In Brioude: baby steps

September 25, 2024

We’ve gotten lucky with the weather here and it was dry enough for us to get out on both of them - yesterday on short walks around town, and today the first real outing either of us has taken for ten days or more. It’s not much - baby steps really - but Rachael puts in an eight mile hike and I take a slow, easy nine mile ride on the bike, just enough to test the waters.

But first, lunch. The streets are full when we go out at noon, making it look like there’s some sort of event today; and maybe that’s why the restaurant we planned to eat at is already marked complet when we arrive. We’re suddenly a little anxious about getting a meal but soon we find a small restaurant with its sign out and door open and we enjoy one of our best meals in France so far this year. Rachael has a goat cheese salad and I have a fantastic half chicken.

There’s only one key to our otherwise excellent apartment, so Rachael goes first and I wait an hour before leaving so she’ll have returned and can let me in by the time I get back. She’s mapped out an eight mile loop south to Vielle Brioude, the site of a Roman fortified outpost from the 4th century. After creating the route, she learned of the bridge across the Allier just south of Vielle Briode but unfortunately we didn’t think to redraw the route to include it. Later she’ll phone me to say that she’d missed it and was heading back. Otherwise she enjoyed the walk, particularly the first half before the trail got muddy in spots on the return. She got back feeling fine and happy for being out again at last.

Video sound track: Dreams, by Brandi Carlisle

Rachael’s call comes just minutes after I leave the apartment. I stop to take the call and then notice I’m standing in front of an interesting fountain I hadn’t come across before. It looks carved from basalt so take a snap of it and then bike south out of town.

My ride plan is similar to Rachael’s, but on pavement - and out and back south to Vielle Brioude, a roughly seven mile ride. I just want to get out of town enough for some views, and of course to see the bridge. The ride to Vielle Brioude is a little disappointing though - not particularly scenic and with a little more traffic than I’d like. Not bad, but just OK. I only stop for a few snaps, and am not too enthusiastic about the ride back.

South of Brioude, north of Vielle Brioude.

Things look up though when I come to Vielle Brioude. The Romans are long gone and it’s only a small sleepy village now but it has some interesting features to take in. And then just beyond it is the bridge which is definitely worth a look; and best of all is the look back at the village from the bridge.

The bridge across the Allier. Built in the 15th century and rebuilt in the 19th, it was at one time the largest arch built in the Middle Ages.

I walk out onto the bridge for a few photos, and then consider how to get back to Brioude again. I could just backtrack of course but I study the map for something better and am pleased to find what looks like a longer but quieter way back up the east side of the river. I haven’t mapped it out so I don’t know the distance or the surface quality but it’s only a few miles anyway so it should work out one way or another. If not, I can always turn back.

A look back at the village and its 12th century Auvergne Romanesque church.

A closer look. It looks like it was walled at one time.

There’s a short climb away from the river once I cross the bridge, but I take it slowly and am rewarded by a nice broader look back at the town and bridge.

Once I reach the top of this short climb I come to the minor road I’d scoped out and turn off onto it just before coming to the east side highway. I quickly see I’ve made the right decision because it’s an excellent riding road, nearly empty. I get a distant view I’d been hoping for of the distant volcanic chain, and then an attractive small arched bridge, and finally I intersect the road that carries me across the bridge and back to Brioude.

All in all it’s been an excellent short ride. Baby steps, but a start.

The bridge is believed to date from the 15th century, with restoration in the 19th.

The bridge is believed to have been built to support this nearby castle and priory.

I was barely in time with this photo of a cloud of crows descending to the field.

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Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 3,812 miles (6,135 km)

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Bruce LellmanI'm so glad you are both getting better.
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1 month ago

Scott AndersonTo Bruce LellmanThanks, Bruce. So are we! We’re also glad to be down in the dry, sunny south. Very therapeutic.
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1 month ago