Description
Book SynopsisA guide to mountainbiking, cycling or walking the GTMC, Grande Traversée du Massif Central, in southern France, from Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne to Montpellier and Sête on the Mediterranean. The GTMC is a long-distance mountain biking trail that crosses the entire Massif Central in France visiting all of the major regions, including the Auvergne with its chain of volcanic puys in the Monts-Dôme and Monts-Dore ranges, the Cézallier plateau and the remote Margeride, home of the French Resistance in the Second World War, the high forested hills of the Cévennes National Park, made famous by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, and finally the dry limestone hills bordering the coastal Mediterranean plain. Much of the route is off-road and uses many Grandes Randonnées, so it also makes an excellent walking route. Just over 700km in length it offers a challenge and a thorough exploration of one of southern France's most beautiful and historically interesting regions. The route is described in 17 stages, with maps for off-road and on-road routes, making it suitable for both expert and novice bikers, with full details of facilities and places of interest en route and other useful data for planning the trip.
Table of ContentsRoute summary table INTRODUCTION A Long Distance Mountain Bike Trail A GTMC for Road Cyclists Walking the GTMC Climate - When to Go Supported or Unsupported Travelling to and from the Region Accommodation Food and Water Equipment Maps Waymarking Training Health Snakes Emergencies Language Money/Banks/Telephone Insurance Public Holidays and Time Using this Guidebook TRAIL GUIDE Stage 1 Clermont-Ferrand to Laschamp Stage 2 Laschamp to Murol Stage 3 Murol to La Godivelle Stage 4 La Godivelle to Allanche Stage 5 Allanche to Saint-Flour Stage 6 Saint-Flour to Paulhac-en-Margeride Stage 7 Paulhac-en-Margeride to Le Girald#xe8;s Stage 8 Le Girald#xe8;s to Bagnols-les-Bains Stage 9 Bagnols-les-Bains to Le Pont-de-Montvert Stage 10 Le Pont-de-Montvert to Sainte-Énimie Stage 11 Sainte-Énimie to Cabrillac Stage 12 Cabrillac to Dourbies Stage 13 Dourbies to La Couvertoirade Stage 14 La Couvertoirade to La Vacquerie et St-Martin-de-Castries Stage 15 La Vacquerie et St-Martin-de-Castries to Saint-Jean-de-Fos Stage 16 Saint-Jean-de-Fos to Montpellier Stage 17 Montpellier to S#xe8;te Stage Maps for the Road Bike Alternative Appendix A Budget Accommodation along the GTMC Appendix B Other Long Distance Trails along the GTMC Appendix C Further Reading Appendix D Useful Contacts
