Le canal des 2 mers à vélo: which way and when to ride
The best month for Le canal des 2 mers à vélo is October: 80% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C. In October the wind barely favours either direction — on average 0.1 km/h along the route (ERA5 2006–2025, daytime 9:00–18:00).
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40% | 23% | 75 | 10 °C | 0% | 47% | 9.2 † |
| February | 58% | 21% | 55 | 12 °C | 0% | 28% | 10.4 † |
| March | 70% | 24% | 68 | 15 °C | 0% | 10% | 11.8 |
| April | 76% | 24% | 66 | 18 °C | 0% | 1% | 13.4 |
| May | 73% | 25% | 77 | 21 °C | 2% | 0% | 14.7 |
| June | 67% | 19% | 62 | 25 °C | 15% | 0% | 15.5 |
| July | 60% | 10% | 36 | 28 °C | 32% | 0% | 15.2 |
| August | 60% | 11% | 42 | 28 °C | 31% | 0% | 14.0 |
| September | 72% | 16% | 53 | 25 °C | 12% | 0% | 12.4 |
| October | 80% | 19% | 74 | 20 °C | 1% | 1% | 10.9 † |
| November | 64% | 26% | 82 | 14 °C | 0% | 14% | 9.6 † |
| December | 49% | 21% | 67 | 11 °C | 0% | 36% | 8.9 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Royan → Sète, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Royan → Sète | Headwind > 15 km/h, Sète → Royan | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +3.1 | 5% | 15% | Royan → Sète |
| February | +3.0 | 8% | 17% | Royan → Sète |
| March | +2.8 | 10% | 18% | Royan → Sète |
| April | +2.1 | 10% | 13% | Royan → Sète |
| May | +4.2 | 6% | 17% | Royan → Sète |
| June | +3.7 | 4% | 11% | Royan → Sète |
| July | +5.2 | 3% | 13% | Royan → Sète |
| August | +4.6 | 3% | 11% | Royan → Sète |
| September | +2.8 | 5% | 10% | Royan → Sète |
| October | +0.1 | 10% | 8% | either |
| November | +1.7 | 8% | 13% | either |
| December | +1.6 | 6% | 13% | either |
Stages
The route is split into 6 stages of about 100–150 km between towns; each stage has its own page.
| Stage | km | Best month | Tailwind Royan → Sète in October, km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Royan → Blaye | 102 | October | −0.2 |
| 2. Blaye → La Réole | 126 | October | +0.2 |
| 3. La Réole → Moissac | 124 | October | +0.2 |
| 4. Moissac → Villefranche-de-Lauragais | 110 | October | −0.7 |
| 5. Villefranche-de-Lauragais → Capestang | 142 | October | +0.5 |
| 6. Capestang → Sète | 73 | May | +0.4 |
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.