Dordogne cycling

I just spent a week cycling in the Dordogne Valley, and it was such a great experience I thought I'd share it - it might inspire you to go there yourself! Just a note first though - the 'valley of the Dordogne' is not in the Dordogne department of south-west France, it is in the Correze department a little to the east, a bit upstream.

Based around Argentat, a very pretty town to the south-east of Brive-la-Gaillarde, this picturesque region offers numerous opportunities for cycling, both on mountain bikes and road bikes - my interest is road bike cycling.

The region is hillier than the Dordogne department and there are many hills through the beautiful countryside that will ensure you are sufficiently challenged - typical hills are about 3 - 6 miles long at about 7-10%, with plenty of steeper options or routes that combine several steep hills if that isn't enough for you.

The good news if you don’t cycle very often is that the roads along the Dordogne valley are quite flat and undemanding. The most popular easy route follows both sides of the river between Argentat and Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, the round trip making an attractive introduction to the region of about 35 miles.

Likewise heading north from Argentat along the ‘route des barrages’ is straightforward, at least until you get near the Barrage de Chastaing when the roads start to get a bit steeper.

The good news if you are looking for challenging hills is that as soon as you leave the Dordogne river and head into the hills you will find plenty of challenging roads that will stretch you as much as you like. There are many roads with stretches more than 10% gradient for several kilometres, and shorter stretches occasionally reaching gradients of 20%…you might find these rather difficult if you don’t ride a bike very often (or if, like me, you live somewhere much less hilly than the Dordogne Valley)!

To get you started pick up the leaflet ’Cyclist itinéraires around Argentat’ - a very useful little brochure although they do charge 2 euros for it. (don‘t get me started, I believe tourist information should be given out for free) or just set off and see where your fancy takes you - head towards the Barrage de Chastaing, perhaps, or towards Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne and taking a side road when you legs feel up to it and when one of the signs for a medieval church or picturesque valley attracts your attention.

It is likely that if you usually cycle somewhere quite flat you will think the routes are quite short but don’t underestimate them - 50 kilometres in steep hills can be pretty tough, especially if it includes more than one long climb. Plus side? The descents are also very long...