Great early-season cycling in the Montagne Noir

We had a great June in the area, and covered a lot of road with our racing bikes. We’ve ridden most of the roads in the western Montagne Noir (west of Carcassonne), and they are beautiful: rolling hills, very little to no traffic,  and a good part of the ride under the trees. The roads are mostly in good shape, with a few bumpy ones, but nothing serious.

Up in the Montagne Noir the weather is always a few degrees cooler, making it very pleasant once the temperatures get warmer. The weather in June was still a little bit cooler and covered skies worked to keep the temperature around an agreeable 20 C most of the time.

The descents from the hills are often spectacular, with views of the entire valley where Carcassonne is located, and the Pyrenees in the distance- a great reward for the work done going uphill! Most of our rides this time were in the 35-60km range with around 500-1100m of altitude.