Tour report: 1989 Koga Miyata in France
10-17-22, 05:27 PM
#1
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Tour report: 1989 Koga Miyata in France
My partner and I spent 3 weeks of May touring through France. Our route would take us 1000mi through the eastern Loire Valley, south to Burgundy, along the river to Lyon, into Auvergne and over a volcano before concluding along the Canal du Garonne in Toulouse. While her bike is off-topic, I rode my 1989 Koga Miyata Randonneur Extra. Upon return we dropped straight into a summer of randonneuring, so I didn’t have time to do a write up right away, but I do now!
Instead of mailing our bike boxes to the end, we decided to fly into our destination, leave our boxes there, and take the train to our start in Blois.
Took it easy the first couple days, with day trips and picnics at Cheverne and Chambord
The tour began properly with a stop for the Victory Day parade in Orleans, followed by a lovely campsite at a fishing pond.
The next morning we hopped a fence at a sports field, fetched water, rode over the Briate Aquaduct and on to Châtilon-sur-Loire
Also past this awesome castle. France has a lot of awesome castles, but it's rare that our route goes right past one.
The first few days were properly hot, windy, and a bit flat. Eager to climb a bit, and hungry for lunch, we rode up to Sancerre for the view and the famed white wine
Touring is all about flexbility to us. We like having the bikes, and tent, and making it up as we go. So we ditched the castles and headed into hill countr
As we rode from Diou to Montchanin, a drizzle turned to a down pour we took cover in a ramada with a number of other cyclists. My partner, who speaks enough french, deduced that most were on an annual 100k ride. As the rain slowed, their team car arrived with tables, snacks and wine, all of which were shared graciously.
Instead of mailing our bike boxes to the end, we decided to fly into our destination, leave our boxes there, and take the train to our start in Blois.
Took it easy the first couple days, with day trips and picnics at Cheverne and Chambord
The tour began properly with a stop for the Victory Day parade in Orleans, followed by a lovely campsite at a fishing pond.
The next morning we hopped a fence at a sports field, fetched water, rode over the Briate Aquaduct and on to Châtilon-sur-Loire
Also past this awesome castle. France has a lot of awesome castles, but it's rare that our route goes right past one.
The first few days were properly hot, windy, and a bit flat. Eager to climb a bit, and hungry for lunch, we rode up to Sancerre for the view and the famed white wine
Touring is all about flexbility to us. We like having the bikes, and tent, and making it up as we go. So we ditched the castles and headed into hill countr
As we rode from Diou to Montchanin, a drizzle turned to a down pour we took cover in a ramada with a number of other cyclists. My partner, who speaks enough french, deduced that most were on an annual 100k ride. As the rain slowed, their team car arrived with tables, snacks and wine, all of which were shared graciously.
10-17-22, 05:28 PM
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Then it was on to Burgundy for a few days. It really was properly hot going over this bridge
But riding through this very long, cold, tunnel was a glorious relief. Weird lighting and all!
Rolling unloaded around the hills of southern Burgundy was a nice change, though truth be told, this bike is much nicer loaded.<unloaded>
We’d end each day by the pool, with a bottle of local Beaujolais.
From there, the Voir Bleue follows the river to Lyon. I can’t even express how terrible the surface is. Clay over very very old round cobbles. Basically unrideable.
Lyon is a fun city, but it’s definitely a city. After walking around for a day, and popping past Le Cyclo Touriste, the oldest cycle touring club in France, we were ready to get moving.
After battling through the traffic choked cities that make up what I guess you’d call the suburbs of Lyon, we finally got into the country
This was probably my favorite part of the trip: Auvergne. Very few people, very old villages, lots of climbing, and great scenery.
and oh look, a quad tandem on the side of the road. Doesn’t look like it gets much use.
That night we’d camp with a view of Château de Chavaniac aka Chateau Lafayette. The next morning we rode over, but it was far too early to be open. Fortunately the grounds keeper was already there, and opened the gates for us to have a private walk around.
But riding through this very long, cold, tunnel was a glorious relief. Weird lighting and all!
Rolling unloaded around the hills of southern Burgundy was a nice change, though truth be told, this bike is much nicer loaded.<unloaded>
We’d end each day by the pool, with a bottle of local Beaujolais.
From there, the Voir Bleue follows the river to Lyon. I can’t even express how terrible the surface is. Clay over very very old round cobbles. Basically unrideable.
Lyon is a fun city, but it’s definitely a city. After walking around for a day, and popping past Le Cyclo Touriste, the oldest cycle touring club in France, we were ready to get moving.
After battling through the traffic choked cities that make up what I guess you’d call the suburbs of Lyon, we finally got into the country
This was probably my favorite part of the trip: Auvergne. Very few people, very old villages, lots of climbing, and great scenery.
and oh look, a quad tandem on the side of the road. Doesn’t look like it gets much use.
That night we’d camp with a view of Château de Chavaniac aka Chateau Lafayette. The next morning we rode over, but it was far too early to be open. Fortunately the grounds keeper was already there, and opened the gates for us to have a private walk around.
Last edited by fliplap; 10-17-22 at 05:37 PM.
10-17-22, 05:28 PM
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The next day we’d meet up with a route aptly named La Grande Traversée du Volcan. For the next couple days it was all villages built into volcanic cliffs
Culiminating with a climb up to Puy Mary
and descending the other side of the Col du Pas de Peyrol
The landscape turned positively lush after that!
Towering over us was the 13th century village of Najac. Heck of a climb to get up there, but worth it
And you can’t argue with the views along the Aveyron a bit further on
After that it was another day from Montauban, along the Canal du Garonne to our conclusion in Toulouse
Culiminating with a climb up to Puy Mary
and descending the other side of the Col du Pas de Peyrol
The landscape turned positively lush after that!
Towering over us was the 13th century village of Najac. Heck of a climb to get up there, but worth it
And you can’t argue with the views along the Aveyron a bit further on
After that it was another day from Montauban, along the Canal du Garonne to our conclusion in Toulouse
Last edited by fliplap; 10-17-22 at 05:43 PM.
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10-17-22, 06:02 PM
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Fantastic writeup & beautiful pictures man
10-18-22, 07:37 AM
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Beautiful!
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10-18-22, 07:46 AM
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Drooling!
Looks like you went with a front loaded bike, much as the French did BITD. How was the handling?
Looks like you went with a front loaded bike, much as the French did BITD. How was the handling?
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10-18-22, 05:53 PM
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10-18-22, 06:47 PM
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Green with envy!
10-19-22, 07:07 AM
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Reminds me of a tour I did solo in the early 90's, cut short (at least the cycling part...) when my bike was stolen in Toulouse. Always dreamed of another tour in France.
Can I ask what kind of panniers those are?
Can I ask what kind of panniers those are?
10-19-22, 08:06 AM
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More info on the bike if you have the time! Thanks 
10-19-22, 11:02 AM
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I made those last year. I could stand to remake them, but I feel like that every time I make a bag, so I try not to give into it too often.
There's a thread about the bike here https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...eur-extra.html
There's a thread about the bike here https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...eur-extra.html
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10-19-22, 01:14 PM
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