May 8, 2019
Sarlat to Cénac-et-Saint-Julien
Definitely not as planned!
The plan today was to check out the Wednesday market in Sarlat and then get on our bikes for a 36 km ride that included side trips to see the bastide of Domme and the Châteaux de Beynac et Castelnaud. The forecast was for rain but we were hoping it wasn't going to be too heavy.
We started out as planned. The market was interesting and we bought some strawberries and cheese--and then realized we might be opting for a restaurant lunch if the weather was bad. We went through the gigantic doors of the former church of Sainte-Marie to the covered part of the market and were surprised how small the interior is, especially given the size of the doors.
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We had modified our plan last night to take the Voie Verte to Carsac and then the green-highlighted skinny yellow (better than wide yellow) D703 to join our planned route. It was a bit of a challenge to find the Voie Verte but we did and we had it mostly to ourselves on this rainy holiday. (May 8 is VE Day and celebrated with a national holiday in France.)
Our next challenge was leaving the Voie Verte in Carsac. Somehow we missed the sign and Garmin was no help. We finally got it to cooperate and D703 was beautiful with low traffic. Unfortunately, it was difficult to enjoy it properly in the rain and just as we got to Montfort, thinking of a short break, the deluge started. We had stopped just at the driveway to a small "non-stop" "omeletterie" so decision made. We put our bikes on the covered terrasse (nobody would be sitting there today) and went in. There was an actual fire in the fireplace! It was just noon so we had lunch (omelette for Al and soup for me) with a little wine and coffee after. The rain had stopped just before we got the coffee but by the time we'd finished, it was pouring again.
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We waited a while until the rain lessened (it's all relative) and headed out. There are two bridges across the Dordogne in this area, one for D46E3 (white) and one for D46 (yellow). Our original route was the yellow road so we went that way and took D49 up to Domme. This is the route specified for buses and trucks so was (almost) two lanes wide. Traffic was light so no problem.
As you might or might not know, Domme is on top of a hill. Riding up, Al pulled away as usual and I expected to find him waiting for me at the top. However, I heard him call to me a couple hundred metres from the top. A flat. He was in a flat unpaved clearing off the road (better than at the side of a narrow road) but there was no shelter from the rain.
Unfortunately this was not an ordinary puncture. The sidewall of the tire had split lengthwise, just by the bead, with the tear almost 2" long. The hole in the tube was a starburst and I'm not sure whether these had lined up. In any case, he tried two different tire boots and neither would stick. Yes, we dried the inside of the tire! We tried my Tear Aid tape but it wouldn't stick either. Next we tried using a tube patch but it wouldn't stick. Yes, we used fresh glue and waited for it to be tacky!
Out of options, we transferred Al's panniers to my front rack which I'd put on when I assembled my bike because I'll need it for my camping gear and because its hoop is the only place I can mount a front light. We walked the rest of the way up the hill to Domme with Al carrying his bike.
While walking, I saw a sign for the Office de Tourisme. I guessed that to score a job there in a place like Domme (where the only industry is tourism), English skills would be highly desirable. I was right. The young woman there was very helpful and aware that there were bike shops in Castelnaud, not very far away, and that one of them was run by an expat Brit. She called for us, got the Englishman, and passed the phone to Al. He said he'd check if he had a suitable tire and call back--and if he did, he would come up to Domme and install it! We headed for the only open place to get a hot drink and waited. He found a tire, 700 x 25 so a little narrower than preferred, but it would do.
The rest of the day has been uneventful but that's fine by us, though we didn't see the castles. Uneventful except that we had very good Thai food for dinner. There are actually quite a few places to eat in this little town! Several were closed due to the holiday but we still had choices: pizza (no indoor seating), kebabs, French (more than we wanted to spend), and Thai. An easy choice.
Today's ride: 29 km (18 miles)
Total: 361 km (224 miles)
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