We live in the departement of the Aude in southwest France.  This area is rich in megalithic monuments:  Principally Menhirs (single stones that stick up out of the ground) and Dolmens (burial chambers that had stones for walls and horizontal stones for the roof).   

I love these monuments, even though I am in no way an expert on pre-history.  I like the Menhirs the most because I can actually see them.  Most Dolmens look like a pile of stones to me.  You can tell that I'm not a very serious student of these things.

What I love about them is the places they're found in.  They're sometimes right in the middle of towns, with people passing by giving them no thought.  Others are out in the middle of nowhere, where no one ever goes.  I can't explain it very well, but I love the idea that a remnant of people from so long ago still survives right around us.    The juxtaposition of something so old with our modern world just resonates with me.  

For this tour, I used the "Megalithic Portal"  (megalithic.co.uk) to find menhirs and dolmens that were within reach of my house.   I ended up with a sweet ride of 3 days and 2 nights, with reasonable hotels for each night.  (My back won’t let me camp anymore, unfortunately)   I plotted the ride out using RideWithGPS and I was good to go.

As far as avoiding getting killed by trigger-happy hunters, I can proudly state that I'm the only cyclist in this area who has a Bear Bell on his mountain bike.   No one here has a clue about these things, but as a native Californian I know how to warn mountain predators of my approach.  Mail-ordered from the US, my Bear Bell hangs proudly from my handlebars and when I'm out in the countryside it's usually ringing like crazy to warn of my approach.

Hasn't failed me yet...haha.