Despite having some initial doubt i confirmed upon checking Henley in the morning that he was actually still alive ! My doubt was caused after we'd both sat up late the night before worried after hearing all sorts of unrecogniseable animal noises in the dark. When i went to bed i wished H luck (he had a large separate room) saying that it sounded like that there were either panthers or the Hounds of Baskerville out there ! Henley promptly shut one of his two open windows !
Raring to go despite the mornings cold & foggy conditions we made comment that we couldn't possibly get lost this time with only one simple turn required leaving our accommodation before heading in to the town of Lalinde. With Bikes loaded we journeyed back down our steep hill. Coming to our only intersection (The one we'd passed though twice yesterday) Rick turned left making the fatal mistake of asking Henley who was following to confirm the direction, H replied "I''m sure its the right way" !
Watching the soap opera unfold from 100 metres back "surety" now turned to doubt ! Calling a meeting in the middle of the road (as you do) Rick and Kev decided that they had in fact turned the wrong way at the intersection now riding back past me saying "this way Litchy" ... i hadn't moved !
Although the days start didn't premise well there was no stress as we'd planned a relaxing day of only 50 kms taking in some of the Les Plus Beaux (most beautiful) villages of France as well as the magnificent Dordogne scenery !
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| Unusual sight in Lalinde ! |
Rick finally got us out of Lalinde where we soon climbed on lovely quiet roads (that is if you ignored the collective groaning of the guys) before descending back down to the main road that we were originally on for you guessed it a bit more climbing !
Add on some more cross country and we soon descended into Limeuil a stunning village on the verge of two rivers the Dordogne and the Vezere a former strategic point during the 100 years war and for movement of wine to Bordeaux !
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| Beautiful Limeuil ! |
We soon went off exploring the back streets of this old town with its incredibly steep narrow cobbled stone roads. This was the Dordogne at its best !
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| Limeuil back streets |
The forecast of a mountain like climb following Limeuil had us all on edge particularly Noel no doubt due to his previous shoulder operation where his tendon was re attached using a singer sewing machine or something similar !
As per the forecast the first 1 km section was particularly steep forcing us to walk our bikes until we could find somewhere flat enough to remount them
The hard effort though was worth it as we emerged on top of a lovely ridge line with fine all round views.
Conditions remained undulating as we sped through seemingly deserted villages and it wasn't long before we descended into Saint Cyprien in search of our customary boulangerie for lunch.
Conditions remained undulating as we sped through seemingly deserted villages and it wasn't long before we descended into Saint Cyprien in search of our customary boulangerie for lunch.
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| Noel looks the part ! |
We found Cafes, bars, restaurants, one way streets but unfortunately no boulangeries !
Desperate we even went into a Thai / Indonesian fast food store and ordered up a few Pad Thais only to be told by the girl behind the counter that we needed to come back tomorrow ! Stunned we examined the stores fine print and sure enough it said order today for tomorrow ! Call me a clairvoyant but I reckon this place might just struggle to stay open long term !
With our main options gone our last choice (in lieu of eating each other !) was to go and find a supermarket. This we did finally eating out in the supermarket car park like the derelicts we are !
Full at last we rode onto Beynac only 9 kms away, entering this amazing town just before 3.30p.m. after having traveled only 47 kms for the day !
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| Cycling into Beynac |
After a shower and a short break I went exploring while Kev got his Wi Fi up and going and soon found that this beautiful village had an amazing castle (12th Century) on top of a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley.
While I stood mezmerised taking in the outstanding views I had a moment of epiphany thinking that God was talking to me personally when I heard my name coming from above until I realised that it was in fact Rick and Noel who'd beaten me into the castle and were now standing on the castle's parapet some 100 feet above !
What they were telling me was to watch out for a rising hot air balloon and sure enough within seconds the balloon appeared over the castle wall - what an amazing sight indeed !
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Amazing view ! |
Climbing to the parapet gave me some of the most memorable views I have ever seen in France !
All " sceneryed" out I descended the steep cobblestone roads to find Rick, Noel and Kev in conference about the days activities and finding somewhere to eat for dinner
This became a little trying as we struggled to find anything other than duck or goose on the menus of the restaurants in town ! Down by the river we finally found one that served Hamburger which was promptly served with our complimentary 2 Bergerac white wines - beautiful!
What a day !
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