May 17, 2024
To Gramat
Today we left the Dordogne and made our way to the Lot, a region where I spent a wonderful week cycling with Scott and Rachael Anderson in 2022. In fact, the motivation for including Gramat on this tour was to repeat the 2022 day ride to Rocamadour – I had shown Leah and Susie Rachael’s video and they insisted I include the route on our itinerary.
And I need to give credit to Scott for today’s route from Sarlat to Gramat. Many of us on CycleBlaze crib from each other in choosing places to tour and even routes to take during a tour – the embedded maps are one of my favorite features of the site. However, I’ve rarely ridden a direct copy of a published route, preferring instead to use them as guideposts and/or stepping stones when making my own routes – it’s part of the joy in planning my tours. However, with the exception of an unexpected detour, today’s route to Gramat was the exact one taken by TA in 2022, and it was a fantastic ride.
We started out under cloudy but dry skies, our rain gear packed at the top of our panniers. We followed bike lanes/cycle routes for a couple of miles through Sarlat before reaching the delightful Sarlat Voie Verte, a 29 km rail trail between Sarlat and Cazoulés. We left the voie verte early, exiting at Carsac-Aillac and thereafter followed a marked cycle route that zig-zagged it’s way south toward Gourdon on a series of small roads and lanes. It was an excellent ride, cycling through dairy farms and newly planted fields, stopping for photos of ponies and cows. We took a small break in Payrignac, enjoying some of our picnic supplies in the courtyard of the Romanesque Église Saint Agapit, which according to the nearby photo, had once been a very lively gathering spot.
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The route to Payrignac had been fairly flat, albeit with a spiky bump or two that had both Leah and me pushing. But the real climbing came after our break as we made our way up toward the Causse de Gramat along the western edge of the Central Massif. We encountered a Route Barre just before reaching Saint-Project, resulting in an extra few miles and one of the steepest climbs of the day. Leah had been anxious about the climbs, but all were very manageable and we were soon cycling through a rolling landscape that was both familiar and dear to me.
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Also familiar was our lodging in Gramat – once again I had booked rooms in Le Heurtoir Rouge, the Red Knocker, where the proprietor Marc remembered me from two years ago. I quickly claimed my former room and after quick showers we all headed out to see a little of the town and find an open place to eat. It had begun to rain, so we chose a place just off the square that was reported to open at six. The doors did open, but they were not serving until seven. I followed Leah and Susie into some nearby shops where they bought souvenirs and I found some locally made batik napkins that I couldn’t resist.
By 6:30 we were back in the restaurant, enjoying wine and the vibe of what seemed to be the local watering hole. Our middle-aged waitress was a hoot, teasing us at every chance with a big smile and a wink. We each ordered burgers and relished a down-home meal in a down-home place – something that was satisfying after all the touristic places and rich food we’d encountered over the past few days. It was Leah’s favorite stop of the tour, and a fitting way to cap off a rambling ride through rural France.
Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 997 miles (1,605 km)
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6 months ago