpaths. Well, I did that and I got absolutely nowhere. So, I wouldn’t bother doing that. Um they just replied to me in French that I couldn’t do it. I I think anyway um even though there are hundreds of people um I’m seeing doing exactly the same trip. Um yeah, I bumped into a Scouse couple um and tried to stay off the subject of football, but to no avail because they saw my United shirt on. And uh anyway, um we soon uh soon parted company and uh well, you know, 10 years I would never 10 years ago, I would never have thought that I would be slightly embarrassed about having worked for United for 19 years, but I did at that moment anyway. Um, life goes on. Say lovey. This is my room in Kakasaw, my Airbnb studio slash suite. I do like the traditional style of the house. So, it’s a nice surprise, I must say. which to some extent compensates by being greeted by a very aggressive dog when I entered the hallway. All good now though. Hi everyone. Another fantastic day cycling along the canal Jumidi from Cast Nore to Kasong. Um eventful day. It started with um my host, the lovely Beatrice, who um decided to bring my washing in from the garden where it was going to be dry in the sunshine to put it in the garage next to my bike where I had to had to take it soaking wet to the next venue. Um but um yeah, lovey. Um but she made me a coffee and uh bless her. She’s a nice lady. Um the journey was brilliant. Really enjoyed it. Uh slightly different terrain, gravel pass, a little bit more uneven. I was desperate not to get a puncture. So I was just following the the other um well, you know, well used uh directions that the other cyclist used. And yeah, uh very good. Um yeah, and when I got to Cockasaw, I um found my accommodation and it took me a while to get in um because I had to use the code to get into the key safe and then unfortunately I didn’t realize that you had to press the buttons either side of it. So I was my fault. I was standing there for 10 minutes figuring out how it worked. Eventually got the key. Um, in the meantime, my glasses dropped off my bike into the road and before I could pick them up, they were run over by a car into 100 different pieces. Um, bit gutted about that. Anyway, opened the door and there was a huge dog on the other side of it growling at me. Thought, what do I do here? You know, I really don’t want this thing to bite me and end up in the hospital. Um, which would have bugged my trip up. So, um, I rang I rang the owner. There was no owner there. I rang the owner and said, “Uh, what’s the deal with this dog?” And he said, “I’ll be down in 10 minutes,” which he was. Uh, lovely chat, Patrice. Uh, turns out the dog was perfectly okay. His bark was worse than his bite. And um I’m staying in a really nice accommodation with a which was just like a studio um which has got a bathroom um nice bedroom uh really high quality accommodation in a really nice house in Kazaw. So no complaints there. Um had a bit of a shocker tonight. I had a beer, early beer, and then uh I tried to get to the restaurants that were recommended by my host. Uh every single one of them is shut. So I’ve walked about 30,000 steps in to no avail. Um so I’ve just run into this restaurant I found open and uh yeah, so all good. Um but uh later on I’m off to Carcasson Old City which is meant to be absolutely phenomenal. So I shall take a walk there and add to my number of steps but I’m sure it’ll be worth it. All right. Okay. This is the city de Kakosong which is the old part of Kakasong. That’s the Pont Nerf. And then I’m panning around to the fortress. which is quite spectacular. Um, all lit up and walking up the hill to Kasolant Old City. Look at this place. sitting on the old bridge looking back at old Carasong and here you’ve got the river and then over there is new Caras. I’m not sure what the river is, but um I don’t think it’s the canal Jumidi. The beginning of day three. As you can see, the sun is shining through the window. Um here’s some essentials for your cycling trip. Uh baboon pants is what I call them. um that they are gel cycling specific cycling shorts with the gel um cushioning. Um don’t go for the cheap ones. Um go for the ones that are about 60 quid. They’re well worth it. Another good start to the day in that I managed to poo before um my cycling starts. There are very few places to stop off and uh it’s always better for obvious reasons to go before you set off. All right, here I go on my way to alms. We travel southeast uh past Carus on our way to alms. This is vineyard country. A lot of people stop off the wine tasting in the vineyards. The canal, as you can see, is the color of pea soup, which it’s pretty much been the whole way. just outside Marayette in this um area which is like a pong park. Sporting my new sunglass sunglasses from the uh supermarket having smashed mine yesterday. But uh another beautiful day. Lovely breeze to go with the sunshine as well as the uh ham and emmental baguette on a tea. This is a very nice shaded avenue to cycle along. Um elevated from the canal and then you’ve got a good view out across the farmland to the mountains in the background. stop off area on the way to s between Kakasol and Ms. Obviously, it’s in a wine growing area of Minovoir, but I’m not quite sure what this village is called. It’s a nice little place, absolutely deserted, but I’m hoping to find a cafe here. This is where things got lost in translation. I asked for cafe ole at dou. So a milky coffee and a glass of water. And I got a lovely mug of milky coffee. Fair play. But I also got another mug of coffee made with water. My fault. Not sure when this aqueduct was built, but it’s a very long time ago. Well, I finally reached my Airbnb for the night. Um, not sure what grade I’m going to give it yet, but uh, it was cheap at Port Minervoir, which is very near to my destination of HS. Very nice, too. Life Nice Airbnb in Holmes with a hot tub 100 m from the canal jum midi. all enclosed like a little private apartment, air conditioning, TV, etc. Not bad. Good morning. It’s the beginning of my fourth day of of the trip. Um, I’m not sure what this rather tasteful painting is of behind me, but anyway, it’s in my very comfortable Airbnb apartment. Um, I did think I had a hot tub, but uh, then I took the cover off it and found that it was a set of table and chairs. So, that was the one disappointment. But apart from that, it was uh, very well located, 100 m from the canal. Jumidi. Um, so all good. Um, unfortunately there’s no buerie around here, so I have to uh buy something for breakfast uh on my travels. Um, I went to bed at 9:30 last night, so I must have been knackered. And this is the first time when I felt the need to apply Sudocreme to my undercarriage. Okay, it’s not it’s not in I’m not in real pain from it, but um um it’s uh it’s getting some wear and tear on the saddle. Um but yeah, I’m looking forward to the the trip down to Bezier. So uh all being well, I should be there about 4:00 this afternoon. I think this is Rubio Village. If you look closely, you can see hundreds of ravens flying in and out the uh the fortress on the top of the hill. A typical scene in the south of France with the vineyards. You’ve got the canal and you can see Parza which is uh the local village. Lunch stop today is in Lome, which is a small town halfway to Bezier. There it is. Lome. And there’s the uh halfeaten baguette. And there’s the quaint little village. I forgot to have breakfast this morning, so I’m absolutely Hank Marvin. This has got to be worth a panoramic video. I’m not sure what that village is in the distance. This is the Malpass tunnel. Um, again, I think built by Paul RK. I can tell you the year uh later on, but um yeah, quite a feat of engineering. Honestly, this is an absolute oasis in the desert. I’m beginning to wilt. It’s 30 plus degrees and I’ve run out of water. And then suddenly I appeared at the office to tourism in the Malpass tunnel and they sell cold water and ice cream. formidabla lab baton whatever you would like to call it. They’ve even got a dotto train in busier. What more can you ask for? This is another incredible feat of engineering. There are four locks. have five locks in a row in quick succession. And I’m not sure whether that’s the date they were built, but if it is, it’s quite impressive. So the water the water level is going down at each lock. This is a bezier from the vioaduct. This is one of the keys in Persia. This guy’s murdering a great Al Green song. The guitarist is brilliant. It’s an open mic night and he’s uh he’s very good. Bonjour. I’ve lost count over how many times I’ve said that word on this trip. Um yeah, so the at the end of day four and the journey today was between Holmes and Bezier. Um it was incredibly hot, 32°, 55 km. The path was a bit narrow and uneven at times, but only over short distances. But um yeah, it was to be honest it was hard hard going today because of the heat. I think I drank 3 lers of water but was still really dehydrated. Um I eventually ran out of water but thankfully found tourist information center that sold cold water and ice cream which was an absolute result. Um, so yep, tomorrow I’m going from Bezier to Set and then going to spend a few hours on the beach in Set. So, wish me luck. Um, I I suspect it’s going to be even hotter as I go further south and east. Bezier is a big bigish town uh famous for rugby but also famous for the amazing feat of engineering that took place in 19 sorry in 1676 when Paul RK built all of the locks and aqueducts um across the rivers and canals of the city. Um it’s quite impressive. At one point there’s five locks in quick succession and boats are literally going uphill. Anyway, it needs to be seen to be to be believed. And all of this done um in the 17th century. So bit knackered but uh in a nice way. Onward and upward. Ah it’s the hotel the police. I might book in there next time I’m uh I’m in Bezier. Well, I’m all sun creamed up ready for the last leg of my momentous journey down the canal Dumidi from Bezier to set. Um looking forward to it. By the looks of it is going to be an absolute scorcher again. Um, so I my trusty um guide book tells me it’s 53 km the last leg. So it will be quite demanding. By the way, this guide book written by Declan Lions is well worth purchasing if you are actually going to try the route because it gives you some detail about the history, um the engineering that took place, the culture, and most importantly exact details about the route. Although it is a few years out of date because some of the paths have definitely improved from when he did it last. Anyway, a really good guide. Wish me luck. I think they’re going to come with me. These three Lee Canard. This is the life. Lunch in a is literally all the way along the beach from Agda to set which is the last 8 km. I’m now off for a swim. This is the beach in Mar looking out towards set in the distance. So I’m not very far away. Just a few kilometers along the beach to go. Dropping off my faithful companion my bike which is looking a bit dusty but has served me well for the last 5 days. I can’t speak highly enough of Leati Maison Devel in in Tuloo’s very very good piece of equipment with great uh accessories. Here we are in my accommodation in sets, which is a nice apartment in a block uh with all modcons. And as we go out onto the balcony, we can see we’re looking over the forest. And there is the swimming pool which I’ve just been in and it’s uh really soothed my aching limbs even even though it is very cold. Um and now I’m off to catch the bus to the train station to head off to Melier. I think this is a good time and place to reflect on what has been a momentous trip. I’m by the pool in Melier and uh having a day of rest and relaxation before I fly back in the evening. Um there’s been a huge number of enjoyable experiences involved. Um I’ve liked very much some of the towns I’ve visited. Kakasong, for example, is a magnificent place. Uh a very very old fortress town um with a great deal of tradition. Brilliant place. Um I have to admire the level of engineering as I’ve gone along the canal Dumidi. Um Paul Ri who was behind most of it is an absolute genius. Particularly the nine locks there are in Bezier which allows the water to literally run uphill and the boats to uh to go up at a steep gradient. And all of this was done in 1676, which is staggering. Um, I enjoyed my meal in Port Martineik by the canal. Um, amazing food. I’ve had some really good uh culinary experiences. Um, what else? The last 10 kilometers of the uh bike ride was along the beach um which gave me opportunity to jump jump off the um bike and plunge into the Mediterranean across the beach. It was amazing um after cycling for 4 hours in 32 degrees. Um so yeah, as you can imagine, I enjoyed that immensely. I’ve met some really nice people along the way. um in particular two guys from uh Tottess in Devon who I bumped into and uh basically kept bumping into on route and kept bumping into in the pub in the evenings as well. So I enjoyed their company. So excellent really excellent trip. Um on the negative side um yeah I think things that people might observe there’s sort of random opening and closing times of restaurants and cafes in this country especially in this area. So one evening I walked a mile and a half to a restaurant that was meant to be open and it had closed for no apparent reason. And there was another place that I went to for lunch which closed at 1:00 p.m. Um, which was a bit puzzling. Anyway, yeah, they’re a bit casual about that sort of thing. Um, didn’t like the way that they didn’t pick up their dog from the pavements and let it bake in in the sun. Um, not very nice. Um, what else? Um, yeah, the toilets obviously variable in quality. There was one in a railway station that after you went in there, you shut the door and they showered it with water to clean it from the ceiling like a giant shower. Therefore, if you went to sit on the seat to the toilet after somebody had been in there, it was absolutely soaking wet. So, not sure about that that particular system, but Viva de France. Um, all in all though, I’ve discovered the south of France and I will definitely be coming back again. There’s some fantastic people I’d met. Um, I struggled to get a taxi one evening after um, going to a pizza restaurant and the boss of the restaurant gave me a lift and saved me €20. Um, so that sort of stuff, the small things are really, really good. Um so um this has been a rather um unplanned set of video experiences and an unofficial definitely unofficial guide to the canal Jumidi. Um you’ll find some brilliant guides in including the program um TV program with Bedil and Hugh Dennis um which is very informative bit irritating at times with the um bickering and self-deprecating humor but um very very good overall and um there’s also written guides that you can get which are excellent which give you all the cultural background, historical background to all the and and and all the stops that you can make along the way, detours along the way. Um, so I may even do this again and and fit in some detours. Um, as recommended, but we shall see. But, um, yeah. Uh, also apologies for sounding so knackered the whole time. Um, that’s because I was, um, it’s quite challenging physically in the heat. uh not necessarily the distances, the 60k, 55k. Um they’re not huge diff distances per day when you’ve got the whole day to do it, but when it is so hot, it really takes it out of you. Anyway, um I’m pretty relaxed now. Um and um enjoying a day in Melier. All right. Or