Issoire

81 miles

5046 ft climbed

There was not long to go before our coffee stop and the route was still across the flat plain of the Allier. The satnav gave us a left turn across a rough but stony track so it looked good to go

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog it had rained considerably overnight but that was not overtly a problem although the top surface was a bit soft. I stopped to water a tree so had fallen behind a little when I saw the other three ahead stopped, then walking their bikes back.

The track had become the stickiest mud you could imagine and whilst Doms and Chris’s bikes remained serviceable Nicks had ground to a halt being completely bunged up with mud.

After 20 minutes trying to remove the offending goo he was ready to go again and taking a further detour directly to the main road we only had a mile to go to the camper where Nick, just like you see in every supermarket car Park, got to work cleaning his bike, a very impressive sight.

This morning when we awoke the rain had gone but it was decidedly chilly so we all sported long sleeves for the off at 8.30

Leaving Vichy we quickly hit a bit of cycle route that took us along a railway bridge

Nick and Chris are seen crossing in company with a train as Dom’s bike decided it would continue to fall apart as a spoke broke, having found earlier that the bottom bracket was loose or his bearings were worn. Didn’t seem to slow him down though.

The next extraordinary sight was this roadside mock up of a volcano with hot water looking like smoke. Chris was happy to stand this close to help warm himself up.

We then continued to run along the valley of the Allier on largely flat roads for the first 30 miles until our coffee stop just before which we had the muddy interlude.

The next 10 miles were a busy stretch near Clermont beside the Michelin test track and works before starting the climb up towards Puy de Dome.

The climb was the first really big climb lasting several kilometres. Halfway up there was a little respite when what Nick declared was certainly a professional cyclist tearing past at great speed, setting off to chase I got up to 22 mph uphill and then paid the price for the rest of the day. This did eventually bring us up to the base of Puy de Dome where we had agreed to meet Nigel for lunch, even though it was only just over 20 miles from coffee. The elevation though ensured that this did take us around two hours but did give a splendid panorama over Clermont Ferrand

The sun had now come out properly although it was far from warm with lunch interrupted by the sirens of half a dozen rescue vehicles rushing up the mountain.

Leaving lunch with 30 miles to go broadly downhill we thought that no tea stop was required However what we did not take into account was the up and down nature of this toughest final leg.

A quick stop at the entrance to the former home of the French GP at La Charade overlooking Clermont was followed soon after by a magnificent downhill section of around four miles which was after this view over the valley.

Having dropped down to almost the valley floor we then went up and over a series of rivers feeding into the main river making it such a tough ride. However it took us through several small forgotten towns which apart from plastic wheelie bins could have been in the Middle Ages.

There must have been four in a row that can barely have changed

The impressive 13 century chateau in St Amant – Tallende had the lady of the house turn up in her Fiesta, unload the shopping and proceed to go in whilst we watched. Or perhaps it was the cleaner!

The finish into Issoire gave us our final long descent of the day as we shot past a local lad on his mountain bike at great speed.

Issoire was busy with a long tailback caused by roadworks which thanks to a cycle path or was it just a wide path we were able to avoid and scoot unmolested to the campsite.

Although a dark cloud had deposited three drops of rain on us in the afternoon the sky over Issoire was mainly blue and we were able to enjoy a barbecue where we were joined by Nigel’s motorcycling pals Jos & Ty who were on their way back from touring in northern Spain. We enjoyed their company as they queried our sanity in cycling so far on such saddles.

Following Nicks lead and mindful of a reception Committee tomorrow in Le Puy a further bike cleaning session was held at the campsite.

It was a great days cycling today with ups, downs, views and sights, probably the best of the tour so far, but there remains just one day before the end of the first leg to Le Puy where Dom will swap cycling boots for running shoes as he tackles Le Grand Trail de St Jacques Trail race.

We are aiming to leave super early to try to get to Le Puy for a Meeting party at 4pm, but we will see the most climbing on any day so far and with showers forecast will we be able to stay dry for the final day

Click in tomorrow to see if we make it and join up with the other runners from Tonbridge who have flown in to take part in the Trail race on Saturday.