September 12, 2023
Day 8 - Millau to Saint-Affrique
Fun with gravel, then we got lazy
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Another short day, again due to lack of options for lodging and eating. We made this one even shorter, because after 8 days we’re starting to feel like we want to go a bit easier. And we have 2 tougher days coming up to finish.
We decided to splurge on a hotel breakfast this morning and lucked out. There was actually protein available (cheese and meat) and they offered scrambled eggs! The croissants were excellent, too. Way to go, Hotel de la Capelle!
The weather report called for rain at 1500, but as we set up the bike, we both noticed how intense the sunlight was. Like all the days before, though, there was a cool breeze once we started rolling at shortly before 1000.
We traversed the busy morning traffic of Millau, aided after a while by a separated bike path that got us through a manufacturing zone, across the Tarn, and part way up the side of the valley. From here, we turned up a narrow road (marked with bike path signs) and climbed away from the busy traffic.
We passed only one jogger as we crested the hill and coasted back down to the river. The road was shaded and we had a cool tailwind. It was a beautiful place to be this morning!
We rode around a point of land and up above loomed Millau’s most famous landmark: The Viaduct de Millau. The sun was behind us and lit up the beautiful pillars against the blue sky.
We could hear just a faint traffic noise from the bridge. Down in our world, everything was quiet, calm, and peaceful.
We passed under the bridge and our asphalt road turned into a trail. Fun for Rich, less so for Robin.
We had the bike built to handle this kind of riding, and it totally justified the decisions we had made. Even loaded, it was incredibly sure-footed. No sliding or washing out on the gravel, sand, or dirt. A joy to ride!
Around another corner was a postcard view of a village across the river.
We continued along the path and eventually it turned into someone’s gravel driveway, and then into a small road that followed a creek up out of the Tarn valley. After some wiggling around, the road deposited us at our decision point in Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon.
Here we decided to be lazy and abandoned our planned route to Saint-Affrique. Instead of tackling a couple of 6km climbs, we opted to follow the departmentale. It didn’t look too busy, and it would be much faster. The predicted rain at 1500 was a concern, and possibly some climbing fatigue after 8 days of riding impacted our decision.
It turned out ok, although it was somewhat stressful at times. Everyone gave us space, and the road wasn’t super busy, but we had to listen to lots of chirping from the Varia radar taillight as traffic approached at 90kph. It gets on your nerves after awhile. And all the time, you know that it just takes one inattentive driver to cause a disaster. We’ll be back on roads without lines tomorrow.
We were pretty happy to get to Saint-Affrique in one piece at about 1230. Celebratory drinks were had since we were once again way too early to check in.
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1 year ago
Yes, timing belts are becoming more and more popular on tandems. I understand that Gates (the manufacturer) has started offering more lengths and that has helped adoption. For many years there was only one length available.
There is still an eccentric on the front crank. In fact, that’s the only way to get the belt off and on!
1 year ago
At about 1330 we walked over to our accommodation, “Le 1837”. At about 1400 when the receptionist returned from her lunch break, she happily checked us in an hour early.
This place is a bit different for us. It’s not a hotel, but rather a vacation apartment complex. Meaning that we have a kitchen and a living room. Pretty nice!
After unpacking, we headed for the pool. There don’t appear to be many people staying here, so we had a nice relaxing dip with no company.
After cleaning up, we headed out to Super U to buy some stuff for dinner. We’re staying in tonight!
On the way back from the market, I grabbed this picture of the town.
The 13th century bridge, according to the local tourist office, is considered to be one of the most beautiful medieval bridges in France. So now you know…. The church is much more recent.
As of 1730, only a few drops of rain had fallen. :)
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 351 km (218 miles)
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1 year ago