Veronica 10

Millau to Nant to Le Vigan to Nimes via St Dezery

The last legs of our route.  

Nant is a small town with a very lovely old church. It is quite small and modest and by putting €2 in a slot you  can have it illuminated and a recording of Gregorian chants played

At Le Vigan we stayed in a B and B run by a couple of guys, both artists.   It was way up in the hills and we had a lovely modern room.  They served us breakfast in the garden. We wondered where the cups were for our tea and coffee then realised we had put our fruit and yoghurt in the bowls intended for our drinks.  They kindly provided more of course 

The journey to our hotel in Nimes was a nightmare. It is a tribute to Willem that he kept his cool.  The GPS does not have the latest street layouts and 'Jane' had us trapped in a circular one way system or up against barriers blocking our way.   We seemed to be followed by and following people with the same problem. Eventually Willem spotted our hotel and parked illegally while I walked there, got a street map which indicated the one way roads and we made it. I won't even begin to describe the hassles of finding a petrol station or the car park to drop off the rental car.  Willem now has  Man U and QPR on TV and is relaxing with a beer.  Our hotel is opposite a large well preserved amphitheatre   I am relaxing on the bed looking out at it.  Tomorrow off to the Tourist info and sight seeing.

Monday there was a huge thunderstorm in the morning.   Later we visited the Jardins de La Fontaine, the temple of Diana and the Tour Magna, an ancient tower on a hill looking out over the town.  

Tuesday early was a good time to visit the Arena, the large Roman amphitheatre which was built at the end of the first century. It has survived because it has had a multitude of uses over its lifetime. A fort, a gated community, a bullring and a concert venue.  As it is opposite our hotel while write this it is the only thing I see from my window.

Nimes was famous for textile manufacturing mainly in wool and silk.  Later cotton was imported and indigo dye from Italy.   Serge de Nimes was developed, a strong blue fabric. This was exported as 'blue de Genes' (Genoan blue) which became blue jeans in New York when  imported.  Levi Strauss bought a batch of cloth 'de Nimes'   The batch number was 501. 

Wednesday morning off to the Maison Carree,a Roman temple. It also has survived having been used as a private house, stables, a granary and even considered by the duchess of Uzes as a tomb for her husband. Latterly as archives and a museum. It has been beautifully restored. There was an informative film of the history of Nimes. It seems that Nimes was not so much built by the Romans as with Roman money in the form of a war chest given in appreciation of the local people supporting the Romans in their war with the Gauls in the north. 

Then to the Carree  d' Artes the museum of contemporary art. It was designed by Norman Foster who designed the viaduct at Millau. I am used to Willem making disparaging remarks about much modern art. This time however I had to agree when one exhibit was a piece of diagonal trellis partially stained.  I wonder what that was about?  The Museum of Belles Arts had an amazing Roman mosaic which was uncovered in the 1800's when they were building  the covered markets

Something was happening at the Arena we were not sure what.   Barriers erected, tents along the streets for food and drinks and a band playing. A small party of elderly ladies and their carers were listening to the band and some of them dancing. It was very touching. We listened to the band until the rain came. 

With difficulty we chose a restaurant from the many in the old city. At dinner the waitress dropped my dessert upside down on the table. Truly an apple tart tartin.   It was very funny and we enjoyed a big laugh together.   On our way home the Arena was quiet. Tomorrow and at the weekend there are Bullfights!! Thank goodness we will not be here for that.  

In the morning we pick up a rental car and drive to St Dezery to meet Shalini, Willem and co at the villa

Veronica 9

Auriliac to  Entraygues sur Truyere
Packed our gear and left it by reception. Headed off in search of the rental car Willem had ordered.  At the address he had there was no sign of rental cars. We called into an office where two young English speaking people were really helpful. She made a phone call to find the rental company  and the young man drove us to collect it.  A very nice Renault Megane.

Two door knockers, the high one for the 

visitor on horseback.

Truyere street

We drove to  Entraygues and had lunch by the river Lot, where it joins the Truyere.
Another nice old town.  Cosy hotel and a good dinner

Entraygues sur Truyere to Laissac

We drove through a gorge along the Lot river. At Estaing we visited the  chateau which had been 8
hundred years in the Estaing family then seized by the state in 1794 .  In 1836 it became the mother
house of the religious congregation of St Joseph d' Estaing. It was ceded to the city in 2000. It is
being renovated by,and is now the property of,the foundation Valery Giscard d'Estaing.   Interesting to see the drawings showing how it had been added to over the centuries by the people  living there.

A few additions...

We drove to Espalion  another old town on the river with an ancient bridge then  to Bozouls. This is a fascinating place built around a canyon. Buildings  right on the edge and just a few, deep in the bottom of the canyon near the river.

We followed the road to Rodez, to Salles la Source and Marcillac. We then backtracked to pick up the proposed bike route to Laussac. It was lovely with ups and long downs. Willem had chosen a good route.
Luckily we arrived here in Laissac AFTER the cattle market which is held every Tuesday morning and is the second biggest in France.
At dinner we were given the English menu, always fun. I chose 'calf undercut with sprinkles ', just because I wanted to know what it could possibly be. it was a tasty veal escalope with fresh garlic and parsley

Laissac to Millau

Once again we took the 'bike route'. The long initial climb was followed by a ridge road. The descent into  Millau was long...... However a lovely car journey too.  The viaduct is breathtaking we can see it from our cabin and tomorrow we will have a closer look

It  is amazing, a drive to the northern end and walk to the view point  allowed us to take in the size of it and watch the traffic whizz over. Then we saw a video of the construction in English. At its highest point it is 340m.
After lunch we took a drive to the valley which allowed us to look up at the enormous structure. Also in the valley is the village of Peyre.

 Many of the oldest buildings are built into the rock  face. In ancient times there were cave dwellings and recently tools, artefacts and remains were found. One large cave was in later times was closed in at the front and became the initial church. It was hot walking in the steep streets and passages and we stopped for a drink at a Gite. I had a very nice chat to the lady ( in French) about her vegetable garden which looked very productive. Lovely to sit on a terrace on the ancient rocky hillside and look at the elegant, modern viaduct spanning the valley in front of us.

Veronica 8

Ussel to Mauriac

Four preconceptions of the journey
- the route through the gorge of Dordogne would be  very taxing
- the weather would be  hot
- the water at the hotel was so awful that our morning tea thermos would be undrinkable
- Mauriac being built on the side of an ancient volcano ( think Taranaki)  would make it a    steep climb at the end.
Four facts about the journey
- there were climbs but not too  bad and the descents were long, long, long and fantastic
- it was overcast and cool, almost too cool on the longest descent
- the tea tasted fine with the 4 sugar lumps I had pocketed at breakfast!
- nothing like Mt Taranaki

Mauriac to  Aurillac

It was a clear blue sky today. We were soon in pretty country.  Wonderful down hill and grunting uphill (me).

My leader doesn't even break into a sweat.   Lots of trees, steep paddocks and cattle.  Here they have bells on so riding  along you hear them,  all different tones.  In Mauriac yesterday we saw a shop which sold only cow bells. All sizes. I wonder if there is a bovine hierarchy ?  'My bell is bigger than your bell'.
I will leave Willem to describe the rest of the ride.  I will just say that by lunch time I was
'afgeknoedeld'!  That is a Dutch word and more polite than many I could use in English.
It was a nice  surprise to get here to our hotel by 3pm.

 We had a beer, shopped for tomorrow and now are showered and relaxing. Willem hoping to find football on TV.    Yesterday we became engrossed in the  Pétanque Masters which was being played somewhere in the South of France.  We were delighted to get back from dinner in time to watch the final which was won by a team from Madagascar.   Amazing accuracy,such skill.

Aurillac

I made a big decision overnight.  Yesterday's big hill was hard though I made it and recovered well. However I am now concerned about being  on a road somewhere in the mountains and not able to cope if we get several like that in a day. When we started this journey the idea was to have folding bikes so that if I wanted to, we could get a train or hire a car.   We are now in a town with both a train
station and rental cars and the temptation to call it a day is too much. We are disappointed  but am sure it is the right thing to do.

The experience has been fantastic. I have challenged my body more than ever before in it's 67 years.   Willem has been great, taking on a novice biker, coaching me along and supporting my decision to stop.

France 6

Bike day 21,
Is from Ussel to Mauriac, and it takes us down the Dordogne valleys and along the most beautiful gorges. Riding out of Ussel, we climb on some quite busy roads and the prospect of a relaxed ride seem to be misplaced. It is overcast and at 800 m above sea level it is quite cool. After about 10 km we leave the farms behind and ride into the forests and the very gentle descents go on for ever and ever !
The road gently descents into the gorges hugging the side of the mountain with glimpses of the river a long way down. The river systems in this area are dammed with a number of major dams, for hydro power generation. The narrow gorges with steep wooded sides create the long narrow lakes. We just roll along, hardly needing to brake or peddle for over 20 km, slowly getting closer to the water, which is perfectly flat and still, reflecting the opposing mountains and forest.

We reach the suspension bridge to get us to the other side and we climb the 20 or so km with the same gentle grade out of this beautiful area to Mauriac. If this is mountain riding, then bring it on ! We arrive at Mauriac early afternoon having enjoyed every meter of the journey. A lovely hotel awaits us and after the usual cleanup we have a stroll around the old town and relax at a cafe terrace with a drink in the warm afternoon sun.

Bike day 22,
Starts well, with a good breakfast of serial, yoghurt and fruit, followed by the  baguette, croissant and the usual pan au chocolate. The map does not give much away and it looks like following the main road for much of the way. Well if a contrast with yesterday was ordered it could not have been any worse. The road crosses a number of ridges, with long steep climbs and plunges into the next valley.

It is very hard going for Veronica and although she is getting stronger every day, this is going to be a
real test for her. We stop frequently, it is full sun and hot, drinks and snacks at regular intervals. We find the first rest area of the trip, half way down a long steep descent and enjoy our hot drinks we make from the thermos we carry. It is very tiring as the long fast descents don't last long enough to recover from the long steep climb that came before. Veronica is fading fast and we sit in the grass to have lunch and a rest. Back up those seemingly never ending hills, the biggest one which turned out to be the last, has a section of 8% for 3 km. Veronica's fear of not lasting the day was forgotten when
the last 10 km turned out to be mostly downhill.

The ride itself was quite spectacular, with views of the central massif coming closer and the wide expanse of the valleys with distant views of chateaux, farms and forests.

The arrival at the hotel in Aurillac was a great relief and after a well earned beer, a walk to the supermarket for tomorrows supplies ( being Sunday) and a lay down for Veronica before dinner.  The ride was 51 km and took us 3 1/2 hours, with a respectable 14.4 km/h average. We climbed 920 m and descended 1009 m, so we actually lost some altitude.
It is early to bed tonight, as Veronica went deeper than ever before, but her recovery is good and we plan an early start for tomorrow to avoid as much heat of the day as possible

Bike day 23,
 I wake early around 5 am and find Veronica wide awake. The road ahead is not going to be any
easier, if not harder, and the plan includes the option of folding up the bikes and continue by train or car.  That is the option Veronica has decided to take, a sensible one, but disappointing for both of us. We have biked 1,316.5 km, climbed a total of 9,727 m, in all sorts of weather and it is an achievement to be proud of.

We loved the bikes which held up very well, had no breakdowns at all, or any flat tyres.
First things first, book another night here, cancel the reservation ahead and check for a one way hire car. It is all possible, but the rental car place is closed on Sunday so we will be on our way again on Monday, but the biking is over.

France 5

Bike Day 18 was a doddle, at just 23.3 km and 421 m climbing, mind you some of it was reasonably steep.
The weather is fantastic at the moment and is forecast to continue like this for another week.
As we get to the higher altitude, the sun is warm but it is just pleasantly warm but not hot.
Also the wind is favourable which is great and unusual for a biker, but we are not complaining. We arrived in Gueret before midday and the hotel was a motorway type hotel were people can check in at any time of the day. Great place for long distance drivers, and early arriving bikers. It is air conditioned and very modern, with a sister hotel of the budget variety across the road which has the communal restaurant.
Bike day 19 took us to Aubusson, which was much longer at 57.4 km. The climb out of Gueret was the biggest one to date, and it nearly got the better of Veronica. It was a baptism by fire and she wasn't quite prepared for an seemingly endless climb although it was only about 6 km long but with grades of over 10%.

It was a case of mind over matter, and once I convinced Veronica to relax, her fear seemed to subside and the worst was over. It was all forgotten after the long and gentle downhills that followed. I call them rewards, or km for free, after the effort of getting up there. This day we set the record of almost 1000 m climbing in one day. It was a much more gentle ride after this initial climb and Veronica was much happier and relaxed about it. The traffic is incredible considerate, especially comparing it to NZ driving behaviour. The roads are narrow especially in small rural villages and often the roads meet at very sharp angles. Stone buildings right on the corners block the view of the crossroad until one is right there. Drivers stop and look before driving across and if we meet, most drivers will waive us on and wait for us to pass. The GPS set on the shortest route and avoiding major roads, takes us along the smallest and quietest roads but also gets us in the most awkward situations as we arrive in the town of our destination. At Aubusson, which is quite a large medieval town, it took us down a very narrow street, so steep we had to walk down while holding the brakes to prevent the bikes from crashing down on their own.

Then after we crossed an old stone bridge over the river and in order to avoid the main road, it directed us up an alleyway, which turned out to have narrow steps around the back of the main street.There was no way we could have gotten up there with our bikes.

Abandoning that route we ended up right at the corner of the street where our hotel was situated, more by good luck than judgement.
One thing that happens when one travels in total ignorance, is the surprises one gets when arriving at these incredible destinations. Aubusson is famous for it's tapestries which have been produced here for the last 600 years. And they are still produced here today, we visited an historic house, centuries old, which has been set up as a weavers house as it was then. It displays the tapestries, paintings and furniture of the period and has a workshop with weavers working in the top floor of this amazing building. Maurice Dayras a historian,bought the house in 1946 and set it up to preserve the history of tapestry for us to enjoy.
Bike day 20 took us from Aubusson to Ussel, another glorious day with a cloudless sky and favourable wind. The contour gentle with long easy uphills and equally long free kms downhill.
Lots of forests and cattle farms with the famous brown Limousin cattle. The Europeans are well ahead with solar energy as we passed a large field full of solar panels and a large shed to overwinter stock with it's entire roof covered in solar panels.

Almost the entire ride was along a ridge with distance views of the central massif on the horizon. The roads are narrow and empty, ideal for biking, it took us through a very large military training area, and it was not long after we entered that an army van passed us.




I said he is checking us out, and after a few minutes he U turned and went back where he came from, which somehow confirms it.
The hardest hills were in the last 10 km or so, arriving at Ussel, just after 2 pm, at the Grand Hotel, opposite the railway station. Ready for a rest day tomorrow.

Veronica 7

Bonnat to Gueret

We were on our way by 8.30 though really didn't need to leave early today as it was only a twenty five km ride. This choice was made to make the other stopping places a good distance for me.   So a perfect autumn morning, no clouds in the sky and dew on the grass. There was a big market in the street when we went to buy our bread etc for the day.  I really would have liked to browse but the boss said no. Just as well as my panniers are heavy enough and we are heading for the foothills of the central massif.   We arrived here by 11am having climbed some fairly big hills including going into and out of my first gorge with hairpins!  Anzeme gorge was its name I've just found it on google maps.



Gueret to Aubusson

Received this version of the Irish blessing from GAS today
'May the wind be on your backs, the sun shine on your faces and all the roads be down hills with clafoutis waiting in the restaurant.'  
Kia ora for that GAS

The GPS sent us out of the hotel car park onto an extremely steep supermarket car park ramp to cut off a corner and keep us off the main road. Not good first thing in the morning. Up and down we peddled to get out of Gueret.  THEN Mt Gueret!  One third of the way up Willem stopped for me and I had a rest and a drink. Two thirds of the way up I pathetically called out 'I can't ' and got off my bike, bottom lip quivering.  It was just too early in the day for my lungs and legs.  We rested then walked a bit. After that I was OK .
The rest was  manageable climbs with good down hills
Beautiful forest  lined much of the first part of the route. Banks colourful with heather and gorse, which was low growing amongst the heather. Not the huge horrid stuff we hate in NZ
Granite boulders covered with moss seen under the trees. It is high country, there must be
cold winters judging by the huge stacks of firewood. Pasture was mostly quite rough and there were a few more cattle. In one area dry stone walls enclosed the weedy paddocks
Once again finally gave up looking for seat of some sort for lunch and sat on a bank. 100m away over the crest of the hill. Was a town with sunny places to sit. Not that we need more sun as we are in it all day. I am plastering the sun block on my face but I sweat  and I wipe it off. My face is beginning to 

look as though I have been on a sun bed for too long and my hair is bleaching so it looks whiter each day
I have heard the mewing calls of what I thought were buzzards for the last few days. Today we saw several of them swooping and calling, fantastic
Eventually we got to our hotel.  A small place in the centre of town which is also a bar and a TAB (betting shop). I thought it looked a bit rough but it was fine. It had a very nice lady in charge and a lovely iron spiral staircase. We were on the second floor and realised the fire escape was down the spiral stairs  or a jump from a rather high window.   Our big window with shutters but no curtains looked into a similar room on the other side of the narrow road.  

We had not known that Aubusson is a charming old town and the centre for carpets and tapestry.  There were lots of workshops selling and displaying  local products.  Fascinating I had never given the craft of tapestry much thought until I watched it being made.

Aubusson to Ussel

It was cool when we left and there were lots of shadows because of the hills and the trees.   We followed the road to Fellatin as suggested by the nice man in the tourism office.  A climb, reasonably gentle, then a plateau.  Very good and our easiest exit from a town so far.   Further along we rode a ridge. Beautiful forest again, natural and planted. Heather, in purples and lavenders, on  the banks in the sun.  Signs of logging but no logging trucks thank goodness.
Better pasture land today too and hay making. It was lovely to smell the cut grass.  The limousin cattle are a pretty brown. They are very proud of their beef in this region and produce lots though we have not actually seen many animals. 




There were some long climbs and saw real mountains on the distant horizon. Now I do my best to relax my shoulders and my grip on the handle bars.  I engage my core muscles, pump my legs and turn my ankles. I go as fast as I can without aching legs or getting out of breath.   I don't look too far ahead just at the road a few meters in front of me.  Willem is nursing me along now and he has taken some of my luggage.  The distances are shorter and even when we are on a flat stretch of road  he rides a slower tempo than before. He tells me to conserve energy where I can.  We rode along quite a big road for some km. the traffic is so careful it is not scary.  However one truck and trailer laden with bales of straw came past very fast and close and almost lost control on the next corner. There are idiots everywhere I guess
The hotel here is The Grand and probably should have 'used to be ' in front of it's name. It has a lovely dining room and another fine spiral staircase.   The Patron is a large voluble gentleman who
speaks excellent English and I suspect drinks a bit much.  He is so short of staff sometimes has to clean the rooms himself. He is the chef and barman and has one lovely lady,who reminds me of someone's Maori auntie, who helps and does waitressing etc. He says it is impossible to get staff. Willem thinks he may just be awful to work for.   Dinner was really good though,four courses for €19 and he has allowed us to download our voting papers so tomorrow we fill them in,post them, and then what.......?

We made excellent use of our rest day.  Election papers filled in and posted and a much needed haircut for Willem. On our walk in the old part of town we visited an art gallery which is run as a co op.  The artist Jean- Louis Manuel was 'on duty'. We enjoyed taking to him about his surrealistic paintings.
Lunched at a Creperie. The waitress talked to us, asked questions, listened to my answers in halting, mangled French then when we paid spoke perfect English.  She and her husband, the chef, are bikers and assured me the roads of the gorge of Dordogne are not TOO steep. Tomorrow will tell as we head for Mauriac.