T1me to Ride

  Following a rude alarm clock awakening at 7:30 I quickly packed up and headed for breakfast.  “10 minutes! They don’t wake up!” Came the call from the clearly vexed campsite owner. I’d be waiting for breakfast.  I’d gotten used to the bizarre arrangement of going to one place for a coffee, another place for coissants and then begging and pleading for some basics like butter, jam, and a knife. I sat down with a coffee and watched as the oversleeping staff wandered in and received a somewhat awkward silence. Eventually, with pastries duly despatched, I was ready for the off. Continuing down the gorge, my route followed the path of the Ardeche: I was for the first time at least travelling in a downstream direction but the road remained high - at times 300m above the river below. The road - whilst being silky smooth tarmac - was far from flat, and with the mistral blowing down the valley, some of the switchbacks became interesting! It was a truly sensory experience with my ...

Having finished my arrival beer, put my tent up & had a refreshing swim in the Ardeche, I very quickly discovered that my chosen campsite was in no mood for entertaining food. And so I went off in search for dinner. I then discovered that nowhere else was in the mood for serving food either. Apparently lazy Lundi had also been a bank holiday and therefore - obviously - lazy Lundi carried over to miserable Mardi.  Coming out of my campsite by complete chance I bumped into Greg, my Welsh friend who I’d met on the climb out of Villefort. He too was struggling to find somewhere to eat so we continued our search together. Finally we stumbled across a bar which was open; they weren’t serving food but they were serving beer so we stopped for a re-think. We ended up walking 20 minutes back to Greg’s hotel and tried our luck for food there. They were full but found us a seat. The good was fantastic: tapas made almost entirely from produce of their land. We enjoyed a great evening, each ...

  Mende made for a lovely evening stroll. Even here lazy Lundi was in full swing, but I managed to find a bar overlooking the (back of the) 14th century cathedral which I had first spotted a good few miles out of town; Mende sits in a hollow. Fortunately I’d booked in for dinner at the hotel so didn’t need to trawl the streets. Dinner was awesome. I’d pushed the boat out a bit (what with it being my birthday and the likelihood that I’d be in a campsite for the next 2 nights) but it wasn’t unreasonably priced. Having polished off my snails, lamb and ice cream I crashed into bed.  It’s not often you wake up with a blood sugar level of 1.8, but that’s what greeted me this morning. A handful of jelly babies and Lu biscuits later, I was back in the room, ready for my phone call home; 2 excited children wanted to wish Daddy a happy birthday. Breakfast was a hearty affair and I enjoyed munching through a whole host of culinary delights. Soon enough I was on the road heading out of Me...

  Well, the village of Entraygues was lovely. Originating in Medieval times, it emerged in the 16th century and most of the old village remains beautifully preserved. It marks the point where the rivers Lot and Truyere merge I tried a few bars before settling in for a delightful meal by the banks of Le Truyere. I also did a bit of research for Stage 8 and quickly closed the book. It’s 119km; all uphill. Whilst I’ve got you, I am aware that there has been a lot of talk of Categorised climbs, and you may well be thinking - what? So, in the Tour de France for example every climb is categorised. It’s a bit (a lot) of a dark art but essentially: Cat 4: 2km at around 5% Cat 3: 3km at around 6% Cat 2: 5-10km at 5-7% Cat 1: 5-10km > 8% HC (Hors categorie / without category): based on the judges opinion. Usually Cat 1 climbs which are the last climb of the day. But ultimately, I’ll be the judge. Looking at the profile, I’d suggest that we might be firmly in Cat 1 & 2 territory… The f...