Freewheeling in France – Part IV, Meandering in Medoc

 

Part IV, Meandering in Medoc

Our Medoc ride was our last bicycle ride of our Iberian Peninsula trip during the summer 2017, before we moved back to US from Luxembourg.  After circumnavigating the Iberian Peninsula, we drove to the Medoc premier wine region of France located north of the City of Bordeaux and on the westside and delta of the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers. 

We parked and stayed the first two nights in city of Pauillac, northeast of Bordeaux and the center of Medoc wine appellation.  The next morning, we rode north to St. Estephe and the adjoining hamlets.  We stopped at Chateau Le Crock winery and had lunch of a baguette, assortment of cheeses, fruits, and a couple of glasses of red wine.  Medoc area is very flat and the number of small roads make it a perfect bicycling destination.   This was a 25 km ride with only an elevation gain (EG) of 65 m. 

We left the car at a parking lot and the next day we rode to Gaillan-en-Medoc another flat but rainy 25 km ride and EG of 60 m.  The ride took us past a number of wineries, small towns and small forests. 

Our ride the next day took us to Moulis-en-Medoc a 45 km mostly flat ride on finally a sunny day.  Our auberge had a nice swimming pool and was within the walking distance of several wineries including Chateau Biston-Brillette, which we visited. 

Our last day’s ride, another rainy day took us past several famous wineries back to Pauillac and to our hotel. 

Once a year in early September, Medoc region hosts the “Marathon des Chateaux du Medoc”.  This is a fanciful Marathon run between several Chateaux where runners are provided with nourishment and wine while running a marathon in costumes of all kinds, including some in high heels.  The marathon ends with a large dinner and ceremony for the runners and hosted by the wineries.  Salut! 

Freewheeling in France – Part III, Dropping in on Dordogne

 Freewheeling in France – Part III, Dropping in on Dordogne

Dordogne valley of France is a historic and picturesque valley located just east of the City of Bordeaux in Southwest France.  The complicated history of this area began by the divorce of Eleanor of Aquitaine from Louis VII King of France and marrying the new King of England Henry II, in 1154.  By rights of his wife, Henry II and England then became the owners of the Dordogne and Bordeaux wine region of France and started the 100-year wars between the two countries.  The region consists of fortified towns and castles across the river Dordogne, owned by France on the East and England on the West. 

Our trip to Dordogne River Valley was part of a larger trip around the Iberian Peninsula.  We stopped in the beach resort of Labenne in SW France, south of Bordeaux to visit the Perion family, our French friends from Lyon for the day.  Then headed northeast to Le Buisson-de-Cadouin, to Domaine de la Marziane to start the bicycle trip. 

The lovely owners of the Domaine de la Marziane have a beautiful Auberge and were willing to let us leave our car in their barn until our return.  The next day we headed north across the river to Les Eyzies-de-Tayac.  This was a 25 km and 150 m EG ride.  Les Eyzies is where the Cro-Magnon museum is located.  Here just outside of the town the prehistoric cave paintings of the Cro-Magnon dating back some 30,000 years, were discovered.   The caves at Lascaux and Font-de-Gaume are located in the vicinity of town and allow visitation by appointment.  We stayed at Hotel de France and visited the impressive museum just next door and Font-de-Gaume cave the next day and spent a couple of hours during the afternoon at the hotel pool.

From Les Eyzies we headed east to Sarlat-de-Caneda a 20 km and 270 m EG ride.  Sarlat has a vibrant historic district with fantastic restaurants that offer a variety of local cuisines including their famous Foie Gras.  Here we stayed at the Hotel Les Ramparts. 

From Sarlat we headed south to the hill town city of Domme situated above the river Dordogne with great views to the north and west.  This was a 15 km ride and an EG of 150 m.  We stayed at the lovely and superbly situated at the edge of the cliff, Hotel L'Esplanade for two nights.  In the center of the town, you can also visit La Grotte De Domme, which allows you to descend into the center of the hill and visit the amazing stalactites and stalagmites developed over centuries. 

We headed west from Domme back towards Domaine de la Marziane.  This was a hilly and very hot 40 km ride with EG of 500 m.  Our route took us along the Dordogne river at times with views of the castles and we rode by Château des Milandes.  This used to be the home of the famous entertainer and singer Josephine Baker.  We had a lovely dinner of sautéed duck and vegetables with the owners at Domaine de la Marziane that night.