VTT in Langedoc

By Nick

Exploring the trails of Langedoc on VTT, embracing the rugged beauty of the landscape.

This is less of a daring deed and more of a heads up for a great area of France.

Last week I found myself in the Montagne Noir in the Languedoc area of SW france. I had never been to this area and I really liked it. In September it was quiet, hot enough at 20-30c and steeped in history. On many holidays you find yourself battling against the needs of the family and the urge to get out and do something when you in such amazing location. Fortunately my girlfriend likes to lie in when she's on holiday.

This gives me some time in the morning and depending on how early I get up, I can normally sneek 3/4 hours in before breakfast. Getting up early was almost essential as it heated up pretty quickly, heat and pushing a single speed don't always work well together.

As a first little tour then you couldn't to wrong following this one.The caunes-minervois.Once you have a feel for the area, there are lots of smaller steeper paths that are amazing.

Queue amazing singletrack videoYou could go down this perfectly angled track as slow or as fast you dare. Beware the square edged blocs.

There is some good info here.

We stayed at quite short notice nr Caune-Minervois in the foothills of the Montagne Noir / Langudeoc at Aupontromain.aupontromain@wanadoo.fr

Andy and Sue are great hosts - they have some great wine contacts and if your lucky you might just get some yellow figs to devour.

As a MTB/VTT destination then you would be be well placed to have some great days out, although later in the year would probably be more comfortable. A number of trail centers are close by with hundreds of kilometres of trails, offering circuits upto 120k.

More the centre of trails than a trail center Quillian - 780km of trails

There was also some great climbing, lots of kayaking and rafting. But more than anything some amazing and dramatic mountain landscapes that I can't believe I missed over the years, I highly recommened just putting a pin on the map and going somewhere as sometimes you can be surprised what you find.

Sonder Bikes

  • Buy Now

Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR

Camino Al Apex1 AXS XPLR

  • Sram Apex AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,599.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR

Camino Ti Apex1 AXS XPLR

  • Sram Apex AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$4,149.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR

Camino Al Rival1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Rival AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$3,099.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR

Camino TI Force1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Force AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$5,249.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR

Camino TI Rival1 AXS XPLR

  • SRAM Rival AXS XPLR 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$4,699.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar

Camino Al Apex1 Flat Bar

  • SRAM Apex 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,699.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al Tiagra Camino Al Tiagra

Camino Al Tiagra

  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 10-Speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,699.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic

Camino Al Tiagra Hydraulic

  • Shimano Tiagra R4700 Hydraulic 10-Speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$1,999.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al 105 Camino Al 105

Camino Al 105

  • Shimano 105 R7120 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,249.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al GRX1 Camino Al GRX1

Camino Al GRX1

  • Shimano GRX 610 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,249.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al GRX2 Camino Al GRX2

Camino Al GRX2

  • Shimano GRX 610 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Nova 700c UK Made wheelset

$2,349.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

  • Buy Now

Camino Al 105 Di2 Camino Al 105 Di2

Camino Al 105 Di2

  • Shimano 105 R7170 Di2 12-speed groupset
  • Sonder Alpha 700c UK Made wheelset

$3,249.00
Buy Now. Be Riding in 15 days.

Your next reads

Cycling in Europe

Europe, with its rich tapestry of cultures, historic paths, and breathtaking natural beauty, offers a myriad of cycling adventures for enthusiasts ...
April 26, 2024

Finding our way in the Holyland

Toward the end of 2013 I heard about a new bikepacking event, a 1300km self supported race across Israel . the Holyland Bikepacking Challenge. I wa...
May 07, 2014
Learning on the road

Learning on the road

Last month James and Adrian headed off on a 100 day tour of over 20 European countries. Although very familiar with the two wheeled type of transp...
August 25, 2011

Adventures of a Swig Bottle Part 1

When my mum first suggested we should cycle across the Inner Hebrides to Jura, I knew there was no way I could wangle my way out of this one. When ...
July 29, 2016

Salzkammergut 2009

I went. I saw. I did some riding. I got very wet. they stopped the race.. That’s the super edited highlights of the 2009 Salzkammergut Trophy race....
July 28, 2009

Tuscany Trail 2015

I dragged my large black bag through the hustle and bustle of arrivals to the relative peace of the grassy area next to the taxi cabs. The cabbies ...
May 27, 2015

A Hill In Holland

After their introduction to Everesting, Alpkiteers Rich and Tom armed themselves once againwith Sonder Colibrisandheaded to Holland for another mis...
April 03, 2019

Trans-Provence Days Enduro race

In the first of a series of reports, Dave ‘Bearded Man’ Warren will be filling us in on the daily happenings at this years Trans Provence Mountain ...
September 29, 2010

Racing the Trans Madeira

Neil Cottam gives us a ‘backie’ on the Pink Panther for five days. Racing across Madeira’s rugged mountains and creating yet another one for th...
May 12, 2022

Holyland MTB Challenge - The desert dash and the finish line

So what an experience HLC was!!! I am still blown away by it all and it went way beyond my expectations, physically and emotionally very draining b...
July 25, 2014

From Gibraltar to Amsterdam

One of our lovely customers, Richard, got in touch to tell us about his off-road bikepacking trip from Gibraltar to Amsterdam. He did on his Camino...
July 22, 2022

Cycling Iceland

This was not my first visit to Iceland, I came over in the summer of 2014 as trail crew for the Fire and Ice Ultra. This mainly involved driving a ...
March 09, 2018

Birkebeiner Race Norway

Looking back through the blog posts I have made I can track a definite progression of my movement away from mass participation events toward more l...
September 10, 2013

Ireland To Asia: A Year On My Bike

On 31st August, Sean Hoban left his home town of Waterford, Ireland on an epic year long journey that would see him cycle through Europe to Asia. S...
October 12, 2018

Giro di Monte Bianco Cycling in Europe

The Tour of Mont Blanc is an 11 day trek around Mont Blanc. I didn’t have 11 days, I wanted to keep a lunch appointment with a friend in 3 days tim...
September 04, 2011

All roads lead to Tuscany

The Tuscany Trail is a mountain bike event which follows a 560km route from Massa over the Apennine mountains to Capalbio. It passes through the ve...
April 22, 2015

A Summer French Divide

Young Tom and his dad Rich had grand visions for a big trip this summer holidays, but you know how it is, some things don't always go to plan. Howe...
July 26, 2016

High Altitude Gnocchi

After all the planning it nearly didn’t happen. Less than 24 hours before we were due to leave the UK for Turin, our van dropped its clutch and var...
February 22, 2018

The Iceland National Trail: Part 2

Over the past 5 years, I have been seeking bigger and greater experiences. For every challenge I undertake though, there has to be a greater mea...
October 09, 2018

Teuchters on Tour Continues

Owain and Calum are currently cycling from Tromso in Norway back to Scotland. One week in and they are working down throughNorway to Bergen- across...
August 15, 2018

The Islands of Faroe-way: Part 2

Missed part 1?. Catch up here. I learnt quickly; EVERY road is up, every meter is slow when you’re pulling 25-30kg of kit behind your head, the she...
February 11, 2019
The Grenzsteintrophy Experience

The Grenzsteintrophy Experience

I couldn’t find a quote which summed up my feelings towards the 2011 Grenzstein Trophy course so I quoted myself ;) “A Political border does not ta...
June 28, 2011

Lisbon to Malaga: A Bikepacking Adventure

I look back to see if the chase is on, and it is. Coming at me like a rocket is a Portuguese street dog. Black and tan hackles up, teeth and a bark...
April 25, 2019

Helen Lloyd - it's too cold! But I'm in Yakutsk!

Helen has been travelling through Russia in some bitterly cold conditions and bivvying out when she can't get in a hotel. Our Filo and Hunka XL are...
February 27, 2014

Athlete Adventures: Iceland National Trail

This month I’ll be flying to Iceland with my bike to cycle circumnavigate the country on a new route. The route involves 3324 kilometres of mixed t...
August 08, 2018

Everesting by bike

As outdoor people, most of us at one time or another have been asked “Why would you want to do _____?” by a colleague, friend, or family member who...
March 26, 2019

Pips Tour De France

We’re just back from riding 3200 kilometres through France... Just the two of us, father and son, on a tandem, for a month. So what were the highli...
September 10, 2016

Steve Bate wins the Rovaniemi 150

The Rovaniemi 150 kicked off early Saturday morning with 108 competitors going for the 150 km distance, either by foot, ski or by bike. Alpkiteer S...
February 19, 2018
VTT in Langedoc

VTT in Langedoc

This is less of a daring deed and more of a heads up for a great area of France. Last week I found myself in the Montagne Noir in the Languedoc are...
September 25, 2012

Emily Chappell - biking round Iceland

Emily lands in Iceland and heads straight for the nearest bike shop. After getting a lot of advice from Emil at the Kria shop she evaluates all the...
March 05, 2014

Ultralight bikepacking through Norway

We’re heading north from Oslo airport, three hours into a five hour drive, crammed into what feels like a much smaller car than we originally booke...
October 19, 2017

From Rome to Home

Our Customer Support Heroes are inundated with wonderful stories from our customers about their adventures. We never, ever tire of hearing them. Ca...
November 25, 2022

Teuchters on Tour

We are Calum and Owain and we’re the Teuchters on Tour! Calum and Owain with their noble steeds in Norway Our humble beginnings date ba...
September 18, 2018
Crank the Shield 2010

Crank the Shield 2010

We had been on the look out for someone to ride for us in this year’s Trans Provence when Paul Errington suggested the Bearded Man. BM was already ...
September 24, 2010

Grenzsteintrophy self supported bikepacking

Bike packed. bag packed. feeling pretty stressed. The event starts today. 800 miles to ride. got a schedule to ride too . lets hope the legs and th...
June 17, 2011

Little Chamonix to Big Chamonix

Little Chamonix at Shepherd's Crag, Keswick, was the last time I climbed rock. I did it with my leg in an external fixator, after a series of opera...
November 26, 2015

Riding the Rovaniemi 150

A number of years ago I completed the Arrowhead 135 winter race in the US, I rode a single speed non fat wheeled bike 135 miles in the snow on snow...
March 04, 2015

Fat biking in Santa's Land

Long before I finished my last 24hr race (for the present) I had decided that I needed to do something new and I had penciled in theRovaniemi 150. ...
March 18, 2015

Surf and Turf

In this day and age, when you are presented with the opportunity to escape society and live the simple life off-grid with no worry of phones, email...
April 29, 2018

The Islands of Faroe-way: Part 1

There is not one reason why the Faroe Islands, and then there is not a single reason why not. This seems to be the most common question I get asked...
February 07, 2019

Singletracking Elbrus - Dan Milner

_It started with a nip to the shops for some bread —perhaps an unlikely spark for a mountain bike circumnavigation of Russia’s Mount Elbrus. And no...
June 26, 2020

Pyrenees Traverse – Mules, Munitions and Million Star Hotels

It's early evening as we make our way up a long, very long fireroad to the mountains above Plan, nestled in the Spanish Pyrenees on our 6 day trave...
November 30, 2016

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - Rovaniemi 150

A Treasured Outdoor Moment - Andy Young At the grand old age of 64 and after a lifetime of mountain biking and outdoor work, I decided to reboot my...
January 14, 2022

Battling the elements, Cycling through the Romanian Carpathians (pt 1)

Chris Marton has kitted out his Sonder Santiago Grand Tourer and is pedalling East through Europe. "Romania was never really on my radar as a d...
April 15, 2023

Battling the elements, Cycling through the Romanian Carpathians (pt 2)

Part two of Chris Marton's Santiago Cycle Tour through Europe. "That day I was aiming for Deva in the western edge Transylvania, a historic city...
April 22, 2023

Riding the Alps Divide

From the sun-drenched Mediterranean coast of Menton to the serene shores of Lake Geneva, this route promises challenge, beauty, and adventure in eq...
October 31, 2024

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

=