Meyrueis to Mende: A gorgeous 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️

June 14, 2018

We left Meyrueis this morning and headed down the Tarn gorge one more time. We saw parts that we had not seen before and it was beautiful. Most of the early part of the ride was either downhill or flat and a joyous ride. The wind was up but the sun was out so we didn’t mind too much. We stopped for lunch in St Enimie where a choice had to be made about the short (85km) or the long (101km) route, I opted for short one since this was 4 days in a row and we had a 10km climb ahead. The total climbing today was 3,600ft and most after a short lunch stop in St Enimie. The climb averaged 6-7% on the lower part and 8-9% on the upper with a few sections over 10%. It was a very pretty climb so the difficulty did not matter. Once on top we were on another plateau so no shelter from the strong head wind. We are now in Mende for 2 nights. I am going to take it easy tomorrow since there are some long rides ahead. Mende is a finish town for stage 14 of the Tour de France on 21 July. The town is already prepping for it. There was a room shortage at our hotel tonight so I agreed to room with another woman on the trip who is delightful. By si doing we scored a suite of source with our own terrace.

There were a few uphilll sections as well

We passed through many rock archways today.

A patisserie food truck where I acquired an almond pastry for sustenance along with a Coke Zero of course.

Checkout the cable box method for getting supplies across the river to the building on the other side of the Tarn.

The Détroit on the river Tarn. Détroit means straits.

Aproaching St Eminie where we stopped for lunch.

The bridge over the Tarn that we crossed into St Enimie.

A view of St Enimie as I climbed out of the Tarn gorge up and over to the Lot river valley where the city of Mende is located.

The Tour de France rode this climb in 2015 but I can assure they were MUCH faster than me. As climbs go it was a lovely climb.

This billboard is located in a roundabout as you enter Mende.

This fountain in another roundabout is also decked out for the Tour de France.

The restaurant in our hotel is rated the best in town. This was my seafood appetizer.

Glen is the bearded gentleman holding his glasses giving the group the evening briefing about the ride for the next day.

Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 1,091 km (678 miles)

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