The most beautiful bike rides in the Gers

The Gers is a renowned nature destination . Its green hills, crisscrossed by the Way of St. James, are ideal for cycle touring. Numerous cycling routes are accessible: the Armagnac Greenway, Auch and its cycle path along the Banks of the Gers, the Baïse Valley Cycle Route, the French Divide cyclo-cross... Whether you're a fan of family bike rides, road cycling, or mountain biking, and whatever your level, you'll find what you're looking for. Come on, let's get on our bikes and let's go for a grand tour of the Gers!

The Armagnac Greenway

Between Condom and Lagraulet-du-Gers, this old railway line has been completely redeveloped to offer maximum comfort to its visitors: parking, reliable signs, picnic tables, well-maintained route, toilets, etc. It is well suited to family bike rides.

Starting from the episcopal city of Condom, this greenway allows you to explore the vineyards and valleys of Armagnac. Between countryside and forest, the setting is very pleasant. It also offers you beautiful panoramas of the fortified village of Larressingle, the Cluniac site of Mouchan, the castle of Cassaigne...

At the end of the road, in Lagraulet-du-Gers, the Au Galauzoue farm welcomes you for a relaxing time with your family. Little ones can try out the baby ponies (from 2 years old) and meet the farmyard animals. But there are many other surprises to discover, to delight young and old alike. For a different kind of cycling experience, you can also try the Vélorail de l'Armagnac, which is located nearby, in Nogaro.

The Baïse Valley Cycle Route

It enters the Gers region at Condom and takes part of the Armagnac greenway. It enters the heart of the Gers region at Vic-Fezensac, the town of bullfighting and the Landes race. Then it crosses the Gers countryside before continuing its route in the Hautes-Pyrénées…

Nicknamed the " Vélo-route des moulins ", it runs along the river, called the Baïse, and the mills that line it. You will also see beautiful locks, the most remarkable of which is the double lock of Graziac. On this route, you can admire the typical bastides of the Gers, such as Valence-sur-Baïse, Barran, Mirande... A well-marked detour is also suggested to you towards Auch.

The greenway of the Banks of the Gers in Auch

The greenway crosses the town of Auch, from north to south, along the banks of the Gers, from the Endoumingue bridge, to the stadium and the municipal swimming pool. It is very well equipped, with toilets and water points. If you want to take a break, you can stop at the Couloumé park or the Ortholan garden.

It crosses the old town and offers many viewpoints of its monuments. Moreover, Auch is a town that is easy to explore by bike, with well-signposted recommended routes, traffic arrangements with two-way cycle lanes and pedestrian areas.

The French Divide and the Ways of Saint James in the Gers

The French Divide is an ultra-long distance mountain bike race, completely self-sufficient, thanks to bike packing. It is inspired by the American Great Divide, which starts in Canada, passes through the United States and ends in New Mexico. These extreme road trips are developing all over the world. In France, it will cross France from the Belgian border to the Spanish border, for a first edition from August 7 to 21, 2021. To complete this adventure independently, you need good equipment. Bike packing is therefore a way of " fitting out " your bike to transport suitable equipment during a bike trip.

In the Gers region, the French Divide will follow the Way of St. James, which will take participants to Spain. These routes offer many advantages: signage, accommodation and food along the way, notable tourist attractions, and, of course, the hospitality of the Gers region...

On this long route, at the gateway to Gascony, you can visit Lectoure and spend a lovely evening at the Ferme des Étoiles, La Romieu and its famous collegiate church, the episcopal city of Condom, Montréal-du-Gers, Eauze and its ancient capital...

Cycling tours around Isle-Jourdain

A little further south, around Isle-Jourdain, roads have been developed for the transport of the A380. Inaccessible to cars, they were subsequently rehabilitated as greenways . You will find many of them in the region. Nearby, there is also the Via Tolosana, part of the Way of Saint James, starting from Arles and passing through Toulouse, which offers beautiful hiking opportunities.

The Isle-Jourdain greenway reaches Sainte-Livrade, on the edge of Haute-Garonne. To extend the walk, you can take the road to Ségoufielle, towards Toulouse. In Isle-Jourdain, you can visit the Embazac donkey farm, which produces donkey milk products and welcomes you to its farm.

Our tips

It's not always easy to visualize a route . Fortunately, tourist offices are there to make your life easier:

• The Gers tourist office provides you with an interactive map.
• The Gascogne Toulousaine tourist office will help you discover L'Isle-Jourdain and its surrounding areas.
• The Lomagne Bastides Tourist Office also offers mountain bike trails.
• The Auch tourist office lists various routes: GR, electric bike or even by car.
• To entertain the children on the journey, you can use the Randoland information sheets from the D'Artagnan en Fezensac tourist office.

Other sites are also very useful:

• Routeyou is a multi-criteria search engine to find the route that suits you.
• If you want even more, 16 circuits have been referenced by the site ladepeche.fr .

Broken down? Or simply don't want to carry the whole family's bikes when you're only planning a day's ride? The easiest way is to rent them on site. Between Condom and Lectoure, La Collégiale de La Romieu rents bikes, with all the safety equipment, as well as circuits and advice! In Auch, you'll also find a rental agency: Cyclomouv.

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Article written by Stéphanie Tempier for the Gers Guide.