Читать книгу The Grand Traverse of the Massif Central. by mountain bike, road bike or on foot онлайн

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This guidebook divides the GTMC into 17 stages, each of which the average mountain biker should accomplish in a day. The stages are, however, easy to adjust, as in most areas there are other accommodation possibilities, which allow the cyclist to split his or her days as required.

Those who wish to sample only a section of the GTMC can do so by making use of the railway stations en route, the main ones of which are at Clermont-Ferrand, Neussargues, Saint-Flour, Montpellier and Sète. The GTMC can be split into two approximately equal halves by leaving or joining the route at Bagnols-les-Bains, the nearest main railway station to which is at the town of Mende, 20km by road from Bagnols, although there is a smaller station at the village of Allenc, 10km away.

GR trails and GR de Pays

The GTMC uses a variety of different designated routes, including a considerable number of grandes randonnées (or GR trails), which are well known to walkers of the French countryside. France has a very extensive network of these official long-distance paths (literally ‘big walks’), each of which has a number, for example GR7 or GR65, and is waymarked with a system of red and white paint marks.