JULIEN - 14-SEP

 

Today was our last ride in Saint Julien de Lampon. Unfortunately the low overnight temperatures coupled with high humidity resulted in a cloud covered foggy morning. Forever optimistic we drove to our starting point and waited in the car for the fog to lift and warming temperatures before heading out. We got tired of waiting and decided to drive to our destination - Beynac. The town boasts an impressive hilltop castle (aka chateau) which could not be seen from below. Rather than sitting in the car waiting for the castle to make its appearance we figured this was an opportune time for yet another coffee stop. Good choice since the boulangerie had outstanding baguettes including my favorite - multi seeded. 

Our coffee lingering behind us and still limited visibility so we drove to the top to see what we could see. Impressive even in limited view but only a gray fog panorama. Oh well, another time. 

We drove home but were still craving a ride; even a short one. I hastily created a route up the hill behind our house and down the back side toward the river. The recorded ride showed a maximum grade of 14.5% but my biking computer topped out at 17% as I slogged up to the top. Walked the last 100 meters of the climb staving off cardiac arrest. 

The ride back down was sweet and the remainder of the ride along the river was delightful as the fog lifted and the sun made an appearance. Picture perfect: flat, cool, no cars, with river following us along the way. 

Perfect looking baguette with seeds abounding. 

Perfect looking baguette with perfect looking Kim. 

Old stone church wall serves as perfect bike rack. They thought of everything.

Napolean travels well. Kim's half was bigger.

Table next to us ordered lunch. Burger for him and canard (aka duck) for her. That is one serious burger which he consumed in its entirety. To be young again.

Another unknown crop along our path. A google image search and agriculture consultant could not get a positive ID. Need to get a closeup of the actual grain/seed.  

Approaching the end of the ride. Hope next location is as inspiring. 

ANXIETY - Of all uncertainties planning this trip was the fact that Peugeot no longer makes a mini van so we contracted for their largest SUV and hoped for the best. The challenge was to get our bikes and all our bags loaded inside for transport between locations. So at the end of today's ride we faced the moment of truth. After removing the wheels we finagled the frames behind the front seats, covered them with a tarp, and laid the four wheels over the top. Voila (French word for "there!") it all fit with room to spare leaving space for all our bags, extra food, and assorted biking gear. 

View from side door showing multi layer two bike sandwich.