France 24 Part 3 , THE SOLO RUN
With Polly safely dropped off at the airport in Rochelle I was sitting in the airport carpark thinking were the hell would I go I really had no plan.
As I mentioned in my last post forgetting my Garmin cycle computer was causing all sorts of problems on longer rides of over 2 hours, resulting in me getting hopelessly lost a few times. I did buy a replacement in Intersport on Ill de Re but the unit didn't have GPS in fairness to Intersport they took it back and issued a refund. As my plan was to do some longer rides my first mission was to find a cycle GPS unit. It was bad enough getting lost when I had Polly back at the van where she could be called on, getting lost and not being able to get back to the van was not an option as a solo traveler. So a bit of a google confirmed that the Intersport in Niort had a GPS unit that would fit the bill and it was on offer so now I had a plan. The city of Niort is a very nice university city with a nice Aire right in the centre of the town, we had been there before so I was happy to head back. Before I installed myself on the Aire I had a nice morning visiting the big shopping centre on the outskirts of the city with lots of free parking. I finally got a GPS unit I also got a local SIM card so I could stream a bit of TV as we had used up our data on our home networks, for stays over 3 weeks we normally get a local sim for our router rather than risking a big data bill when we get home , there is always a bit of aires anxiety when approaching an Aire but I need not have worried it was busy but I got a spot, I got settled made a bit to eat in the van after that I headed up the town for a stroll there was a open air concert in full swing with lots of people about, the city centre had a nice buzz to it I didn't stay long and was wrapped up in bed by 11pm.
After a quite night I was thinking it was time for me to introduce myself to the day when I got the dreaded knock on the door who could it be and why were they knocking on my door ! A quick glance thought the blinds confirmed that 3 uniformed law enforcement officers complete with holstered hand guns were requiring my attention ... what had I done now ..... I was actually expecting there knock they were the police local there only interest in me was to collect the fee of €14.20 p/n. I payed for 2 nights and they were on there way. I love the quirky ways in France could you ever imagine our local GARDA doing a task like this.
So with the admin out of the way it was time to hit the road on the bike to try my new GPS toy I had spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to work how to upload a route onto the new unit, age and tech don't mix I use to love all this stuff .... anyway the GPX file was decompressed and loaded into the GPS (I don't know what that means either ) I was now confident my getting lost days were behind me. All was going really well with a simple black crumb line to follow I was happy that I could get back to the van without any drama ...... if only life was that simple ... as I rode along enjoying the bight sunshine and the French countryside I could feel it... just a little at first you hope your just imagining it but after another Km or so there was no doubt the feeling of carbon rim meeting tarmac I had a rear flat. Not a problem I hear you say as a seasoned cyclist you will have a spare and will be an expert on fitting a tube and you would be correct but ...... life would be boring without some small dramas... when I visited the sports store yesterday I took the opportunity to buy some tubes so yes I was well equipped I striped out the old tube and fitted the new one.. all good until it was plain for anyone to see the value was way to short there was no way to inflate the tube as there wasn't enough of it poking out of my fancy carbon wheels to fit a pump on ! With all my moaning about the poor weather I was now getting baked in the midday sun with the prospect of a 20km stroll to get back to the van, all was not lost I was able to refit the punctured tube which would get me about 5km before it needed to be pumped again and made my way back to intersport to invest in some proper tubes. With all this 'fun' I wasn't back to the van until after 5pm 6 hours to do 30km maybe its just as well that Polly wasn't there . After another hour of swapping tubes and a general service of the road bike the only thing I was fit for was bed .
After another night of rain I was keen to get on the road I had it in the back of my mind to head back to the Gorges du Tarn. We discovered the Gorge when it appeared in the Tour de France we have been here many times since using Milieu as a stoping point when going south or north on the A85, it would mean a 2 day drive but the weather was looking good over that way and its a stunning beautiful place on a toll free route and hey I had nothing else to be doing . So a trip over to Millau it was with a stop on route to brake the long drive, I had a bit of gripe about some of the Camping car park sites on the last blog but there are still some gems in there the Campsite in Pierre Buffiere is one of them just south of Limoges with direct access from the toll free A20 this is a full service campsite on the edge of a town for €13.90 p\n its the towns campsite and takes caravans and tents , I stayed 2 nights and was the only one there on the 2nd night. I managed a lovely 80km route on the bike hilly going but a very nice place to ride your bike.
It was then on to Millau there is lots of camping in and around the town, the one we use is Camping Les Erables it is a busy touring site about a 15min walk from the centre and on the cycle track that takes you towards the gorge, I spent 4 nights on this site cycling along the gorge by day and going for trips into the town in the evening to people watch while having a beer in the spring sunshine solo travel is not all that bad. I had a nice chat with a group from Northern Ireland who were travelling in 3 vans I also took a young German cycle tourist under my wing and cooked him dinner one of the nights it was just as easy to cook for 2 as for one and it meant he didn't have to unpack his cooking gear , Im not sure I would survive very long if I had to carry all that gear on a bike , he was travelling from Germany to Portugal on his bike a very nice young man I enjoyed listening about travels. The football World Cup was in full swing so I would go to the site bar most evenings to watch a match it was good fun listening to the banter between the different supporters .There was also a round of the gavel cycling world championship taking place while I was there I went to see the start as it was right by the camping, lots of razzmatazz fancy bikes and very lean looking pro cyclist.
After a few days I decided to head up the gorge a bit further so plotted a route to Camping Le Site de Castelbouc just 10 min out from Sainte Enime this site while a little remote is right by the river Tarn with a swimming area in the river and Castelbouc one of the old villages built into the rock just over the river giving an amazing vista over looking your pitch. On one side there is the road which I cycled on every other day and took the mtb bike on the trail on the other side on the other days this trail brings you hi into the cliffs and while not for the fainthearted was the best fun, one day I took the trail to Sainte Enimie and another went the other way to Ispagnac, I ordered coffee and cake in both places and when I produced my bankcard was met a firm NON ..... cash only as I wasn't carrying any I was expecting to have another brush with the police local but to my surprise I was told to enjoy my coffee and not to worry about it "nice people " ... I did make a point of getting some cash and settling my bill the next day. Another lesson always carry a small bit of cash !
I still had no plan but decided it was time to head in the direction of the ferry , we tend to use the A75 on our travels it is the most cost effective way to travel across France when going north or south if you avoid Le Mans the total cost in tolls to the Spanish border should be about €50, to brake the journey we have often stayed in the Aire by the fire station in Mennetou sur Cher there is also a very nice municipal campsite in the village this was to be my next stop, To brake the journey I spent 2 nights in a very nice CampigVillage Gevaudan Aubrac in Marvejols https://www.campingcarpark.com/en_GB/stay/camping/nouvelle-aquitaine/87-haute-vienne/pierre-buffiere this site is in a very nice old town and is only 10min off the A75 the only thing I can remember is that the rain kept me awake all night and there was a 12km climb out of the town on my bike ride, It was then on to Mennetou sur Cher the plan was to stay another 2 days and then head for the coast and home but after getting settled into Camping municipal de Val Rose an old style basic but clean camping the sun came out so I just kept pushing out my depart date in the end I stayed 4 days, cycling by day with an evening stroll to the beach bar by the river for a beer and a spot of people watching I had a very nice few day.
I had agreed to lend the van to my daughter earlier in the year and she had rang me to remind me the her booking in the hub was the following weekend so that was it my time was up I asked Polly to book me on the midweek ferry I headed for Cherbourg with the now regular last night in the Aire in Port en Bessin Huppain https://park4night.com/en/place/1204 this is a lovely fishing port with a busy harbour area right in the hart of the WW2 area I took the bike out to some green lanes I have discovered over the years for a last lash I had never seen it so wet and ended up falling into a mud hole spending most of my last evening trying to get the stickiest mud I have ever come across off myself and the bike having the chats with a lovely old couple who were enjoying knocking about Brittany with no real plan .
The following morning a little over an hour got me up to Cherbourg where I had a uneventful trip home aboard the W.B Yeats having an early night trying to finish my book
So that was it just under 6 weeks and I only scratched the surface of France its a big place.
We have had a busy Summer and Im afraid I have fallen way behind in the blog my plan is to revisit some of our shorter trips over the winter when I have time but we are heading for Spain in a few days time and I'm going to try and record a few lines every few days to keep up-to date.
Until next time Happy camping and don't forget to wave .
https://park4night.com/en/place/942 https://park4night.com/en/place/73429 https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/france/languedoc-roussillon/lozere/sainte _enimie/camping-le-site-de-castelbouc/
Great read. 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks 👍
Delete