Once again the four intrepid international cyclists – Roger,
Gerard, Tom, and David, planned and executed another week-long bike adventure
in France.
This time we chose the Canal du Midi, a 17-century
engineering marvel designed to shorten the distance between the Mediterranean
and the Atlantic. The canal provides a
link between the City of Toulouse, on the Garonne River, and the ëtang de Thau,
a lagoon of the Mediterranean. The
Garonne River flows through Bordeaux into the Atlantic, so the idea was that
barges pulled by animals could go from the Mediterranean, through the Canal du
Midi to the Garonne River, and then down the river to the Atlantic. The barges could load and discharge cargo at
any of the many cities and towns along the way as well.
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| Pierre-Paul Riquet 1609-1680 |
The canal had been a dream since antiquity, with the
existing canal the brain-child of Pierre-Paul Riquet. M. Riquet was wealthy retired tax-collector
who, at the age of 58, and with the help of influential people in Toulouse,
secured the financing from the court of Louis XIV. The project would take 14 years, employ up to
14,000 workers, and require financial assistance from M. Riquet himself. The
canal was finally completed in 1681, unfortunately about 7 months after the
death of M. Riquet.
A number of engineering problems had to be solved, including
sources of water for the canal, crossing over or under several rivers,
etc. With ingenious ideas, solutions were
found, and the canal was built. Over the years it was improved and even parts
of it re-routed.
It proved a success, and carried cargo barges until the
1970’s. The coming of the railroads in
the 19th century saw a decline in the canal’s use however. It is now used exclusively by tourist barges
and boats.
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| Off to the South of France! |
We noted with dismay during the drive that wind was blowing
strongly from the east, which would be in our faces when biking. But the
tow-path is now a good place for bikers and walkers who want to follow the
240km+ canal – or so we thought!
One problem for us was the distance from Lyon – we had to
get four men and four bikes transported by car to Toulouse, the western end of
the canal. We left on a Wednesday, stopping for a bad lunch at one of the restaurants
on the Autoroute The trip took a day, so we stayed overnight at the Hotel Alizë in a neighborhood only about a half-mile from the canal and about a mile from
the railroad station. We visited a bar
for a beer on arrival, then walked a mile and a half into the center of town,
had a nice dinner at the Café de l’Opera, and walked back to the hotel.
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