Return to the road

August 6, 2019

I was actually quite excited about getting on the road this morning. The only hic in the plan was the gathering clouds, but I found a way to escape any possible rain by using the train once more, but only for a very short distance. I took the 8:35 to Montmorillon. Onboard were two French women with their bikes packed and ready and they were even more excited than me. They were going all the way into Limoges to join a friend of theirs for a weeks cycle tour. As I got out at the second stop, we wished each other « bonne route ». The train moved on and I descended a slight hill to a quiet country road.

My planned route followed the Gartempe river going generally upstream. I stopped at the first village along the route to apply sunscreen, something I had not thought of in the gloom of Poitiers.

I was stopped in front of this church in Plaisance, which is a very nice name for a village. The moorish arch over the door had been added several centuries after the moors had been driven back over the Pyrénéens and so it was safe to use on a church not at all imitating a mosque.

On my map Mr.Michelin had placed a star on the river, indication of something of interest called Roches d’Enfer, or the devil’s rocks. So I went up and down a couple of small hills to have a look. It turned out to be a place with zip-lines over the river and a kayak rental and not at all what I would call interesting.

Emerging from the river valley I joined a wide straight road going my way so I followed it to Le Dorât. Here I stopped in a bar for mint syrup flavored Perrier and went into a bakery next door for a quiche and a chocolate dessert for lunch. I took my goodies over to a near by park and sat on a bench eating. A pair of bored looking tourists wandered around the park with cameras as I finished my lunch. Afterwards, I went to have a look at the old abbey church in town.

This immense old pile of stone is in the beginning stages of a renovation. It was apparently the first female monastery in the Aquitaine. Inside is very gloomy, as is typical of the Romanesque style.

A few more kilometers down the road was another ancient church that was said to hold twelfth century stained glass, but wouldn’t you know that it was closed for renovation and completely inaccessible. Oh well, on to Bessines sur Gartempe, the birthplace of Suzanne Valadon the artist and model. She, having been born and grown to a sufficient age to be able to, left for the bright lights of Montmartre where she was a fixture in the studios of, among others, Degas, Renoir, and Toulouse -Lautrec. A noted artist in her own right, she was also the mother of Maurice Utrillo. As far as is known, she never returned to her birthplace.

Supper as usual.

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 435 km (270 miles)

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Kathleen JonesGreat story about Suzanne Valadon. Thanks for the lesson.
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5 years ago

Keith KleinTo Kathleen JonesHi Kathleen,
Thanks. I’m an admirer of her work, but before visiting I had no idea she was born in Bessines.
Cheers,
Keith
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5 years ago