The best day I've had on the bike in a long time, despite the fact that it absolutely poured with rain for about five of the hours I spent riding. Just a fantastic ride.
I wanted to visit Rocamadour. I'd considered incorporating it into the route, but it seemed obvious that it would be a climbing ride so I opted for another night in Cahors so I could leave the bags in the hotel and ride it unencumbered. Having bought a decently large-scale map of the district I was able to work out a roughly 150 km loop.
This is a beautiful part of the world. On a nicer day this would have been a gorgeous route. Even today (rained for the first three and half hours, then hammered down for the last hour and a half) it was lovely, empty country roads winding up and down through wooded valleys and past numerous mediaeval villages and small chateaux. There was a hell of a lot going on around here in the 13th and 14th centuries.
And Rocamadour is beyond extraordinary. Here it is in profile, so to speak:
And a couple of views from the front:
The second one is the best, because it gives a truer sense of how the town and chateau sit in the landscape. It's quite a sight, I'm very pleased to have gone. Terrific day all round. Oh, and I saw my first Hoopoe. Very striking bird. Unwilling to pose for a picture, though.
2 comments:
Thanks for the nod to the bird geeks among your readers!
You're welcome. Lots of kites and buzzards in the Pyrenees, and an eagle yesterday. Clearly an eagle because of wingspan and the primaries, but too high for me to guess at species.
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