Montauban to Cahors

October 5, 2024

Today we were three!

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What a great way to start the day. Blue sky, sunshine and breakfast with Pierre. We chatted, I drank multiple cappuccinos and we waited for it to warm up a bit. That didn’t take long.

We rode into Montauban to score a lunch sandwich, but the line up was long and Keith figured we would find something down the road. Pierre concurred and so I agreed and we were off. That decision would turn out to be a mistake!!

Poor Pierre. I talked his ear off. All day.

It was a really super ride right from the start. We began on Chemin St. Pierre. Seemed fitting. We were on quiet roads riding through beautiful scenery. It was rolling countryside and I got my wish for some climbing. We had 860 m of elevation gain today if Ride with GPS is to be believed. It was always a manageable grade and the views were beautiful.

Sunflowers. Not quite ready to harvest. Pierre explained that to me too.

Probably peppering Pierre with more questions.

Pierre pointed out to us that all the buildings in this area are built of brick, rather than stone.

Best of all though, was having Pierre along. He was planning on riding halfway with us and then turning around. Keith made many attempts to convince him to ride all the way and take the train back to Montauban, but Pierre isn’t a big fan of trains, which makes sense to me! So we talked away and Pierre helped me with French pronunciation and meanings…one hilarious moment that really made me laugh…I kept seeing signs that were, I thought, advertising some kind of festival. Wrong! Blood donor clinics. I really laughed at myself.

Now that mythical lunch stop? It didn’t happen in the way any of us envisioned. We did have an Orangina break along the way, and finally I announced I couldn’t go any further without eating something. All we had onboard was dried fruit, chocolate, crackers and an Apple strudel Keith had picked up. Not a well rounded lunch but it did the trick. It fuelled Keith and I to Cahors, and Pierre back to Montauban and his car (in half the time his outbound trip took I might add).

Our Orangina stop. Look at that sky. It was the perfect temperature too.

We rode up to this village and finally stopped for that nutritionally weak lunch.

A selfie just before we had to say goodbye.

It was a wonderful, wonderful day. After saying goodbye to Pierre, we came across an open Spar about five minutes later. You have to laugh.

We were back to two, but the scenery just kept on coming. What a beautiful part of the world this is.

This was huge and nothing to identify it.

Cahors itself is fine. It hasn’t grabbed us the way Montauban did, but we went for an enjoyable walk and explore. Cahors has Les Halles, an indoor market and we loaded up on fruit, grapes, tomatoes, and cheese. No nutritionally suspect lunch for us tomorrow! We have a riverfront room with beautiful views and more adventures to look forward to tomorrow.

It was a glorious day. An important day. Friendships are meant to be treasured and we will treasure this day with Pierre for a lifetime.

Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 1,361 km (845 miles)

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Pierre EhingerMerci Kathleen et Keith pour cette belle balade au soleil , votre présence amicale à réchauffé mon cœur.
Partager votre route est un plaisir immense.
Kathleen, j'ai adoré répondre à tes questions 😂😂.
Keith, tu es un excellent navigateur et sous ta direction, les petites routes inédites deviennent magiques.
C'était trop court.
Rendez-vous sur l'île de Vancouver, l'an prochain... J'y crois, c'est sûr 🤗.
Merci pour tout
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