Passa Pais disused railway thread

[suavecarve]

There is an ongoing thread (languedoc 28 days) which is a side of the supposedly difficult for some to find journal.
The Languedoc thread will continue til 20/5/23 if interested
But in the interests of keeping the disused railway line thread up to date. I have copied over and will link this to it. If you're following thread or journal, give up now. There is no new information.
We have done 2 of the 3 days of less than 30 Kms (one way) so far and finish today (hopefully)
The passarelle de Mazamet is also included.

 

[suavecarve]

From Orlagues camping car park aire the voie verte is next door. Terribly flat, terribly smooth as solid with loose cinder but not concerning. 4 cafes en route. Shaded. Stunning scenery. Few cuttings less embankments, loads of bridges. As many tunnels as I took photos of. Excellent all round. 21kms to Bedarieux. Would definitely stop at orlagues rather than Bedarieux. Will link to disused railway thread later. Saw a rental place with double person trikes to rent but felt rude to take a photo of severely disabled copilot sat adjacent. Number of pedestrians dog walkers runners tramps and family cyclists all saying bonjour

Map of the route. Zoom in at the bottom to see distances and gradients

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[suavecarve]

Day 2 Orlagues to Cournion

Refreshed with fully charged batteries from the all inclusive camping car park and the sun beating down we set off in shorts and jumper.
What neither of us checked was the expected gradient.
It looked flat. It felt hilly. We were wondering if it was the surface, the tired legs from day before, too much pastis, carrying too much, not inflated tyres.
We were aiming for La bastide but saw some threatening clouds that way so lunch at Les grottoes de la devize which was closed but am told 6 euros each guided tour.
When we returned it looked downhill and was. 25 kph with no effort.
BUT the hill. 15 per cent or 10 per cent and not in keeping with a disused railway line. We both succumbed to pushing short bit of west east on way back. One stretch of about 30 m not plausible.
Less to see than yesterday, fewer cafes, have now driven the route of tomorrow as we have made it to an aire outside Mazamet and will go to see la passarelle later and some shopping.
As for the emerald swimming point, at the crossing of Julio look east within the parking bay to see a dirt track and follow it with plenty parking. It wasn't emerald and it wasn't for us today however I could see it being nice in the summer.

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[suavecarve]

La passarelle de Mazamet​

With bailing out on getting as far as we could on the day 2 of passa pais voie verte a quick and cunning plan was devised to go to the pont devl'arn aire about 5 Kms east of Mazamet and do the last bit of the Greenway and la passarelle which was finished in 2018 is 70 m high and 140 m across.
It is a steep walk up there. Take your time and don't cycle 60 Kms the same day. There are 2 routes from the car park or the camping car park.
One is 690 m at 19 % and the other is 1.5 km at 10% with views.
We selected the views for no other reason than to keep you happy with photos. We came down the steep route and it didn't look as bad. The 2nd photo of Paula coming up is the mild route but it looks like she was in sport mode as too quick for me to catch her.
Once over the bridge which swings a bit and wobbles (not that bad) there is another climb up steep steps to some tourist trap shops restaurant and bar 3.50 for 25cl if pression was tempting.
But a beer on a park bench on the way back looking like a tramp is our style !

So the Aire we are staying pont de l'arn is next a young children's well used playground with their adults with them.
You pay your 2 (yes two) euros for 2 adults per night via dropping an envelope in a door opposite the road.
We didn't have an envelope but had an old shopping list which was neatly folded up then registration number and date encompassed the coin.
What the wife didn't realise was I adjusted the shopping list. On top of beans, soup, celery etc there is now lube, Viagra and lingerie.
No idea if they will read it or translate it, but if they will have a laugh if they do.
What are those houses next to the playground about. They are 2 dimensional. Paintball ?

Mazamet aire was considered but at 13.50 (all inclusive) when we don't need electric and a really good alternative for 2 euros it was a no brainer for us.
However the location of the Aire for la passarelle and voie verte would be good considering how close it is to bottom of the climb for the swing bridge

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[Barchetta47]

Thanks for all these resources they are fantastic. We are currently returning from Morocco but early June we are off cycling following your recommendations.

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[suavecarve]

Thanks for all these resources they are fantastic. We are currently returning from Morocco but early June we are off cycling following your recommendations.

I didn't mention it but there is a via Ferrata that appears to start at the other end of the bridge. Didn't look at it too closely but think you death slide across the valley. Worth checking out if your personal insurance is up to date !

 

[suavecarve]

Link to all the other (so far) disused railway line voie vertes

The disused railway line and voie vert thread

As will be seen below we have found a number of Disused railway lines and voie verts (traffic free cycling routes) in France and the links are all below so you can go directly to one which fancy having a look at. It would be great if others added their routes and a link so there was just a one...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk