The weather forecast for the next two days was partly to mostly sunny, prompting me to spend a few days in Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val exploring the area on bike. I'd roughed out some possible loops in the area and sought advice from Peter at breakfast. He very strongly recommended that I cycle the Route de la Corniche through Gorges de l'Aveyron. He then suggested a nice loop that would pass by/through some of the nice villages in the area.
It was after eleven by the time I started, crossing the bridge and heading out of town on a short stretch of dirt cycle path. Soon, I was on a small road winding through the woods with the limestone cliffs of Roc d’Anglars looming ahead. Openings in the trees tantalized me with glimpses of an enormous orange-hued rock face, which soon revealed itself as I made my way up the gorge. The woods opened into a small valley and as I climbed up I caught rare glimpses of the river below. At the top, the road snaked through and around the rock face, affording a long view of the river as it traveled down through the gorge. I then slowly descended, twisting back down to the main D115 road that had tunneled under, rather than over, this section of the gorge.
The Route de la Corniche from Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val starts on small roads winding through woodlands...
In other journals, I find scenery shots are more interesting if they include a cyclist. An unknown biker passed me while I was taking photos, so I was able to include this "scene with cyclist" photo
I continued on D115, following the river as it snaked south to Bruniquel, another medieval village. I headed up into the village for lunch, and happened on a couple from Massachusetts doing a self-guided tour of the area. They were the first Americans I’d a chance to really talk to since beginning my trip, and we spent more than an hour conversing about the various styles of bike travel and US politics. They were on their way to Saint-Antonin and I encouraged them to take the Corniche route, but it looked like their planned route took them through the tunnel. It was almost 2:30 by the time we said our final, final good-byes and I left without really seeing any of the village.
Looking back from D115, which is a pretty traffic-light road
The next fifteen miles were a real delight, an ever-so-slightly uphill on a well-surfaced, low-traffic road. The kind of road where you can fly. I passed by Puycelsi, one of “The Most Beautiful Villages”, and elected not to visit as the day was growing shorter and there was some climbing yet to do. I turned north shortly before La Verdier, climbed up through Campagnac and Vaour, and looked out over great expanses of wooded hillsides broken up by patches of vineyards or cropland. The shadows were lengthening as I reached Saint-Michael de Vax, where I was supposed to leave the D19 direct route back to Saint-Antonin and take a dirt/sealed side road. It was well past five, so I opted instead for the straight route home. It didn’t take long before I recalled Peter’s description of this section as being one small hill after another small hill with moderate traffic and little of interest. A fairly long and somewhat steep descent brought me into Saint-Antonin – there were some great views of the river and village but it did not seem prudent to stop for photos. All told, it was a brilliant ride with a little of everything this area has to offer: spectacular natural and bucolic scenery, reasonable climbing, quiet roads, and medieval villages. And there is more to come tomorrow.
Today's ride: 47 miles (76 km) Total: 896 miles (1,442 km)
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Scott AndersonWe rode the Averyron Gorge about a decade ago and stayed in Saint Antonin also, but I don’t recall riding the corniche. What a gorgeous day! Reply to this comment 5 years ago
