October 5, 2022
To Montluçon
I woke this morning feeling refreshed and ready to shed yesterday’s doldrums and embrace whatever today threw at me. My resolve would come in handy later in the day. I had a nice conversation with by B&B hosts over breakfast and was in the streets of Moulins by half past nine. I was a bit nervous about my planned route to Montluçon, my destination for today. I had wavered between the longer V75 cycle route versus a shorter route on higher-traffic departmental roads. In the end I devised a hybrid, staying on larger departmental roads for at the first 25 miles and taking the V75 into Montluçon.
Well, it didn’t take long for me to change my plan. The bridge over the Allier River did not really have a good bike crossing – the road was a curbed, single lane with heavy traffic while the sidewalk was narrow and uneven. I walked across the bridge and through the round-about, ready to head east on D945 – along with a steady stream of cars and trucks. I retreated to a nearby park overlooking the river to consider alternatives and found a back road that would take me a few miles out of town before linking back up with D945, at which point I was hoping that traffic had eased.
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The disruption threw me a bit out of rhythm, but the new route worked as planned – a nice quiet road to got me to the outskirts of Moulins and by the time I rejoined D945 the traffic had thinned to the point that I was neither anxious nor completely comfortable, at least not comfortable enough to stop and take pictures. After five miles, I reached Souvginy where I turned onto D73, a smaller and quieter road that climbed through a landscape of pastures and forests, with evidence of nearby mining activities. The climb up to the small village of Gipcy was not taxing, but I was still feeling a bit out of synch so I took a break at a nice épicerie next to the Gipcy town hall. I’m not sure if was the croissant, the coffee, or the mile long descent from Gipcy, but I was soon back in the flow and on my way to Cosne-d'Allier.
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I stopped for lunch at a gazebo by the Allier River in Cosne-d-Allier and shortly afterward turned onto the V75 cycle route. It was a splendid route along small tree-lined roads dappled with sunlight. There was the occasional splash of color, and while I look forward to the fall display of yellows and reds, today I was relishing the deep greens of the fields and trees – a most welcome sight after the hot and dry days earlier this year.
The last climb of the day began with a one mile pitch up to Haut-Bocage followed by a steady but gentle three mile climb through hedged-lined pastures of Charolais. It seemed as if I was cycling through the countryside I'd looked down on yesterday, from the heights of Saint-Leger-de-Fougeret. I must have passed a thousand Charolais - but fortunately for you I did not stop to take pictures of them all. Instead, I called out to them as I passed, and their calmly curious stares kept me smiling as I made my way up the seemingly endless hill.
The hill eventually crested and I headed downhill past Verneix and through the Gorges de Thizon. It was scintillating 3.2 mile descent that wound along Ruisseau de Thizon to Saint-Victor - the slopes weren’t too steep nor the curves too sharp, it was a downhill I could really enjoy. I zipped past maybe thirty cyclists heading the opposite direction, glad that I had crested what was clearly the less challenging side of the climb.
Just past Saint-Victor, the V75 route turned onto the Canal de Berry, a decommissioned waterway whose towpath has been reclaimed as a greenway for local cyclists and pedestrians. The cycle path took me into the heart of Montlučon, where I had to deal with some unexpected news that I’d received before starting my descent through the Gorges de Thizon.
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Just before cresting the last climb, I'd received news from SNCF concerning my travel plans for tomorrow, which included train travel from Montlučon to Limoges to Souillat, followed by a twenty mile bike ride to Gramat where I was to join Team Anderson for a week of cycling in and around the Causses du Quercy. Yes, another CycleBlaze rendevouz! The distressing news was that my train from Montluçon to Limoges was cancelled, which would jeopardize, or at least delay, our Cycle Blaze reunion - not to mention our dinner reservation tomorrow night.
On arriving in Montlučon, I went straight to the train station to see if I could talk to a SNCF agent, or perhaps catch a train to Limoges that evening. I struck out on both counts and as there was nothing I could do at the station, I checked into my hotel across the street and spent the next hour online looking for a way to arrive in Souillac tomorrow in time for a daylight ride to Gramat. It looked pretty grim, but the TER cancellation notice from SNCF mentioned an alternative to Limoges – at least that’s how I interpreted the Google translated message.
Resigned to figuring things out in the morning, I found a wonderful little restaurant, La Cantine, where I enjoyed a delicious cup of butternut squash soup and a main of chicken and potatoes –it was the perfect warm, comforting meal to feed both body and soul.
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km)
Total: 2,986 miles (4,806 km)
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