The gites are in the heart of the Pyrénées foothills (The Baronnies) making them a great base for your cycling holidays and training camps. We offer a range of support levels for groups, depending on your requirements and for self-guided rides we can provide route advice and gps/maps.
All the gites have access to secure bike storage facilities, bike washing facilities and a workshop of essential tools.
The area is renowned for its fantastic cycling and being based in the Pyrénées foothills (The Baronnies), you have the choice of riding rolling terrain of varying degrees all the way up to riding the legendary cols made famous by the annual visit of the Tour de France. We are within easy riding distance of many of these climbs including the mighty Col du Tourmalet, Col d’Aspin, Col du Peyresourde, Hourquette D’Ancizan and Col du Portet to name but a few.
The Baronnies have a milder climate than the micro climates of the high mountain valleys and consequently provide riding conditions nearly all year round. The higher cols become available when the melt comes and realistically is May – October. Breakfast can be spent admiring the very mountains you are about to put wheel to.
And that’s just the road riding!
The Hautes-Pyrénées has mountain biking to suit all experience levels and riding disciplines, from gentle riding on gravel roads and tracks between villages, cross country trails through undulating pastures and woodland to all-day high mountain riding.
There are many way marked mountain bike routes in the area ranging from greens all the way up to the challenging blacks, approved and labeled by the Fédération Française de Cyclisme.
| GREEN | Easy width and surface, climbing < 150m |
| BLUE | Not difficult but some harder passages, climbing < 300m |
| RED | Difficult, physically and technically, climbing < 450m |
| BLACK | Very difficult, for riders with strong technical skills and good fitness levels. |
For the downhillers among us looking for the uplift, many of the ski station lift operators are catching onto the idea of running the lifts in the summer for bikers although currently there is more of an attitude of ‘earning’ your descent than in the Alps.
Currently there are uplift options at Cauterets, Lourdes, Pic du Midi and Luchon.
