The Grand Traverse of the Massif Central. Alan Castle
522 (Limousin), 526 (Languedoc-Roussillon).
Free city maps, available from tourist offices in Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier, are useful for negotiating your way out of these cities, after which they can be discarded.
Both IGN and Michelin maps can be ordered from several British outlets (see Appendix F, Useful Contacts), or bought from numerous bookshops and newsagents locally in France. Always ensure that you are buying the latest edition.
Road Numbering
A word of caution: the road-numbering system in France is undergoing long-term reorganisation, and several road numbers will eventually change, which may include some of those in this guidebook, but vigilance, common sense and using the latest editions of maps should avoid any uncertainty. Readers can help by writing to or e-mailing the publishers if they spot any road numbers that need to be amended in the next edition (see the Advice to readers’ for details).
Waymarking
The majority of the GTMC has standard waymarks. These consist of a square waymark with a white background on which is a red equilateral triangle next to two red circles. Alongside these symbols are the letters GT, followed by ‘Grande Traversée du Massif Central’. The majority of these waymarks are either 12 × 12cm or 10 × 10cm in size, but some are smaller. Other mountain biking or cycling trails have the same ‘triangle and two circles’ waymark symbol, but these are in a variety of colours (for example black, yellow, brown) other than red, and do not include the words ‘Grande Traversée du Massif Central’. These waymarks often carry the letters VTT (‘Vélo Tout Terrain’) and FFC (‘Fédération Française de Cyclisme’), and are found on fences, walls, posts, telegraph poles, trees and so on.
Waymarking on the GTMC (Stage 1)
Waymarking of the route is generally of a high standard – usually quite frequent and well placed – so you should have few problems with navigation. But do bear in mind that, over time, signs can be damaged, moved, hidden, stolen, or lost for a variety of reasons (tree-felling is just one), so always be alert. Waymarking, of course, can never be perfect, and no doubt there will be times when you are having difficulty finding the route, and there will be no helpful waymarks to assist you, whereas it always seems that when the trail is obvious, there is an abundance of waymarks!
There is no GTMC waymarking for the first few kilometres of the route – from the centre of Clermont-Ferrand to Durtol on its outskirts. Thereafter the standard waymarking system is used all the way until a little after La Couvertoirade on Stage 14, with the exception of the central zone of the Cévennes National Park, where GTMC waymarking is prohibited. The GTMC enters and leaves the park on several occasions during Stages 9 to 13 (this is shown clearly on the maps in this book), when special care must be taken with route-finding. However, following the route description in this book, together with careful map and compass work, should result in a straightforward passage though these areas. Remember too that waymarking of GR, GR de Pays, horse-riding trails and PR trails (see below) does continue in the park, which helps greatly in the absence of GTMC waymarks.
Soon after La Couvertoirade the GTMC waymarking described above ends, but is replaced by waymarking for the GT34 – the Grande Traversée de l'Hérault – with which the GTMC is coincident until Saint-Jean-de-Fos, at the end of Stage 15. This waymarking is quite different from that described above. Each waymark now consists of a short green post bearing a GT34 and Hérault region stickers.
From Saint-Jean-de-Fos to La Paillaide, on the outskirts of Montpellier, Stage 16, the GTMC is coincident with the GR653, which bears the standard red and white waymarking of a GR trail. Some sections of this trail are very difficult for a mountain bike, so if you decide to avoid them, don't follow the red and white flashes in these areas, but follow the road bike alternative route instead.
Waymark post for GTMC and GT34 (Stage 14)
From La Paillaide, near the end of Stage 16, through Montpellier and on to the Mediterranean coast at Sète, the end of the Stage 17, the GTMC carries no waymarking. However, this is not a problem, as a free city map, available from tourist offices, will allow easy navigation through Montpellier, and after that the route-finding along the Canal du Rhône is very straightforward.
It is important to be able to recognise the various other waymarking systems that are used to indicate routes in the French countryside. The standard waymarking used by the FFRP (Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre – see Appendix F, Useful Contacts) for long-distance GR trails consists of red and white paint flashes, with various arrangements of red and white lines signifying different instructions. Two sets of red/white marks appearing together indicate that a change of direction is imminent – this is often in the form of curved red and white markings pointing towards the new direction to be taken.
A painted cross, usually of one red and one white line, signals that the route is not in that direction – go back to pick up the correct trail. Remember also that all GR trails are waymarked with red and white flashes. In areas where two GR routes meet, or where a variant leaves the main route, care should be taken to follow the correct GR Trail. The GR65, which is encountered at Le Sauvage (Stage 7), is the trail to Santiago in Spain, and carries a stylised pilgrim's shell as well as the usual red/white waymarks.
Occasionally you will see other waymarks: GR de Pays are red and yellow, whereas PR trails are usually single yellow, or sometimes green or blue stripes. Orange waymarks are for horse-riding trails – they sometimes occur in the shape of a hoof-print.
Certain notices should also be understood. ‘Propriété privée’ or ‘Défense d'entrer’ means that the area is private and entry forbidden. The signs ‘Réserve du chasse’ and ‘Chasse privée’ do not refer to mountain bikers or walkers, but mean that hunting rights are reserved for the owner of the land.
Signposts showing the distance in kilometres to the next place on the route will also be encountered from time to time, These usually carry self-explanatory symbols indicating the location of a gîte d'étape, campsite, café or restaurant.
From time to time the route of a trail may change. This can be for a variety of reasons – to improve the route, to avoid problems such as a land slip or an eroded path, or sometimes at the request of a landowner. As time goes on, there may be changes to the line of the GTMC such that the route described in this guidebook is not always the one on the ground – if this is the case, always follow the waymarks rather than trying to find the route described here, until the original route is re-joined.
Training
Those who cycle (whether on a mountain bike or road bike) regularly, or walk in the hills of Britain, should have no difficulty on the GTMC. However, if you haven't taken any exercise for some time, a programme of training in the months preceding the trip would be sensible – an unfit person would find the ride or walk a great strain, and miss out on much of the enjoyment of the experience. Remember too that the three activities covered in this guidebook – mountain biking, road cycling and long-distance walking – use different muscles and require different skills, so be sure that you are well prepared for whichever method you choose to travel the GTMC.
Cyclists who have done little off-road mountain biking would be well advised to practise as much as possible on off-road routes, starting a minimum of six months before setting off on the GTMC. Begin with short rides, then full day rides, and finally a weekend or preferably week of off-road cycling. Get as much training as you can on moderately difficult terrain, where there are tree roots, muddy ruts and rough stones on the surface, and where some of the ascents/descents are steep. However, do not worry if your previous mountain biking experience is mainly confined to relatively easy off-road tracks. Take things easy, and never attempt a section on your bike