TRAVEL Q&A
QI’ve been to the Alps, and done the Pyrenees. I really like France but want to go somewhere a bit different. Where else should I ride?
AIt’s a big country with lots to offer. The Vosges and the Jura regions offer more mountainous riding, similar to the Pyrenees and Alps. The Auvergne has volcanoes, while the Limousin offers miles of quiet roads rolling through wooded hills. But for somewhere a bit different, we’d look around Millau, exploring the Tarn gorges, or the nearby Cevennes. Near Ales you have some amazing roads, like the N109 to Mende, the D986 over Mount Aigoual and the D9 – the Corniche des Cevennes.
QACan I take my bike into Paris or not? We had a question about this recently and the answer is: only if it’s less than 20 years old and only if you purchase the new French Crit’air vignettes (€3.70 plus postage) from www.crit-air.fr – which also has information about other cities that may implement the pollution zone scheme. But you don’t need that in the evenings or at weekends… Confused? So are we.
QCan you tell me how to get from the main road, down under the Millau Viaduct? I’d like to get a picture of my bike with the bridge.
AThe only place where you don’t really see the bridge is from the A75 motorway that crosses it. Get
Aoff the autoroute, go into Millau and then take the D992. There’s a great viewpoint if you turn off right under the bridge and ride two corners past the visitors’ centre.
QI’m interested in doing the Grossglockner tour from The RIDE Guide to Europe. Would it be as good if I did the ride in reverse?
Most passes are better in one direction than the other, but people rarely agree on which way is best… Our tour links the passes in the way we feel flows best, but it’d still be great in the other direction.