I made it to the south of France and the Mediterranean Sea! This part of my bicycle journey took five days and more than 550 kilometres. I followed EuroVelo 17, cycling along the Saône and then the Rhône River all the way south towards the Mediterranean.
The route was challenging at times, mainly thanks to the weather, but overall, the cycling was easy and mostly flat. Five days, 550 kilometres and the Mediterranean Sea. What a week!
The weather
After cutting across the roads to reach Chalon-sur-Saône on my previous ride, my first day cycling south along the Saône River didn’t go quite as planned.
I was hit by very strong winds and light, but very annoying, rain. After trying to push ahead against the wind for hours, I finally gave up after just 30 kilometres. Instead of making it to Mâcon as planned, I stopped in a small town called Tournus.
To avoid the stronger winds the next day, I started cycling at sunrise. It was a little chilly at first, but it turned into a beautiful time to ride along the river. Heading towards Lyon, I followed the Saône for most of the way, with a few stretches on the road, before stopping just north of the city.
Read about my previous days of my cycling journey here: The Rhine, Canal du Rhône, Basel and the EuroVelo.
Cycling to the Mediterranean Sea continues below.
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Lyon and the Rhone
I had already visited Lyon last year during my hiking trip, and although the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière looks quite stunning, Lyon is not my favourite city in France. Cycling through Lyon wasn’t much fun either. It took me forever to manoeuvre my way through the city, between the traffic, ongoing roadworks and all the difficult-to-access bridges and railway crossings.
The Saône and Rhône Rivers meet in Lyon, and after finally making my way out of the city, I continued cycling along the Rhône River. I was also back on a EuroVelo route, this time following EuroVelo 17 south, cycling to the Mediterranean Sea.
The rest of the ride was much more enjoyable and, after some early rain that morning, the sun finally came out.
After 120 kilometres of cycling along the Rhône, I was very happy to arrive at my hotel in Tournon-sur-Rhône.
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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 noticed I could cycle faster along a road, did I take a shortcut. Otherwise, I simply followed the EuroVelo 17 signs. It was easy enough.
As I continued cycling south through France, I managed to avoid most of the rain that was hanging over the middle of the country. I guess you can never plan the weather. Cycling in the southern French sunshine was definitely much more enjoyable.
The Rhône is an amazing river, and the scenery while cycling along the Rhône River is quite stunning. Following EuroVelo 17 south towards the Mediterranean Sea was turning into a beautiful part of my bicycle journey through France.
With stops in Montélimar, I love this gorgeous nougat town, and Avignon, both places I had already visited last year, I was counting down the kilometres to the Mediterranean Sea. It was definitely time for a well-deserved break.
Still following EuroVelo 17, I could smell the sea air the closer I got to the coast. Unfortunately, that also meant the sea breeze was slowing me down, but after pedalling hard for the last 15 kilometres, I finally made it! Exhausted, but definitely HAPPY.
Did I really just cycle 1,760 kilometres through Germany and France? Amazing! Cycling along the Rhône, but also following the Main River earlier in my journey, was an incredible experience.
Read about the first part of my 2600km cycling journey here: Cycling the Main River – off to Spain on my 2600km ride
And so…
All in all, I really enjoyed this part of my bicycle journey, following EuroVelo 17 and cycling along the Rhône River. The vineyards along the route create beautiful scenery, and the EuroVelo cycling path is very easy to follow, with only a limited number of hills along the way.
So here I am, at the Mediterranean Sea in the south of France! Cycling to the Mediterranean Sea was tough, but the EuroVelo 17 was fun.
For my rest days, I have based myself in Sète, surrounded by the lagoons of the Étang de Thau and close to the beach, enjoying the sunshine and a much-needed break. I can’t wait to go for a swim before the next part of my cycle journey continues.
But let’s not think about that just yet!
Read about the next part of my journey here: Cycling the Pyrenees Mountains to Spain
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