Heward having visited Mounon du Nord in September 2003

La traduction en français sera faite prochainement

Bike Rider ImageFrance is our favourite cycle touring destination: miles of quiet roads, wonderful scenery and superb food and wine. The strongest lure of a tour of Gascony is its legendary reputation for gastronomy.

Getting to central Gascony with or without bikes presents a bewildering variety of choices. You can fly to Toulouse and take the train from there to Auch and then cycle but beware, most trains and planes are not very bike friendly. Some local French trains, however, do have bike racks, but others don't take bikes at all! We decided to take the weekly Eurostar (which runs in the summer only) from Waterloo or Ashford direct to Avignon. Space for luggage is extremely limited and bikes must be bagged. Booking a friendly B&B where you can assemble the bikes and leave the bags is then essential. With the help of the Internet we found the Aida in the old town in Avignon, where we stayed overnight before making our way across country to Toulouse.

Mounon du Nord, two gites situated halfway between Auch and Condom in the Gers, offers a comfortable base to explore a fascinating range of destinations with the added bonus of a swim in the tranquil pool as a reward at the end of a day's cycling.

Our first outing had to be the short ride to Castera Verduzan to fill our panniers with locally produced vegetables, cheese, pates and bread - such a treat after the sterile uniformity of British supermarkets. In France, food is essentially a social experience. Market shopping became the basis of our larder at the gite, where we dined 'al fresco' under the stars most evenings.

Gasony is crossed by a network of ancient pilgrim routes to the Pyrenees and the shrine of St James of Compostella. They are now a UNESCO world heritage site, well maintained, used by an international band of latter-day pilgrims retracing the steps of their forebears. Our cycle tour of the pilgrim route began at the cathedral in Condom. The signs on the roads into the town have an odd habit of 'disappearing' when British tourists are visiting! After stocking up at the market we cycled 15 hilly kms to La Romieu. This is a village dominated by its famous fortified church and pilgrim centre. As we relaxed at a bar in the shade of mediaeval arches, we chatted to several pilgrims, identified by their cockleshells, packs and staffs.

While the tradition of a long lunch hour is still sacrosanct in the Midi, the number of local restaurants offering a nutritious plat de jour, cooked on the premises from seasonal, fresh ingredients is declining. Chez Lucy in Valance-sur-Baise, however, retains this tradition and was the focus of another ride. After choosing a delightfully rural route to the east of the river Baise, we arrived just before noon to ensure our places among the local ouvriers, tucking into a four course fixed menu for 10 Euros. The last to arrive was the dust cart, which duly blocked in all the other cars. The sight of the dustmen demolishing the raw carrot salad with such gusto was an object lesson for us all. After lunch, we wandered round the nearby Abbey of Flaran before cycling back to Bezolles.

Another highlight was a ride to the goose farm near St Puy. We had arranged to time our visit so we could enjoy the spectacular weekly goose lunch. During the course of the meal, we got to know more than we really wanted to about Foie Gras and the multitude of other delicious products from this creature !!

The week at Mounon du Nord, however, passed all to quickly and soon we were packing our panniers for the return journey to Avignon, but the lure of this beautiful region means that we will return someday to see more of its delights.