Albi

June 10, 2023

At the suggestion of our amazing proprietor Claudia we drove with her to Albi with our bikes on or in the van. This is a service that she usually charges for but since D&L are repeat customers, and since she was going there anyway she took us along. This is a location not to be missed if you are in the region so I am so thankful Claudia was so gracious to take us there. We had the opportunity to see the very old bridge across the Tarn which is under repair but over 1000 years old. We also had quick visit to the massive cathedral made of red brick which makes it unique. We stuck our head inside but there was a funeral service so we didn’t stay long. Beside the church is a museum to Toulouse-Lautrec with an amazing classic French garden. Lastly we did a little shopping at the market for our lunch. The market was huge and you could have taken all morning there alone.
About noon we set off on our bikes back to Plaisance. Since the city was so busy we had a motorcycle escort out by an employee of the hotel. Once on the edge of town we followed a very quiet pastoral road alone the north side of the Tarn kback to Ambialet where we had lunch before returning on the same route as yesterday to Plaisance. It was much hotter today especially since we were riding in the afternoon so the dirty beer at the end tasted pretty good.

Our route for today along the yellow line. Much of it was on a farmer’s road so very light traffic.

Our first view of the cathedral and the old bridge

The Albi cathedral/basilica that dates back to the 1200s and took 200 years to finish. It is a UNESCO site and the largest brick building in the world.

The Tour de France will end here this year on July 27 and depart on July 28 which is a bit unusual because they often travel between finishes and starts.

Cycling friends, thank you for doing slower, I think.

This old Deux Cheveaux (2 horse power) car was at our lunch stop. It is very well restored.

D&L crossing the river into Plaisance at the end of our ride.

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 1,831 km (1,137 miles)

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