Woke up with a feeling of trepidation and excitement for today as I knew it would be an epic day.
Breakfast was served at 6:30 am and my clothes were clean and fresh.
Breakfast was toast and home made jam and marmalade. Loads of coffee and juices. Thank you so much Francine for your hospitality.
I set off down the hill towards the river Allier and the town of Coudes and then crossed to the west bank for my route south. Bit of an early mistake as I went down a wrong road and got to the main A75 but there really was no way round it so I had to dig in and pedal fast and get off at the next exit. Sorry to all those drivers who spotted me and made the effort to beep their horns furiously in worry or anger or a combination of the two. Last time I promise !!!
Just past the town of Issoire I found the sign for a bike shop as I wanted to check on the tyres and buy some gloves as mine were getting worn out but it was closed as the time was only 8:25 am and I could not wait for 9 am. Oh well, it will have to wait. I also had a little issue with my gear levers on the tri bars out front as the left lever was wobbling uncontrollably on fast descents and I had to keep holding it in with one hand. Not the best technique when descending to be honest. Will stop at another bike shop asap !!!
Beautiful poppies..
Lempdes-sur-Allagnon
This is where the first of a string of 1,000 feet climbs started. The profile for today was starting to look like a mountain stage of the Tour de France !!!!
Followed by long stretches of flat perfectly laid roads. Absolutely gorgeous.
27 miles in and already over 2,000 feet climbed.
This sign says watch out you are going to go down really fast.... so I did . WOOOHOOOOO !!!!!
I nearly lost it on this descent as whilst going downhill I had to catch my gear lever from
popping out altogether and knocked my front water bottle out of it's holder.
All whilst doing about 40 mph !!!
I really need to find a bike shop or seek help asap.
Perfect U bend..
The valley floor that opened up before me could have been Swiss/Alpine without the snow. Simply gorgeous.
Rolling hills as far as the eye could see...
The valley floor and another flat straight to enjoy !!! The road is the D909.
There is a house on top of that rock, what a view they must have.
Into Massiac. I stopped here for baguette chips and coke. Maxing out the calories for what was to come. I now made a fatal decision. I kind of chose what looked on my google map app at the shortest distance by following the southern roads to Vieillespesse on the east side of the main A75 rather than staying on the D909. The road is called the Cheylade Climb (A55) which takes you up around 1500 feet on a average gradient of about 7 %, so for the next 45 minutes and 3 miles I struggled up this beast to the top and was rewarded with this view and a field of beautiful wild flowers....
I suddenly realised that I had run dry and was starting to get really thirsty. Both my water bottles were empty and I had to get them topped up so I engaged the emergency plan routine of asking anyone I could find for water. Like Robinson Crusoe washed up on a deserted island. Please Water !!!
Thankfully a really nice man at this lovely villa helped and topped up both bottles and even went back for more when he noticed I had drank one empty straight away.
Top of the latest mountain denoted by a lovely Col sign, you see alot of these in the Alps & Pyrenees. They are telling you this big hill is so famous we have given it a name !!!
What goes up must come down !! woohooo, Shame I had to have one hand on the gear lever and the other on the handlebars.
Next town was Saint-Flour.. really nice looking place with a hill top style going on. Beautiful. I believe stage 10 of the 2019 Tour de France is starting out here in July. Thankfully I also managed to find a really good bike shop who checked my bikes tyre pressures which did really need some air as they were down to 75-80 psi and I run on 105-110. I also bought some new socks and gloves which were really needed. New gloves especially feel fantastic when your old ones have worn through. I had developed blisters and they were quite painful. Onwards and ready for the biggest climbs of the day.
Guess what... I forgot to ask them to fix my wobbly gear lever !!!!! DOH !!!!!!!!!!
You know when you have a downhill that you will have to endure a steep uphill somewhere as payment. With every yin there is a yang.
What followed was a series of climbs of around 2,000 feet in total ending at this sign showing an altitude of 1121 metres (3678 feet). I was knackered.
One of the most stunning towns I went through was Marvejols...
I love towns like this which have a wall all the way round. Beautiful.
Another region ticked off, Bonjour Occitanie !!!
The last 10 miles was via the most gorgeous gorge (is that where the name came from) I have ever ridden. I had been out so long that day that my GPS battery gave up so I had to switch on the phone to record, I had no idea it would work or not and to be honest I really did not care.
I highly recommend the D809 as it had become the most stunning road I think I had ever ridden on in France. It was only just beaten by the road from Tyndrum to Inverness, the A82 !!! Legendary !!!
I did the Cheddar gorge in the UK in 2016 but this was much nicer as it was much longer and totally deserted, all I could hear was my own breath in and out and the sound of the tyres on the road. Not a single car or other cyclist passed me the entire distance and it was like being in another world. Absolutely stunning end to a day to remember. This day ended at number 4 in my top 10 bike rides of all time.
The finish point destination was reached again much later than I had ever wanted but this was after a huge day. Only around 110 miles but a huge 10,000 feet of climbing. My legs were humming.
The town I stayed in was La Canourgue in the Massif Central, sometimes called the Little Venice of Lozere.
The Massif Central has been the most beautiful but painful companion since yesterday and would remain in my memory for years to come.
More info here.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massif_Central
I was staying at a real hotel in town called the Hotel Du Commerce and this was OK but a slightly different feel to the cosy airbnb's I had got used to staying at. I checked in and carried my bike up the 2 flights of stairs to my room and walked into town to get some food. Chicken burger and chips and a few cakes later I collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly. Totally knackered but very fulfilled and feeling on top of the world.
The bar downstairs was full of people shouting and screaming at the TV as the world cup was on. I had ear plugs but knew I wouldn't need them as sleep would come easily tonight.
I missed my family and Deb so much but there were now only 2 days to go so I knew I was through the hardest part of it and surely the next couple of days were never ever going to top what I had seen and experienced today. After all this day was well in there as the best ride of the week so far and sat in my all time top 5. Surely it could not be bettered could it !!!!
Bonne Nuit !
I was out so long that day that my Wahoo GPS battery gave up and I had to top up the route with my phones as a back up.
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