On the 25th we left the tour and rode on our own up and down some hills. It was actually the greatest elevation gain and distance day of the trip.
This ride started with a bang. It had just started raining and we descended a steep windy road and one of our people, Angela had a crash. She was pretty shaken up, but both bike and person were ok. A car followed not long after and spun a 180, wiping out their license plate. Not long after we found the Taco Bell of France, O’ Tacos.
After a jaunt on busy roads we had a loooong descent into a deep, deep valley. I thought we were going to see the mantle before long, but we ended up at the bottom of the valley over a charming stone bridge. So many stone bridges there. I guess they last?
We didn’t think it got much better than this.
There were dams, bridges and lots of buildings made of…stone!
Then we entered a beautiful UNESCO level village. Such a wonder to see, with river, bridge, village, church AND chateau all made of…stone! Serena would have had lots of adventure ideas from this I’m sure.
There were even monsters, and a hill of cheese. I sincerely wish that this actually led to THE Roquefort. I may have enlarged Mr. Snail a tiny bit.
We entered a valley with a bridge, tiny dam and village on the other side of the river, when suddenly a group of riders came by in their pageantry. Look at that tail swoosh!
The town fountain…with non-potable water. Also a very bad “totem pole”.
The villages here had distinctive churches with steeples three bells wide…until we found the grand village at towards the end with FOUR bells! This was at the top of a substantial climb. Not the “Death climb” which was at the every end and I did not film because I was holding on for dear life, but this had a payoff.
I climbed this one with my coach, Katrina Niez, who was very very supportive and talked me through my effort, etc. It’s good to get the coach to know how you ride after only talking on the phone and looking at numbers.
Brenda and Rosy are just behind us. They were often together for the trip. Rosy is sweet and really spins relentlessly.
Not a sticker day, but it was still a good day.
The Pangolin Posse in the World 