clairedavieswriter

Four days of rest and refuelling in the company of friends provided the perfect restorative after the first leg of my Franco-Swiss tour.

And Bernard, for his part, was raring to go. Although Le Pécile is a hard place to leave, and if you don’t believe me you can see for yourself by joining one of Fiona’s active/creative retreats – there’s more @chateaudepecile on Instagram and chateaudepecile.com.

I confess to being a little apprehensive about this leg of the tour, as I’m expecting to have some more challenging days of cycling than on the southbound leg, so this was an encouraging sign:

That said, today’s ride wasn’t too different from the days before. For the first 30k, I was high up on the plateau, riding through broad expanses of agricultural land, both arable and fruit orchards, along roads lined with poppies. I barely had to worry about the traffic:

After a long winding descent and a sharp little climb back up through Pujols, we reached the valley of the Lot, and the sprawling town of Villeneuve. It was 10am but the sun still hadn’t broken through – it was perfect cycling weather.

Villeneuve was proud of its local produce, some of which was more appealing to the vegetarian visitor…

Than others…

After Villeneuve, I joined another signposted vélo route, which took me along some lovely quiet lanes.

It’s always reassuring to know you’re in the right place:

Obviously the peace was too good to last. Inexplicably – and I readily accept it may be down to user error (trying to plot the most direct route) – Guillaume directed me onto this archetypal French road. It may look quiet but I can tell you the D911 was anything but, and from where I was sitting it felt as though everyone was driving a Porsche. Speed notwithstanding, most gave me plenty of space, so it was unpleasant but not dangerous. The worst offender, I’m sorry to say, was a British registered Land Rover.

By Liboussou I’d had enough of the traffic, and crossed the river in search of a quieter road. Happily, I spotted a vélo route sign, which led me to this lovely voie verte, running virtually parallel to my planned route:

Unlike the D911, it ran right beside the tranquil river Lot, and provided a scenic spot for lunch:

And unlike the Canal des Deux Mers, its designers had thought to provide places to rest. We even passed a loo, but I didn’t stop, as its water supply was being co-opted by the residents of a traveller site – it took some care to negotiate the dozens of hosepipes running across the path to the vans parked opposite.

Bernard rather fancied himself posing in this grand entrance.

And before we knew it, we were almost at our destination.

By this stage, I’d roped in Gloria Google to check whether the vélo route was the best way to get there. With barely 4k to go, I took her advice to divert onto the road. This turned out to be a mistake. Puy l’Evêque is built in terraced layers up the steep bank of the river. The voie verte and my hotel were at the bottom, while the Mairie – to which Google was diligently leading me as the putative centre of town – is perched right at the top, so I ended my day with an unnecessary climb. But on the plus side, I got to enjoy the view.

I’m pleased to say that my accommodation tonight is overtly bike friendly, and Bernard is securely tucked up in the barn-like garage opposite.

Meanwhile, Guillaume is enjoying staying in the town that has honoured his Crusader namesake since 1227.

Tomorrow, I leave the meandering Lot behind and head for the hills. Wish me luck!