Cycle Tour Canal des 2 mers - Mediterranean route - Cycle route Switzerland-Mediterranean

The night I slept very well, the bed was good and it was quiet in the room. After a good breakfast I had a longer conversation with my landlady. Of course about cycling, but also about cycling in Lille, about changes that rental bikes have brought for the local residents, about life in Lille and about the operation of the Chambres d'Hôtes.

My TGV left at 11:13 am from Lille-Europe train station. From the accommodation it was only a few hundred meters to get there and I was early in the station building. There is a piano in the station hall. Waiting travelers used it and entertained the others at the same time. As always with French TGVs, the platform will not be announced until fifteen or twenty minutes before departure. I used the elevator to get down to the platform. There, I even found an electronic display board showing the order of railway carriages and I could position myself correctly on the platform.

We left on time and arrived in Paris on time. The TGV traveled the 258 kilometers in 61 minutes.

From Paris-Nord train station to Paris-Montparnasse train station, I rode my bike. From Paris-Nord I cycled almost straight to the Seine island Île de la Cité. Often against the direction of the one-way street, but that's in many cases allowed in Paris. I reached the island at the Palais de la Cité, the former Royal Palace and today's Palace of Justice. Shortly thereafter I reached the cathedral Notre-Dame, which I only looked at from the outside. From there I continued cycling southwest past the Jardin du Luxembourg to Gare Montparnasse. This route is almost 8 km long and I have cycled it in about 40 minutes.

In the meantime I am bit familiar with the situation inside the railway station and I immediately made use of the large elevator at the east corner of the main entrance to get onto the departure level. There I again waited in the crowd for the announcement of the departure platform. The process of getting into the TGV had changed since the last time. At the beginning of the platform now there were a number of turnstiles, where the passengers' tickets were checked. I quickly realized that I would not be able to get through the turnstiles with my bike and luggage bags. But while pushing the bike it was also difficult to cross through the crowd of people. I turned to the left. At the edge of the turnstiles, a railway employee was giving information and there seemed to be space to get through the barrier with the bike. I was wrong, though. The second turnstile on the right had excess width and I had to get through the crowd back to the other side. This procedure was a bit annoying. Hints for wheelchair users and cyclists I did not notice.

In the railway carriage, I found a decent parking space for two bicycles. A bike was already there and right next to it sat its owner. I stowed my bike and luggage in the remaining space. Still boarding passengers wanted to leave their luggage next to the bicycles. The other cyclist immediately urged that this space is for cyclists only.

With speeds up to 320 km / h the train traveled to Bordeaux. Without a stop, it needed two hours and four minutes for the 618 kilometers. This corresponds to an average speed from platform to platform of 298.5 km / h. This is the way you can probably keep people from flying.

My train part was uncoupled in Bordeaux. So I had enough time to get out. Shortly after leaving the platform I received a text message from my fellow cyclist Heinrich that he will arrive at the station shortly after 16:00 clock from a trip. We agreed on a meeting point and I waited for his arrival.

Heinrich had already arrived in Bordeaux yesterday. By train from Dresden to Nuremberg, from there by Flixbus to Paris and from Paris by TGV to Bordeaux. At the train station in Bordeaux then the small disaster. His bicycle was blocked with a lot of luggage of other travelers. And the railway carriage should continue to Biarritz. Frantically he succeeded to "dig out" the bike and his own luggage before departure of the train. Bicycle put on the platform, bicycle bag fetched. Done! The TGV left the station. Bicycle bag attached to the bike. Second bicycle bag..... ?? Left in the train! A friendly conductor phoned his colleague in the train. The bag was found and was told to be picked up in Dax at the railway station. With the regional express (TER) Heinrich traveled to Dax. The first railroad employee he encountered in Dax was instantly aware. The bicycle bag was back to its owner. Remained the return to Bordeaux. And already a lot of the afternoon was over.

From the train station in Bordeaux to the accommodation it was about three kilometers. Easy to find thanks to the GPS device and also good to cycle. In the early evening we went to the old town on foot. From the landlord we had a short list of restaurant recommendations. After dinner, we strolled through the neighborhood around the Place de la Bourse and then on the banks of the Garonne to the Fête du Vin. Along the banks of the Garonne were large ships. The most impressive was the Kruzenshtern from Russia. On the waterfront, one wine stall next to the other. In between are food trucks, stalls from local food producers and bodegas.