Bordeaux-Libourne was my first semi-long ride in France, in late September of 2017. It was one of the rare non-rainy days in Bordeaux, and since I lived in centre-ville at the time it only took a half-hour to get out into the countryside.

This was also around the time I was first getting acquainted with the bike I’d ride in France (an 80s Mercier with downtube shifters). The branches on that route are largely accidental, but given that it was in fact the Bordeaux countryside, I wasn’t much bothered.

The thing about riding in France is that it’s about as beautiful as you’d expect, which is to say very. Besides the literal castles and swooping vineyards, there’s also just this feeling of timelessness, a bucolic sort of freedom from expectations. All of the Bordeaux region looks similar from a bike, a muted sea of sand-colored buildings and cobblestone. A place where even when it’s not raining, it kind of looks like it’s raining. But enough of waxing poetic, here are some photos:

The ride itself was pretty uneventful exercise-wise, but the view of the bridge coming into Libourne was spectacular. The city itself is cute, I think there was a good coffee stop in there somewhere. This was also where I first realized that I’d begun wayfinding based on church spires. A lot of Bordeaux-area buildings are fairly low and densely packed, especially near cities, and church spires stand out. In Bordeaux proper that’s Saint-Michel, but in the photo above with the two roads, you can see the local spire on the left-hand side.

The water was gorgeous and riding over the bridge filled me with a certain wonder. I would have liked to be on my own bike, but the ride was great and I’d recommend it as a first foray into the region.

Page last updated 30 March 2023