Still recovering

June 12, 2018

Taking it slow, even when it's a necessity, has its advantages. I discovered that even though there is a strike on there are still a few trains running. In fact there was a train going from Bordeaux to Agen this morning that I could take my bike on. I didn't want to go too far, though, so I got off at Langon. It was just before lunch. I followed the bike trail that is right in front of the station to St.Macaire where I had booked myself into a hotel restaurant. The town is an ancient medieval river port and seems to have retained much of its charm.

I ate lunch at the hotel, which was 15€ for the whole deal including:

A mountain hamburger for the main course, which you eat with a knife and fork in the French style, and fromage frais for dessert.

After lunch, I checked into my room and unloaded the bike. I decided I needed to test my legs to see if I was ready to resume touring at a reasonable pace and leave the "train touring " behind. I decided to go to St.Croix du Mont, which has the reputation of being a nice village to see and has some good cycling. The distance wasn't long, and there would be some climbing to get there, so it should be a good test of my legs.

The first test came almost immediately after I left St.Macaire. I had a short climb to Verdelais but it wasn't all that hard. I find the name of the village kind of funny since " verre du lait" means "glass of milk" in English and this is in the middle of wine country. Anyway, I felt good enough to continue. My spirits were buoyed by a young woman on a racing bike giving me the cyclist's wave as she sped by going the other way. Remember that you young ones. A simple wave hello might help to make an old fart's day. From Verdelais the road descended once more to St.Croix du Mont, but, and it's a big "but", to reach the center of the town there is a very steep climb of about two kilometers. I shifted into my lowest gear and started up. Even at my very slow pace I was struggling a bit. I stopped about halfway to catch my breath before finishing the climb. Clearly, I'm not ready for the Alps yet.

The views from the top were great. I rode to the castle that has become the village hall. The village clerk was there and she was happy to give a brief history of the castle. Not that it's remarkable, but very few villages the size of St.Croix du Mont have anything so grand for a town

The courtyard of the mairie in St.Croix du Mont

View across the valley of the Gironde from St.Croix du Mont

It was all downhill on the ride back to St.Macaire. I felt tired, but OK, so maybe I can continue on this tour. After showering, I walked around town looking at the marvelous medieval buildings.

There were well preserved arcaded structures facing the old marketplace

The church is a mixture of romanesque on the right and gothic on the left.

Magnificent frescoes on the ceiling behind the altar.

Dinner was somewhat problematic. I wasn't very hungry, and there was only one restaurant in the entire town that was open on a Tuesday night. I settled for a skewer of barbecued duck and fromage frais for dessert.

Today's ride: 24 km (15 miles)
Total: 454 km (282 miles)

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