August 17, 2016
A long way to go to be so near.: Angouleme to Villebois-Lavalette
Today's route will need some explaining. If you have been reading in some of my previous journals, you might have noticed that I am a member of le Fédération Française de Cyclotourisme , the French cyclotouring federation. The federation is mostly dedicated to recreational riders and is comprised mostly of local clubs. It is possible to join as an individual however, and I have done so mostly because there is no club where I live. As a national organization, the federation sponsors several more "muscular" rides, such as the cyclomontagnards, Which require you to ride a course of over 200 km with more than 3500 meters of climbing in a specified time, either one or two days. Other rides include the diagonales, rides across France from one "corner" to another, or the mer-montagne from the sea to a selected mountain summit. Anyone completing a series of these is entitled to a medal. I have chosen to ride the Brevet des Provinces Françaises or BPF, which requires one to visit six sites in every department of Metropolitan France and Corsica, with the exception of the small departments around Paris. That's 534 sites over all, and I have been to over 300 of them. As an incentive, the departments are grouped into what roughly resemble the ancient provinces of France under the Louis'. Completion of any province also entitles you to a medal. Soooo, with that in mind, I needed to make a small detour in my route in order to visit Rouillac, which is north west of Angouleme before heading further south.
The route to Rouillac looked straight forward. Follow EuroVelo 3 west along the Charente, then north to Rouillac on another velo route. Except EV3 really doesn't exist yet, and what velo path there is along the Charente is a rutted dirt track that left me coated in dust. Ditto for the velo route to Rouillac. I ended up,riding small country roads, which actually was quite pleasant, especially in the cool temperatures the new day had brought. The sky was generally overcast, but the terrain was not difficult, and there was no hint of rain to dampen my spirits (OK, that one's a groaner).
Rouillac turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. Most of the sites for the BPF have something of interest to see, but all the tourist office could point me to were wineries, nice but common in France, and cognac distilleries. It would be interesting to sample the product, but brandy and cycling are not a good mix for me. I rode south on the same roads I came in on, but wow! I hadn't noticed the climb from the river but I sure noticed the descent. I flew back to the Charente, fetching up at a snack bar just at noon. A sandwich and a can of coke later, and I crossed the Charente headed for Villebois-Lavalette, where I could rejoin my route south. Villebois is also a BPF site, but unlike Rouillac it is full of interesting things to see. I found a room in a b-n-b, and went for a tour of the village on foot.
Most remarkable is the chateau on the top of the hill. It is in an excellent state of preservation, mostly due to owners who are passionate about it. There is a complete curtain wall and tower system surrounding the keep, a chapel, and various outbuildings. I didn't have time for the full tour of the chateau because there were other things to do before supper, like shower and change out of my bike clothes. I stopped in the old covered market for a beer, and had a nice conversation with the bar man, and some other French cyclists. The best restaurant in the town was full, so I settled for a pizza, which was generous to the point that I couldn't finish it. After eating all I could I was more than ready for bed. I was 25 kilometers from where I started.
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Today's ride: 86 km (53 miles)
Total: 618 km (384 miles)
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