events

Sunday, 17th July

On Saturday evening we'd all met up to go to a 'Banquet' in the village centre.  14€ and not really enough food, there was terrine, aubergine flan and then pork cheeks (which were very tasty).

It was good company though and I got to meet some of the other recumbent riders who'd come for the week.  Fond farewells were bid, since I was planning on leaving the next day, Sunday.  However, it rained, all night and was still raining heavily the next morning too, so I decided to stay put.  In fact I wrote these notes at midday on Sunday in my sleeping bag since it was cold.  

A pity about the rain, not because I couldn't leave, I was happy to stay, but because it had spoiled some of the celebrations scheduled for the Sunday.

This was taken on Sunday afternoon.  In the centre of Allègre, was this ruin, from the top of which you have magnificent panoramic views of the surrounding country'side.  

By the way, if you're interested in knowing more about Allègre and the region here's a link to a guide.

I must say, if you're at all interested in human power and/or recumbents, you really should try to make it to the next VPH festival, I had such a good time, everyone I met was great company, was incredibly helpful and were lovely people.

This is that section of the campsite which was largely occupied by the VPH contingent.  A very nice campsite it was too, though the sanitaire block was a little primitive it was, nonetheless, very clean. 

Click on this image to see my bike in the early dawn light.

Monday 18th July. 100km, avg 14km/hr, max 55km/hr, 7hrs riding but 10hr journey.

This is the route that Sylvain helped work out.  I would mean that instead of going via Le Puy-en-Velay, le Monastier and Pradelles, which would be much further and with much more climbing, I would be taking a more direct line, with less ascent yet still quiet.  I did mean I had about 10km from Coubladour to Bains on the D906 which was a bit busier but apart from that small section everything else was very quiet and scenic.

If you're interested in the route in more detail you can zoom in and change views using my mapmyride route.  Though I only map as far as Langogne, from there the route is the same as that mapped on page one (http://tinyurl.com/francehols2011)

I opened the front of the tent to see this.  It was one of the few times I'd had a pitch that combined all the things I mentioned earlier, one of which was "early morning sun".

As I got packed up Philippe Lasnier, who'd arrived later on Sunday afternoon, was also up and we got to have a bit more of a chat.  I'd met Philippe the previous year when he'd shown me where the campsite was to be found in Moissac.  He'd come up from Agen with a friend, both on ICE trikes.

He had a fairly complete setup, though heavy I guess for that.  He had smart little gadgets like a calibrated spirit level to tell him the gradient of the hill he was on, solar panels, a trailer, hand-made, a roomy tent with a large tarp to make a cooking and seating area.  He even had a small ukulele which serenaded me to sleep the previous evening.  Philippe has his own site with some good pictures in case you're interested.