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Any worthy road cycling - Aquitaine / Dordogne?

The better half is making me join her & her sister+husband for a week in France early September, whilst usually this is no hardship whatsoever is it in Provence/Alpes/Cote-DuAzur... NO of course not it's in the Aquitaine / Dordogne region..

I am the only cyclist & allowed free reign for a day or two for cycling but due to expense vs so little cycling its not worth paying for the bike on the plane etc so what I'm asking is does anyone know of any cycling in the area (I appreicate its a vast area but as yet I could still influence where we stay) & the likely hood of hiring a proper road bike too!

Or (probably fantasy land here...  105 ) jump on a train & wing it over to the Alpes for an overnighter trip tick of a bucket list climb & back again & again can i get a bike here? I think I remember seeing somewhere you can? - I have been given permission for this but it is maybe a bit much to take on?

or lastly just lie the fek back & knock the wine & cheese into me for a week
Thanks for reading

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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bfslxo | 9 years ago
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Thank you to all the posters for replying, I feel I have seriously underestimated the area & I have gone from being a bit weary of the trip to positively excited to it & looking forward to getting there & now giving real though to actually bringing the bike -  4  4 can't wait now & wine & cheese to boot  36

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AlexStriplight | 9 years ago
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A few years ago I was in Argentat with friends and a road bike. Fantastic quiet roads and plenty hilly enough, a look at Google maps will confirm their wiggle factor. We even managed to come across a Kermesse in a nearby town which the Gendarmerie had shut the roads for.

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Colin Peyresourde | 9 years ago
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The place is be-you-te-ful! Enjoy.

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Zermattjohn | 9 years ago
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Every year a bunch of us go touring, France, Spain, Switzerland, wherever. A few years ago we flew to Bordeaux and rode around, looping south/east as far as Figeac and back via a lazy loop north. Now, I'm a bona-fide Alpine lover, so was not expecting much but it was one of the best trips we've ever had. Lovely, quiet roads, beautiful villages and river/gorge scenery to keep anyone happy. I enjoyed it so much that the next summer I went back, staying in Cahors with my wife for another week of riding around. Oh, the food and wine ain't bad either!

Its not Alpine, so don't expect hour long climbs, but there's quite a lot of rolling stuff so if you go from valley to valley its by no means flat. Cahors to Rocomadour via one of several routes is a great trip, and if you've not been to Roco before its fantastic - odd medieval city built into the side of a cliff, basically. I could probably dig out the routes from somewhere. I will be going back too, it really was that good.

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OnTheRopes | 9 years ago
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Yes it is a huge area, so why not narrow it down I am sure you can get an idea of where you will be going. As for the rides it depends on what you want, steady scenic rides or rock hard training rides.
The Dordogne can be quite demanding training wise if you wish to make it so, it is also very beautiful and there are plenty of options for easy rides by rivers and as Oolon says the weather in Sept should be gorgeous.

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Oolon Colluphid | 9 years ago
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The Dordogne is probably one of the nicest places in the world to ride a bike. The scenery is stunning, the weather in September is likely to be gorgeous, the roads are perfect and there's no traffic.

Do some rides along the Dordogne river itself, visiting the hilltop towns along the way.

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