August 8, 2015
Riding up into more rain: Figeac to Jussac
I was planning to continue my lazy habits today, and take the train further up the line. So I got up early to catch said train thinking that I could snooze on board. I peddled back up the hill to the station, went to the ticket window, and shoot! The agent told me that the morning train only ran on weekdays, and I would have to wait until noon. My fault for not reading the fine print in the schedule. So I decided to ride in the general direction of Aurillac, again following the river Cere. Being out early meant that the road was calm, the traffic waiting for stores to open at nine. By nine o'clock I was in Maurs, and things were starting to get lively. I continued northward on a designated cycle route, a really lovely ride in various valleys, but the skies were slowly closing in.
It started to spit down rain, so on with the poncho. I turned off the cycle route to go to St.Mamet, and from there continue around the western edges of Aurillac, missing the big city. The road was significantly steeper, and the rain was starting to intensify. Passing through Ytrac, I started to look for a refuge, finally finding one in Jussac, a hotel restaurant. They had a room, and the lunch menu was reasonable. A little salad and a glass of rose, and I was set.
Afternoon was spent catching up on the journal. The hotel was too lively for a nap as the bar was doing good business. This particular bar is a PMU, a betting shop for the horsey set, and the races were on the tube continuously, accounting for the noise. I had a beer, and read the paper to while away time. Two Dutch cyclists wandered in, and I invited them to sit and chat. Piet and his daughter Desiree were on a tour of France that started in the far north on the Belgian border and would end in the Pyrenees. The had booked hotels for every night along the way, so we're forced to press on in all sorts of weather. Like me, they had resorted to the train to escape the heat, crossing the Monts de Cantal in air conditioned comfort rather than slogging over the Pas de Peyrol.
Dinner was good, but not memorable, and I retired early to try and catch up on sleep.
Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 1,032 km (641 miles)
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