Cycling to the Mediterranean Sea, South of France

I have made it to the south of France and the Mediterranean Sea! This part of the bicycle journey took 5 days and over 550km. I was following the Eurovelo 17 bike path along the La Saone as well as cycling the Rhône river. The route was at times challenging (mainly due to the weather), but overall easy and mostly flat. What a week!

But first…

After cutting across the roads to get to Chalon-sur-Saône on my previous trip, my first day cycling south, following the La Saône river, didn’t go as planned. I was hit by very strong winds and light (but annoying) rain. So after trying to get ahead against the wind for hours, I gave up after 30km. That day, instead of arriving in Macon, I made a stop in a small town called Tournus.

To avoid the stronger wind the next day I started my ride with the sunrise. It was a bit chilly at first but a beautiful time to cycle along the river. Heading towards Lyon I followed the river as well some roads to stop just north of Lyon.

Lyon and the Rhone

I visited Lyon last year during my hiking trip already, and although ‘La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourviere’ looks quite stunning, Lyon is not my favourite town in France.

Cycling through the city wasn’t fun either. It took me forever to manoeuvre my way through Lyon. In between the traffic, the ongoing roadworks and all the hard to access bridges and rail way crossings.

As the La Saône and Rhône Rivers meet in Lyon, after finally getting out of Lyon, I was cycling along the Rhône river and back on my Eurovelo path (following the Eurovelo 17 this time). The rest of the ride was quite enjoyable and finally sunny (after some early rain that morning).

And after 120km I was happy to be at the hotel in Tournun-Sur-Rhône.

Following the Eurovelo 17

The Eurovelo 17 cycling path took me all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Only from time to time, when I notice that I can go quicker along a road did I take the shortcut. Otherwise I just follow the signage.

Going south I managed quite well to avoid the rain that hung over the middle of France. It was much more enjoyable to cycle in the southern sun of France. The Rhône is an amazing river and the scenery along the path is quite stunning.

So, with stops in Montélimar (I love this gorgeous Nougat town) and Avignon (I have been to both places last year already), I was counting down the kilometres to the Mediterranean Sea. It was time for a well deserved break.

Still following the Eurovelo 17, I could smell the ocean air the closer I got to it. Unfortunately that also meant that I had the ocean breeze slowing me down, but after paddling hard the last 15km, I finally made it! Exhausted but definitely HAPPY.

Did I really just cycle 1760 km through Germany and France?

And so…

All in all I enjoyed this part of the journey, following the Eurovelo 17 and cycling the Rhône river. The wineries along the route create a beautiful scenery and the Eurovelo cycling path is very easy to follow. And across only limited hills.

So here I am, at the Mediterranean Sea, south of France. For my rest days I have based myself in Sète, amongst the Étang de Thau (one of the largest string of lagoons), near the beach, enjoying the sun.

I can’t wait to go for a swim, before the journey goes on… (but let’s not think about that just yet)!