Tour report: 1989 Koga Miyata in France
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
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.
#2
Full Member
Thread Starter
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.
#3
Full Member
Thread Starter
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.
Likes For fliplap:
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 1,053
Bikes: Gunnar, Shogun, Concorde, F Moser, Pete Tansley, Rocky Mtn, Diamant, Krapf, Marin, Avanti, Winora, Emmelle, Ken Evans
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 275 Post(s)
Liked 417 Times
in
218 Posts
Fantastic writeup & beautiful pictures man
#7
Forum Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Kalamazoo MI
Posts: 20,649
Bikes: Fuji SL2.1 Carbon Di2 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 4 Trek Checkpoint ALR-5 Viscount Aerospace Pro Colnago Classic Rabobank Schwinn Waterford PMount Raleigh C50 Cromoly Hybrid Legnano Tipo Roma Pista
Mentioned: 58 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3089 Post(s)
Liked 6,590 Times
in
3,780 Posts
Beautiful!
__________________
#8
Bike Butcher of Portland
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 11,634
Bikes: It's complicated.
Mentioned: 1299 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4678 Post(s)
Liked 5,795 Times
in
2,281 Posts
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?
__________________
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#9
Full Member
Thread Starter
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: '38 Schwinn New World, ’69 Peugeot PX-10, '72 Peugeot PX-10, ‘7? Valgan, '78 Raleigh Comp GS, ’79 Holdsworth Pro, ’80 Peugeot TH-8 tandem, '87 Trek 400T, ‘7? Raleigh Sports, ‘7? Raleigh Superbe, ‘6? Hercules
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 1,563 Times
in
757 Posts
Green with envy!
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: '38 Schwinn New World, ’69 Peugeot PX-10, '72 Peugeot PX-10, ‘7? Valgan, '78 Raleigh Comp GS, ’79 Holdsworth Pro, ’80 Peugeot TH-8 tandem, '87 Trek 400T, ‘7? Raleigh Sports, ‘7? Raleigh Superbe, ‘6? Hercules
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 1,563 Times
in
757 Posts
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?
#13
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Bainbridge Island, WA
Posts: 461
Bikes: '72 Peugeot PX-10, '09 A. Homer Hilsen, '78 Masi Gran Crit, '79 Echelon Spectra
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 104 Post(s)
Liked 162 Times
in
100 Posts
More info on the bike if you have the time! Thanks
#14
Full Member
Thread Starter
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
Likes For fliplap:
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2021
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: '38 Schwinn New World, ’69 Peugeot PX-10, '72 Peugeot PX-10, ‘7? Valgan, '78 Raleigh Comp GS, ’79 Holdsworth Pro, ’80 Peugeot TH-8 tandem, '87 Trek 400T, ‘7? Raleigh Sports, ‘7? Raleigh Superbe, ‘6? Hercules
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 761 Post(s)
Liked 1,563 Times
in
757 Posts