Thanks to strong demand ( Roger) I am writing this special blog bringing together some of the natural highlights of the tour.

One of the great things about cycling is that although you can cover a good distance in a day, you can also cover varied terrain and all whilst being relatively quiet and close to nature so that you can feel and smell as well as see. It is also usually easy just to stop at the side of the road to take a photo without holding anyone up. The only exception being when hurtling down a mountain at 30+ mph.

My interest in all things natural must be thanks to the influence of my mum, as I still recall on a summer holiday in the south of France when I was under ten collecting and pressing some wild flowers in the hills around Draguignan. I remember to this day that the fields were full of butterflies I have therefore annoyed the others by constantly stopping or exclaiming about the latest sight.

Insects

This hairy little chap in the Nesque gorge was one of the rare insect photos. Butterflies have been more numerous than at home and I did see a couple of swallowtails and marbled whites as well as some more common types.

This photo of a metallic blue beetle doesn’t do it justice. Nick was so taken with it at Aubenas that he kept it as a pet until it flew away.

Of course crickets & grasshoppers abound and we also saw a few large dragonflies. The other thing to note is that the mosquitoes in the Camargue are especially large and aggressive so if you do come down this way please cover up.

Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians

The semi wild white horses of the Camargue were the biggest, the only other mammals seen were a couple of wild boar a Muskrat ( an introduction from the US that has colonised most of Europe) a small deer and a Hare bounding across the road

Frogs were heard everywhere keeping us awake late into the night and we did see a few live Lizards as well as a large dead snake on the cycle path on our last day.

Birds ( including the Cuckoo)

One of the easiest things to see or hear. We did hear a Cuckoo almost every day, the only exception being our last day in Provence. Nick still can’t believe it. The silhouette of the Cuckoo will therefore correctly remain on the nbjtours logo.

Across the vast open agricultural plains of the North and centre of France the sound of the Skylark was common above the fields or even perched on a fence post.

Buzzards were always the most common bird of prey seen, but this time I think the further south we went, the more Kites we saw and they were the most numerous raptor of the tour.

One morning whilst cycling alongside a canal we counted over a dozen Herons and did see them on most days On the last couple of days we also saw a few Egrets and a storks nest.

Obviously the Flamingoes were a highlight of the Camargue ( actually captured this morning when we past them in the camper) , but we did also see some Black Ibis and other Cranes.

The crow family were omnipresent, harassing the raptors often and we also saw a few green and spotted Woodpeckers. I am also convinced that I saw a Roller ( a stunning tropical like blue bird) flying across a vineyard on the last day.

Flowers

The easiest thing to spot as they can’t move away and on a couple of the days a real highlight of the tour.

In the plains it was the Poppies and Cornflowers that took the eye

These two flowers are the symbols of remembrance for the U.K. and France respectively so it was very poignant that we cycled through them on the 75th anniversary of DDay.

Moving further south the highlight both visually and from its glorious scent is the Broom which adorned the hillside as soon as we approached the Massif Centrale.

Whilst not quite as dramatic as the Broom we saw in Northern Spain a couple of years back the colour and scent were stunning.

Other scents worth remembering were several roses both in town cheering up the streets and here at the end of a row of vines where they are used to detect disease ( according to Nick )

During our long trip along rivers and canals it was sadly obvious that Japanese Knotweed has a serious hold on parts of the countryside and could well be a huge problem if it is not already. Other more attractive water loving plants we saw often were Yellow Flag and this pond of Water Lilies.

The true beauty of the floral kingdom did not really start to shine until we approached the wilder parts of the route south of Vichy. These Salvias were more common.

The fields were more unkempt and full of buttercups and other meadow flowers indicating that they had been like this for many years.

The rain spoiled the high mountains above Le Puy but it was a joy to see the fields of wild narcissi near Les Estables

The following day from Aubenas was when we truly could start to appreciate the glory’s of the floral kingdom Where I know the names of them I will add but if you read this and can put me right or fill in a gap please let me know. These mauve flowers were so large that they surely belong in a garden

A replacement for gypsophyla?

Hawksbit?

Beautiful spike like plant but no idea what it is.

A butterfly on Candytuft. Candytuft was seen most of the last week.

Relative of her thistle

Sweet or everlasting pea. These flowers appeared irregularly for the last three days of the tour alongside the road but never in huge clumps so where they are escaped garden flowered I am not sure.

This Acacia like shrub may well have been a garden plant but it’s stunning flowers deserve a photo

Wild Oats. Such a pretty grass adorning the edge of the road all along and no doubt leading to the eponymous saying.

The best day of the tour for flowers was undoubtedly Ventoux and the Gorges de la Nesque where the variety and sheer abundance of flowers makes the need for a garden here superfluous. I ended up over 3-4 miles stopping every 100 yards to look at the latest great plant delaying Chris & Nick.

The photos are here below, again if you know the name let me know, but these great blue flowers were a real joy waving in the breeze.

Don’t know.

Columbine type

Rock garden with dog roses and umbellifers.

Purple saxifrage?

Lily of some kind

Thistle

Field of Vipers Bugloss

Snapdragons. This rocky bit of hillside was covered in them. Possibly naturalised from a garden.

Huge bell like flowers on this.

The contrast of these wonderful flowers is marked when comparing it to the bald summit of Mont Ventoux. This was supposedly caused by Napoleon ordering the clearing of the trees to build boats, and the harsh weather conditions led to erosion of what poor soil there was and left the summit bare.

The last day did not see the variety as we left the high mountains behind. However we did see the following nice examples

Pretty vetch

Mallow was all over the roadside

The bilberries were not yet ripe on the Alpilles, but orchards of cherries, peach, apricot, apple and pear on the lower slopes towards the Camargue shows what grows. We also saw Courgettes, vines of course and Olive groves.

Delicate pinky flower

South African daisy like yellow flower

Mass of yellow daisies.

If you have managed to get this far well done. Unfortunately my knowledge is not sufficient to know all these fantastic varieties and often these photos do not do them justice. I can only suggest that you come to this region in spring/ early summer and enjoy them for yourselves.

As I said earlier if you know them please post on the blog comments section.

Until Ireland, hopefully next year. Thank you.

Day 14 Saintes Maries de la Mer 87 miles

1850 ft climbed

It’s been three years in concept and almost two years in planning , but here we are at the Med. We have cycled the length of France, and enjoyed fantastic hospitality en route, whilst celebrating 50 years of twinning and watching our equally mad athletic compatriots take part in Le Granl Trail de St Jacques

The first seeds were sown in Tonbridge when I first met Marc Jousserand, the chair of Twinning in Le Puy on a visit to Tonbridge in 2016. He suggested that the Trail would be a Great event to get Tonbridge involved in to celebrate 50 years. Chris had earlier said after our last cycle to Le Puy in 2008 why had we not gone all the way to the Med. The cycling challenge was therefore sorted and adding Ventoux made it more interesting.

My friends at Tonbridge parkrun were all keen runners so it was a question of putting that all together and I am pleased to say that it has.

It is I suspect like all these things, it is fantastically satisfying to have completed the achievement, but also slightly an anti climax, as we have completed the challenge and need another to remotivate ourselves. More of that later.

This morning started tough almost immediately from our campsite in Fontaine de Vaucluse. Shunning the usual way out we scaled the side of the hill at gradients of up to 19% towards the ancient village of Cabrieres d’Avignon.

It gave us some early views across the valley but also tested the muscles after yesterday’s efforts.

Dropping down into the valley the roads were busy with early morning traffic as we made our way through Cavaillon

In keeping with most of the cycle tours we had to use closed roads. Once again this one was being remade and reminded me of Swedish conditions. Though closed to traffic we were able to negotiate our way round diggers, cement etc

Trying to get us off the busy routes as usual means finding farm tracks, industrial estates the odd cycle path, but inevitably I cannot avoid all big roads. Roundabouts are a particular trouble and Nick & I had a large artic worry us on one roundabout. Something were are glad to have escaped.

At Our last tour breakfast of coffee and croissants Chris declared how much he would miss this part of the day and reckoned that since 1 June he had consumed no less than 25 croissants!! Good going, just as well we are all burning around 4000 calories a day

The second leg of the day saw us tackle the second and last significant hill over the Alpilles de Provence to the village of Baux de Provence after passing though St Remy de Provence. There is a theme here.

It was a good climb of 2 miles up the Val d’Enfer ( valley of hell) but did not ever exceed 7% gradient so was really enjoyable

The views from it to the village of Baux were worth the effort too.

Dropping down off the top we passed the hoardes of coach loving tourists queuing to get into the Van Gogh exhibition and were thankful that we were not amongst them and could cycle our way on. A fast downhill stretch into Fontvielle followed and just having learnt of Chris Froome’s awful accident we made sure we kept our hands on the bars and stopped to blow our noses. After the town a gentle climb led to a quick visit around Alphonse Daudet’s windmill (author of Jean de Florette & Manon des Sources)

Dropping down we quickly visited the ruins of the Roman aqueduct that fed water to Arles and saw much more of it later closer to the city, in fact at one point we went round a roundabout that had the aqueduct through the middle. .

Navigating through the centre of Arles up many inaccessible one way streets we got to the famous Arenes, the Roman built amphitheatre incredibly still in use today

Running out of Arles we crossed over the motorway and found Nigel and Monica nicely parked in the shade as the temperature had started to climb. Lunch today was baked beans and Emmental on baguette which filled a good hole.

Although hot in the sun the air was not especially warm but it did reach 85F today. Now there were no more hills as the route took us out over the flat expanses of the camargue.

Surprisingly we saw many rice paddies. Other crops being Apples , pears , apricots peaches, & vines.

We did see many of the famous white horses of the camargue as well as their black bulls.

This stork was one of a few birds we saw today as well as black ibis and some distant flamingos.

Keeping us off the big routes as much as possible we did see this great site with only ten miles to go

It looks just like a scene from the westerns We also has a bit of off roading, a common feature on any nbjtours route.

Finally Saintes Maries de la Mer came into view, although our campsite was before the town we had to get the whole way and rode in around 4.30

After a compulsory quick dip in the sea we rode back to the campsite and showered after an ice cream and cup of tea.

Celebrating our achievements at a fabulous fish restaurant, La Casita, in town. Owned and run by a husband and wife team, they looked after us very well, earning us a complimentary glass of the local digestif. We found out it was the start of the annual festivities in Town so managed to enjoy some local music and a visit to the centre of the bullring which had been used earlier in the day.

This led to the dodgy photo above whilst climbed the straw bales in the centre of the ring.

Walking back to the campsite swatting the aggressive mosquitoes the sun was setting over the marshes.

Challenge successfully completed all intact , the only casualty really being Dom’s bike. Aside from that we only had one puncture on the first morning in around 4000 miles of cycling, pretty impressive. Planning is underway for the challenge for 2020 which should be a circuit of Ireland – politics permitting.

Thank you to all, especially Nigel & Monica without whom this just could not be so good. Chris & Nick fly back tomorrow whilst we drive the camper back to the U.K. and should get home sometime on Saturday.

With luck I will have time to produce produce a round up and flora and fauna update.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading.

Day 13 Fontaine de Vaucluse

77 miles

6473 ft climbed

Well if yesterday was a great day, today will be remembered for a very long time. Not only did we all successfully climb Ventoux but then we had an awesome ride along he majestically pretty Gorges de la Nesque.

Our luck was definitely in. Yesterday the weather was atrocious and the rain continued almost unabated until 3am this morning keeping us awake as it hammered on the roof. However getting up early again to clear blue sky and a great forecast we were set for the big one.

With a chilly start we donned long sleeves and set off at 7.30 for a 10 km run to the base of the mountain at Malaucene to start the 21km climb to the top.

Here we ended up splitting as mountain goat Nick managed to latch onto some keen looking French guys and kept up until he dropped his bottle. I just about kept pace with Peiter a much younger Belgian guy who had climbed another route the day before in the rain and got his parents to bring him down from the top to avoid hypothermia. Chris latched himself onto Robin a Californian ex- firefighter who was slower than he but enabled him to feel more powerful.

One of the strange effects about climbing a long hill like this is how the slope can play tricks. On this mountain there are sections which run for over a kilometre at between 10-13% ensuring that you have to pedal hard for over 20 minutes at a time so when the slope eases off to only 6 or 7 %. It genuinely feels as though you have started to go downhill.

As agreed with Nigel we stopped at the restaurant just above the Mt Serein ski station for a quick coffee and regroup. We now only had 6 km to go and apart from the first km the rest was under 10%, during this last section we and the mountain were buzzed on a low level pass by a French Mirage jet which thundered by. We then all finished with a flourish and very happy with our efforts.

Following getting to the summit we were then allowed to enjoy yet another fabulous coffee stop just below with this view over the bald summit of the mountain.

Leaving together we stopped as is traditional for every cyclist at the Tommy Simpson memorial, erected to commemorate the death of the English cyclist which occurred during the Tour de France in 1968.

We then continued down the mountain via the Sault route which was gentler, although it did mean a small climb as we got into the village.

From Sault we dropped down two very sharp hairpins before a gentle climb into the gorges of the Nesque where the verges were simply incredible and looked like someone had planted a rock garden alongside the road. I hope to publish a completely separate blog dedicated just to the flowers we have seen which have been so varied and beautiful.

Reaching the high point of the climb in the gorge was the first viewpoint where we came across lots of cyclists and bikers as well as a couple of over friendly wild boar. One of whom took a shine to Nick !

The other great thing was an incredible echo which came back clearly a couple of times across the gorge. The best call was that of Cuckoo. Talking of Cuckoos, although I have not always given a full update we have continued to hear their two note tone at all significant moments of the ride, such as the Col de Peyra -Taillade, the source of the Loire and today as we climbed Ventoux. Nick still claims he has heard nothing!

The next part of the ride along the gorge was fantastic as it was all gently downhill with incredible views across the gorge, with more flowers and tunnels to ride through.

Coming out of the gorge we had a short ride to lunch leaving only 22 miles for our final leg of the day.

These first two legs had been some of the most memorable cycling we have done, one up, one down, the third leg was largely flat across the plain to our final destination

The roads here were a bit busier as we were near to Carpentras, so took advantage where we could of getting off these busy sections to hit the farm roads through vineyards and other crops including these lovely cherries which I scrumped a few

The last leg then took us round to our campsite at Fontaine de Vaucluse which is the 5 th biggest spring in the world as a full sized river emerges from the ground below massive limestone cliffs in less than 100 metres.

Here we are dressed in our Ventoux T-shorts visiting the spring after having enjoyed a Nigel BBQ accompanied by a Monica coleslaw What more do you need. The end to a great day.

Tomorrow is the last day on the road and once again the weather is set fair so should see us reach the Mediterranean sometime in the afternoon – another tour coming to a close.

Photos now added

Day 12 Vaison-la-Romaine

77 miles

3655 ft climbed

There are some cycling days that are really hard to beat. Today was one of those days. We had everything, cycle paths. Quiet roads, busy roads, uphills, downhills, flat straights, a bit of sun, plenty of rain, wonderful scenery and less desirable stretches.

The forecast for today was that it would start dry and the rain would set in by 2pm this afternoon. This was proved correct. We therefore decided to leave nice and early and were up just after 6 and away from the campsite fed and watered just after 7.00. A good start.

Back in Le Puy the professional cyclists were about to set off for stage 3 of the Tour de France practice race the Critérium de Dauphiné which this year features all the top guys including Chris Froome. We nearly stayed an extra day to watch but having seen the bad weather there again today had made the right decision to press on.

The first section out of Aubenas was on main road but getting us off the main road running next to the Ardeche river before taking us through a village. The route then went through a travellers encampment with crumpled cars and metal on one side and caravans on the other. The only dog was too small to worry about but barked enthusiastically. Luckily the track we cycled on was good enough to take us through to the next village without us having to return through the encampment having woken them all up!

Returning to a larger road but running on the road apron, traffic was not too troublesome, although we were past by two lorries, the second, a cement mixer, swerved back abruptly onto our side and then proceeded to have an enormous tank slapper for 300 metres as the driver grappled with keeping it in a straight line.

A short cycle track up an over a hill to avoid the main road was respite from the traffic and a good early work out which took us to the small town of Vallon Pont d’Arc. Just beyond the town is the fabulous Pont d’Arc, a natural bridge over the Ardeche and the gateway to the gorges of the Ardeche.

A photo stop then led to breakfast outside the camper at 9 am with some top quality pain au raisins and chocolate croissants. As ever Nigel continued to spoil us. Dom who by now was back at work sent us a message saying that he was already missing our breakfast stops.

After following the corniche road along edge of the gorge for a while we then had a two mile climb through a few small tunnels to the top of the plateau which the gorges of the Ardeche bisects. We passed a coach load of tourists at one viewpoint, they just stared at us as we cycled by obviously thinking we were bonkers.

The roads over the plateau were superb as they were less frequented than the main road and it was noticeable that the flora had changed from earlier in the trip. The adjacent crops were very mixed with Cherries, Lavender, Vines, Apples, Sunflowers, & Olives as well as wheat and barley.

Dropping off the plateau back down into the gorge we benefited from several stunning views. This was great cycling.

Our next challenge was to cross the busy Rhône valley, a couple of pretty bridges helped, but a half mile stretch on a busy road was not so good and for once I had programmed the satnavs incorrectly. Reverting back to the emergency paper map I managed to route us back to where I had agreed to meet Nigel for lunch which was after a 400 ft climb over the town of Mondragon.

Up to now it remained dry with only the occasional spot of rain, we even saw a milky sun for a bit. Lunch was a feast of scrambled egg and smoked salmon on baguette with some rather excellent cheeses.

As we started to pack up the table the drizzle started to get a bit harder so we actually set off quickly at 1pm. After only 5 miles the rain started to get harder so we stopped just as Nigel came up to overtake. Here Chris decided he was wearing too much and stripped off, finally getting his top back on at the fourth attempt!

We were now cycling in the heart of Cotes du Rhône country where Nick visited his own vineyard!

The famous wine towns of Cairanne and Rasteau were crossed as the rain got worse, by this time we were all soaked both from the rain above and the spray from the road below. The last time I was in Rasteau the temperature was over 30 degrees C.

A last cycle path along an old railway before entering Vaison and a brief argument with a lady motorist who actually had to run over the central reservation to get passed Chris ensured that we safely arrived dripping wet and ready for a cup of tea at the campsite.

We then warmed up with a nice shower Chris also dried his wet coat in the dyson hand dryer !! Nigel then laid on fajitas with a quality patisserie bought raspberry tart to follow.

A brilliant, awesome or magnificent day however you want to call it. As I write this blog the rain continues to pour down so the decision to start so early was certainly the right one. The weather tomorrow looks more promising and our next challenge of the conquering of Mt Ventoux looks a distinct possibility.

Day 11 Aubenas

17 miles

292 ft climbed

Today did not go as planned. The rain and thunderstorms had returned so after a ( very) brief chat we decided to camper the first sector.

Saying goodbye to my friends Maryse & Christian, then Caroline & Dom ( who was looked after fabulously by my French mum Silvia) at the campsite, we even had a visit from Marc the chair of the Twinning Committee to thank us for coming.

Leaving the campsite we stocked up at the local supermarket and bumped into Caroline and our favourite Tonbridge antipodeans.

From Le Puy the route took us up to over 1400m past Les Estables and it’s fields of wild Narcissi, which replace the wild Daffodils at this time of year.

This road then took us to Mont Gerbier de Jonc and the source of the Loire. A quick recce on his bike by Chris confirmed that the rain and cold ( it was only 5 degrees) were too much for us to want to start cycling again.

We have sort of now cycled the whole of the Loire from St Nazaire to its source.

Staying in the camper we remained in the van as the route started to take us off the top and down towards Burzet which is famous for its Monte Carlo Rally stages. A quick stop at the cascade de Ray-Pic below.

This is a great photo of Vipers Bugloss which we have seen by the roadside for many days.

Just after Burzet the rain started to ease off and desperate to get back on our bikes we were very happy to get out and cycle. The route was then mostly downhill all the way to the campsite along the side of the river Ardeche.

Taking the opposite road to the main route we had to swerve past a chap picking and eating cherries.

It was a casual ride with super views along the valley and the sun came out bringing the temperature up so I have been able to sit outside this evening writing the blog.

On arriving at he campsite Nick felt hard done by so got back on his bike to climb the nearest hill and add a further 15 km to his days riding !

The weather tomorrow looks good in the morning but not so in the afternoon so we are looking at an early start to see how far we can get on our bikes.

Days 9 & 10 Le Puy en Velay

I am happy to report that all of our runners successfully completed their runs and that we have been royally entertained by our French hosts

Saturday as expected has been all about the Trail race.

The runners over from Tonbridge parkrun were as follows

17km run

Peter Horne, Jamie Rogers, Pip Greenaway, Mary Pursell, Justine Norris & Catherine Moore

38km run

Dominic Boulle & Chris Greenaway

77km

Anthony Lester & Jim Pursell.

Luckily this morning the sky was clear blue and it was going to remain that way all day.

The runners all had to catch busses out to their various starts with the 77km guys out before 6am and seeing frost on the ground before the start

Caroline’s and my day started a bit more leisurely except it was my French godson Luc’s stag weekend and 8 of his friends turned up on the doorstep at 9 am and forced him into this duck outfit !! With the 17km runners due back first after starting at 9am we had time to have a wander round the market and get some provisions in for later ( although I later managed to leave my saucisson in a cafe)

We were able to follow the runners progress through an app set up by the organisers and were therefore able to ensure that we were at the finish when someone was due.

Our first finishers were Peter and Jamie who ran the whole way together. Jamie was not amused on finishing and looked as if he had been smacked in the face by a wet fish when I took this photo. Peter was super happy though.

Although Jamie was not the happiest bunny on crossing the line his mood was amazingly reinvigorated when a possee of French ladies came to lay at his feet. Swapping phone numbers he claims it was only because one of them wanted to send her son to the U.K. to learn better English, obviously not realising where Jamie was from, Peter emailed Catherine encouraging her to speed up to the finish!

Our next finishers were Mary and Pip who again had kept together during the run

Not all of the course was tough and Justine and Catherine took advantage of the lush grass to make angels before they came down the slide of death and up the hill to the finish.

All of our short course runners had now completed the route so we took advantage of a gap to had a coffee at a cafe at the bottom of the finish hill where the mayor seeing us in our Tonbridge-Le Puy outfits came over for a chat

We now were awaiting the two 38km guys and delayed lunch a little. Powering up the hill Dom came home in a confident and happy 69th position, ( 10th in his age group) having time to give Caroline a hug en route! What an achievement running 38km just after completing over 1000km cycling to Le Puy.

Chris was the next man up and never has Pip been so glad to see him safely home

With 8 of our ten runners home before 3 we only had our two long distance men out on course Incredibly the winner of the longest distance of 115km completed the course in under 12 hours having started at 1am in the morning.

Booking a restaurant at the bottom of the hill to stay close, the rest of us enjoyed a good meal outside in the glorious weather before our expected finishers.

Jim had been in touch with Mary and was concerned that they were cutting him short ( in fact they needed a detour for a farmer and his cows) Shortly after 8 Anthony came into view with the Tonbridge crew creating a wall of sound to encourage him and others up to the line.Finishing strongly Anthony was still smiling as he crossed the line

By this time Jim had fallen some way behind and was not due until around 11pm and whilst he had had a low point he was keeping Mary up to date with his progress as we were tracking him on the app. Finally there was a lightening in the mood as he sent in photos of the countdown markers at 3,2&1 km

Coming into view there was a roar from the Tonbridge crew as he ran up to, past the line and then on up all the cathedral steps to touch the door. Then ignoring advice decided to run down them too to get his free beer.

Everyone had finished and even if they had not enjoyed all the experience had completed a challenge with a number, Jamie included, vowing to train harder and come back next year.

Sunday dawned wet and we all breathed a sigh of relief that the weather had behaved yesterday.

My hosts daughter,Lise, had been out and brought our favourite brioche aux pralines for breakfast, little did we realise what more food we had in store.

Today we were entertained by the Le Puy Twinning Committee with a reception just outside the town again initially hosted by the Mayor where we exchanged gifts including handing over of the map of our cycling route linking our two towns before an aperitif and a five course meal and individual gifts for everyone who had come from the U.K. Can you see Our council being such good and generous hosts?

The big laugh and subject to a grand build up from the Chair of the Twinning Committee was the unveiling of the 50th anniversary cake

Apparently his English accent was so bad that the pattissiere thought that it was Tom Bridge’s birthday!

Following the meal we were then treated to a three hour guided tour round the Cathedral, the Cloisters, the Camino House, the Treasury and even a trip up the Virgin

We were not quite sure what these young clergy were doing up the Virgin but Jamie was happy enough though !

Following the athletic efforts over the past few days we had enjoyed our visit but were ready for a rest and his offer to show us even more sights was declined, but his generosity will not be forgotten.

A fabulous end to an unforgettable weekend for all of us present.

Le Puy en Velay

74 Miles

4652 ft climbed

Today was mostly about the weather as a huge storm was coming across France and due to hit sometime around lunch.

Waking up this morning the sky was clear blue and revealed nothing of what was to come. However whilst the sky was clear blue the wind was a super strong full on headwind and we were to have that for the first 40 miles without let up slowing us down by 3-5 mph it was that strong. Gusts occasionally grabbed the front wheel and pulled us across the road a yard.

The first leg was run in clear blue but after coffee the clouds started to build and we could see rain across a field on one occasion but managed to avoid getting wet as we rolled up to the camper for lunch. Deciding to eat inside was a good call as within 5 minutes the rain started to cascade down.

Leaving the camper the rain eased a little but as we ascended the big climb of the day the storm arrived in full with the rain and wind

The route after the climb was largely downhill for almost 15 miles and we were now cold as well as wet.

It was then that disaster almost struck. Following just behind, I saw Dom start to veer towards the edge of the road getting closer and closer as if he could not control his bike. He couldn’t and then he was off the road and into the grass verge before falling gently into the ditch.

Luckily he was ok apart from a couple of grazes on his legs. What was the issue, his bike falling apart a bit more, this time the head tube working loose.

By now we were all very cold with the wind and biting rain causing us all to shiver, Dom probably with a bit of shock too.

Freewheeling even slower to St Remy we headed for a bus shelter where we attempted to tighten Dom’s steering. Improving it a little we safely continued a slow and shortened downhill route to our final destination

This morning started early We had agreed to arrive in Le Puy at 4 pm so had decided to get going by 7.30. As usual fed and watered by Nigel we even beat that target by a few minutes and set off. The first bit of the route on some rough farm tracks to avoid the heavy traffic in Issoire.

We then hit our head wind as we headed south on the wide valley of the Allier.

All this time things looked good but it was a struggle in the strong wind, but as ever Nick was happy to take the lead

An early coffee stop after 20 miles and liaison with the runners coming out for the trail run tomorrow started to suggest that they were having travel issues and could well be late arriving in Le Puy.

The croissants today were especially huge and we struggled to get them down despite the energy already expended.

The route then took us through Brioude, the home of Tour de France hopeful Romain Bardet, and again to avoid some particularly busy truck infested straight roads we hit some farm dirt tracks and this underpass, which required us to dismount.

The valley started to get narrower and here Dom almost found lunch

I had to include this photo of a Kite as we have probably seen more of them than Buzzards on this trip.

As you can see from this photo the clouds were now in the ascendancy

This small hamlet on the other side of the valley sprung up out of a rocky outcrop and Nick’s thought for the day was that it originally started out as caves. We are not sure if he meant that the houses or the people emerged from the rocks.

The cliffs of Blot were the next site as the valley sides got steeper. As said earlier we got to lunch dry but just as the rain started. Needing to fuel up for the day Nick decided on a new healthy energy bar. The Nutella Banana!

The route took us a little further along the upper Allier river valley to Prades where we knew that our big climb of the day would start. In planning the route I had not realised that this was the climb on the 2017 Tour de France that Chris Froome had had a mechanical and was forced to chase back to catch the leaders

At 1900 ft over 5 miles this was quite a climb though not in the same league as the Alps. However what it lacked in length it made up with by a very steep section that the board above said was 14% maximum gradient but we saw over 18% for some distance.

Before starting our climb we had seen the camper just above the first two hairpins and presumed that Nigel had parked up to watch us by. Not at all, he had a puncture. Luckily for us he had just finished the repair as we got there.

Mountain goats Nick and Dom shot up the slope whereas Chris and myself required a couple of extra stops to get over the steepest section.

Getting to the top was hardly a celebration as the rain and wind had picked up so a quick prove we did it shot and then we were off.

It was on this section that Dom had his accident and we kept on more slowly running behind him to ensure no more concerns.

Coming into Le Puy on a different route We had to wait for sometime at a set of traffic lights where Dom was shaking so much the driver in the adjacent car was looking at him with suspicion. I used my local knowledge to get us up to the departmental offices next to the cathedral after a last short steep climb.

Although only ten past four our reception committee was absent, our Tonbridge runners were still on route because of train and road delays and the locals had been unable to get hold of us because I couldn’t answer my phone with the water on the screen.

However within a couple of minutes we were ushered in, given hot drinks and then whisked into the signing on hall for the Trail race where runners were coming in and out. We were introduced to the mayor of Le Puy where he and I translated the letter we had brought from the Mayor of Tonbridge.

A further photocall with our bikes on stage.

And the first part of the tour was over. Our runners, including Caroline, after their myriad of delays finally got to us about an hour an a half after we had arrived.

Seeing a lectern “El Presidente Cabrera ” seized the opportunity and took to the stage.

Our runners signed on, including Dom who is doing the 38 km run. We sorted out kit and left Nigel and Monica to a quiet night in the camper with no tents to erect.

We were all looking forward to comfy beds and giving our backsides a rest for a couple of days before setting off again on Monday minus Dom who wanted to throw a sickie but felt he needs to get home to his wife. If truth be told his bike is unlikely to survive much more punishment and it would be good not to ride that down any steep hills until it’s properly sorted.

This evening Chris and Nick are in an apartment in town, the only issue being that a son et luminiere is going until midnight on the building opposite and he hasn’t worked out how to close the shutters. Dom is safely staying at my French mum’s who is plying him with her infamous vin d”Orange before his big run. Caroline and I are staying at our good friends Christian and Maryse where we are catching up on events since seeing them at their Remy’s wedding in April.

All is good.

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.

Vichy

95 miles

2017 ft climbed

Soon after our coffee break, where we had peeled off the main road to run on the nicer smaller roads we spotted a fellow cyclist at the side of the road. Passing they waved ok so we carried on.

After half a mile the cyclist was following just behind so I dropped back for a chat

Dorian, who is presently a student nurse, was formerly in the junior French national cycling team, said she was out of training and was out for a short 30 km ride when we turned up. Although claiming not to be, I am sure she was sandbagging as she was happy to keep in our peloton as by coincidence we were going right past her front door. So delivering her back home after 20 minutes or so we were back to 4 again.

This morning we expected to wake up to rain but the thunderstorms failed to appear. Luckily apart from some light spots nothing much arrived, although it was much cooler leading us to sport long sleeves for the first time.

Leaving the campsite at around 8.15. We headed off along the cycle path which ran alongside the Loire canal.

This was a great start to the day There were no cars to worry about, no wind and it was flat. We again were able to whizz along at 18 mph.

We didn’t even see a road except a 500 m stretch after 10 miles when incredibly we saw Nigel passing by in the camper on the other side of the canal.

The great thing about this was the abundance of wildlife, we saw a dozen Herons, many Kites, Buzzards & Egrets. In addition a pair of Osprey. Nick claims he saw a small deer, but also almost ran over a muskrat which is a the size of a big domestic cat but looks like a big rat.

I then sadly kicked a small bird that flew up out of the grass as we went passed. Chris who was following, thinks he saw it just looking stunned so we hope nothing worse than that occurred.

The other thing that was very noticeable was the amount of Japanese Knotweed everywhere in this part of France it looks as though it is a really serious issue.

The towpath cycleway ended after a full 22 miles. We then had 10 miles of peloton riding before the coffee stop which we managed well as Nigel passed us and was only just able to set up in time as he had had to stop to top up the provisions.

This was a great first leg with fun safe and fast cycling so we covered the 32 miles in well under 2 hours.

After the stop which was down a farm track at the side of a field the sun started to come out so we shed the sleeves and suncreamed up as once more the temperature was set to rise to 30 degrees.

Having set off on the smaller roads to the side of the main route this is where we were joined by Dorian for 20 minutes.

The route which had followed the Loire for a day and a half now peeled away to cross towards the valley of the Allier and our destination for the day Vichy.

The scenery started to change with smaller fields, hedges and rolling countryside. The only thing stopping it totally looking English were the 5 very French Chateaux we went past.

Lunch stop was just below another chateau fort next to a lake where once again the riders were treated to baguette sandwiches as well as freshly purchased cherries and apricots

Having kept a healthy pace up so far today we had under 30 miles to go to the end so there was no need for a tea stop.

Starting out very warm and sunny the rest of the ride saw the temperature drop considerably as the clouds gathered and wind blew occasionally from behind which was great.

This extraordinary n shaped cloud appeared from nowhere and the lack of planes suggest it wasn’t a vapour Trail.

A couple of hills later we then started our downward route to the river Allier where it started to get built up. Here Chris found his power and led the peloton into Vichy itself where we had the benefit of a cycle path alongside the river and through the park We arrived at the campsite just as it started to spit with rain.

On arrival Dom and Nick had a swim and post dinner whilst I write this blog the others are enjoying an active game of Chase the Lady where Chris and Nigel are teaching the other two how to play. It certainly sounds as if Dom is picking it up more quickly than Nick !

Outside the weather has turned nasty with the same torrential rain that stopped the Paris tennis pouring down making it difficult to hear without shouting in the camper. The boys are praying that Nigel put the tents up well.

The rain is expected to continue all night but stop for the morning cycle. Let’s hope so, just two days to go, but now the climbing starts.

Nevers

93 miles

746 ft climbed

Today we spent almost the whole of day running alongside the river Loire. Either on the cycle path or on an adjacent road. The good thing about this was that there was very little in the way of climbing.

The highlights of the day were two magnificent canal aqueducts, the first at Briare built in the 19th century we were able to cycle across minding we did not fall in, especially with a brisk cross wind.

At almost 500 m long the path was not that wide and with cyclists coming the other way and a cross wind we had to take care not to fall in the canal.

The second pont- canal just south of Nevers had a huge stair lock to access it too.

We also took a detour at La Charite sur Loire where we had a quick circuit on the built up mid river islet where we came across two Dutch lady artists painting in preparation for an exhibition in Sancerre. We had a good chat initially in French, then English and even a bit of Spanish for Nick.

These all seemed far from waking up in Sully to a slightly overcast and drizzly morning. Extraordinarily Dom was not in a great frame of mind having been kept awake by frogs and Owls all night, Nick had found a friend!

After our porridge and toast. We set off earlier just after 8.00 and managed a whole mile before stopping at the magnificent chateau at Sully

Our route took us along the cycle path along the side of the Loire, until we reached Gien a town that we have been on a couple of trips before .

After Gien which always makes a good photo shot from the opposite bank of the river. We carried on in increasing sunshine and rising temperatures along the raised river levees or the quieter roads by the river.

We had agreed a meeting with Nigel shortly after the Pont Canal at Briare, but repair works to the next river crossing meant a height restriction so we had to go back to meet him where he had found a great stop next to the Loire Canal.

By this time the thermometer was back to over 30 degrees centigrade and we had a nagging headwind slowing our progress. Further levee riding was not the most exciting entertainment so we abandoned a trip up the hill to Sancerre and cut our losses to our lunch stop after only just over 50 miles.

We also passed two nuclear power stations with their huge cooling towers visible easily from 10 miles away

Once again we feasted with the additional benefit of a cold roast chicken to have with our baguette and salad.

With the heat and still over 40 miles to go a tea stop was planned in to help the tired limbs.

This was a tough segment but helped by the visit to the islet at La Charite where Nick was able to take advantage of the facilities of the island campsite before we had the nice chat with the Dutch artists.

From here we bounced along the cycle route and managed to miss Nigel as he had stayed on the road where we had agreed to meet and we didn’t.

We did rearrange our tea stop where in addition to a cuppa we were treated to a treat of chocolate eclairs. The other benefit being that we only had 18 miles to go to the campsite.

This last leg was the best of the day as not only did Dom and Nick have a quick paddle at the confluence of the Loire and Allier. This is Dom cooling down in the Allier. In addition to the temperature dropping a bit the route after the second pont canal took us beside a canal to the south of Nevers and with a bit of a following wind we were able to scoot along at 20 mph for the final 15 k just avoiding a nasty pile up when hitting a patch of gravel under a bridge.

Reaching the campsite after another full day was created with relief and a Leffe. Chris needed a full rub down with Dom’s massage ball. Looking at his photo here I’m not sure if he is enjoying it or in Pain or both!

Nigel then prepared a Jamie Oliver 5 ingredients special where 1 ingredient was replaced and the other was omitted. It still tasted great with Monica’s coleslaw though.

Whilst I would not normally bring up things outside the trip I cannot finish the blog today without expressing my shock and sadness at the death of Martin “Chin” Chinnery who I heard passed away suddenly yesterday Having known Chin for almost 30 years he was to me Sevenoaks and District Motor Club. We all raised a glass to you this evening my good man.