A short day to avoid the heat

August 9, 2019

I never intended to go far today. The heat was predicted to be in the mid 30’s by early afternoon and I did not want to be climbing hills is that. It was already 26 when I left the hotel at nine. Leaving Brive was essentially an exercise of retracing my route of yesterday and turning off to try another road. This proved to be something of a mistake as I soon had to rejoin my old route by the expedient of climbing a very steep hill. For the first time in a long while, I had to walk up part of the way, and in the growing heat this was not terribly amusing.

The next ascent was easier and I arrived at the summit at the same time as a club group ride also out from Brive. We exchanged pleasantries and rode off in different directions. I rode into the town of Objat, and stopped in a bar for an apple juice. Trying to keep those electrolytes up, you know! The road soon started up again, and I climbed for several kilometers before it leveled off. Then more climbing to another plateau and one more rise until I could drop down into the village of Pompadour.

It had gone noon, and I stopped for lunch in a nice cafe facing the chateau.

The chateau peeking out from the foliage. Madame de Pompadour never actually lived here. Louis XV gave her the chateau, and the title that went with it as a token of his esteem. She wasn’t really interested in living so far from Versailles.

The chateau was however extended for use in the breeding of horses. After being partially destroyed during the revolution, Napoleon restored what was left for use in the production of horses for the cavalry. It has seen subsequent ups and downs, but is now used for all things equestrian from show-jumping and dressage to racing.

My eye was distracted from the chateau by the task at hand: lunch. A salad of fresh greens, duck breast, foie gras, fresh tomatoes, figs and walnuts.

From lunch to the hotel it was five kilometers, and there I ended my ride, but not yet my day. After showering, I took a walk around in the Limosine countryside.

The view from the front. In the distance one can see the nets spread over apple orchards. They trees are planted in close ranks, rigorously pruned, and netted to keep birds from getting the majority of the crop.

Dinner in the hotel was not the greatest. I had a salad with duck breast and fois gras, just like at lunch, but it was smaller and not as good. I also had a filet of beef, good but not great, and a brioche style pain perdue for dessert, which was the best part of the meal. The whole meal took two hours, which even by French standards is a long time for service.

Today's ride: 52 km (32 miles)
Total: 623 km (387 miles)

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