Day 4 - Rivières-sur-Tarn to Laval-du-Tarn - Schnooks Tackles the Tarn - Tandem Tour - Sept 2023

September 8, 2023

Day 4 - Rivières-sur-Tarn to Laval-du-Tarn

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After yesterday’s excesses, we decided to sleep in this morning. We had breakfast in the restaurant and lazed around until the ridiculously late hour of 1115. Checkout was at noon, so we were still golden.

The day was warming but the breeze was still cool as we set out. We had a short day today thanks to our upcoming overnight in a 15th century castle. We’ve been looking forward to this!

We took our first break where some acrobatics were going on along a cable over the river. We had a nice long chat with a couple from Le Mans who had lots of questions about the bike and our trip. That was fun - it doesn’t happen to us very often.

As we worked our way into the gorge, there were the usual beautiful things to look at. Robin liked this small church and adjacent cemetery.

Soon, the valley narrowed and things got “gorgy”. Short tunnels started appearing over the road and limestone crags loomed over us.

Someone built houses into the bottom of those crags!

We stopped a few times for pictures and hydration. What a fantastic ride! The road surface was smooth as silk, there was very little traffic, not a cloud in the sky, and the views were stunning.

We had lunch in a pizzeria in La Malène, trying to burn some time. Checkin at the chateau wasn’t until 1600.

We are musing on why the French think it’s ok to put emmental cheese on a pizza.

At about 1445, we decided to arrive early and hope for the best. After 5 more lovely kilometers, we arrived!

It’s a real castle! The friendly reception lady had no trouble letting us in early. The bike was stored in a garage, and we were in our room in a trice.

These rock formations loom over the property. The building in this picture houses a spa.

This place is a real budget buster, but as a friend of mine used to say, “How many days of your life do you remember?” Some experiences are worth it, for us at least.

Before dinner we went out for a short walk around the castle grounds. Rich finally stuck his toe in the Tarn. It’s cold!

The castle is hiding in the trees at the right

Dinner was fantastic. Another culinary delight, although we dialed it down from last night.

We sat out on the terrace and enjoyed a simpler dinner. Aperos to start, a Buratta starter to share, then Robin had gnocchi and Rich had the scallops. A good Corbières wine from within 50km of home. It was magical. Some discreet plate swapping occurred.

For Scott - tonight’s hydration solution

Today's ride: 33 km (20 miles)
Total: 203 km (126 miles)

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Rachael AndersonWhat a great place to stay!
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1 year ago

Mark Bingham"This place is a real budget buster, but as a friend of mine used to say, 'How many days of your life do you remember?' Some experiences are worth it, for us at least."
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1 year ago

Suzanne GibsonWhat a long day! But it looks like a beautiful stretch along the Tarn. I'm glad that we didn't embark on a one day out an out-and-back along the Tarn when we were in Albi. From your pictures, it looks like that part was the least interesting.
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1 year ago

Rich FrasierTo Suzanne GibsonYou’re absolutely right, Suzanne. The stretch between Albi and Millau is nice and untraveled, but not super scenic. It’s also almost entirely unpopulated. Only a couple of stores and restaurants. Robin didn’t like it much :)

The good part starts about 15km upriver from Millau and stretches to just before Ispagnac.
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1 year ago