DAY 8 - Murat to Pont de Rhodes

NEWS FLASH! This morning, cumulative distance was 408 miles so we are officially half way! We had also managed to do a total of 5614 m of climb.

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63 miles, average 11.3 mph, 1680 m climb today ( we think this should be 200 m more, but the on-board devices seem to have had a bad day) 3600 kcal used
Weather: cool, dry and sunny, some high cloud, upper arc of contact seen in the afternoon

It was 3 deg C when we got up in the morning - we were glad we had stayed in the hostel. The previous day's rain had cleared and sky was clear. We  got some breakfast from a local boulangerie, which we also cleared out of quiches and pizzas for lunch. We finally found an open epicerie for other supplies as well as a specialist cremerie for cheese.

The bright morning sunlight really highlighted the Mary and child statue above the town, as well as the detail of the columnar basalt in its puy. Murat, we decided, was a nice place with lots of local interest, worth a visit if you are outdoor minded.

Madonna and child in the sunshine

A closer look, and is it? Yep it is...

More columnar basalt! Jeremy = very happy Geologist

Our first climb, to the Col d'Entremont (1210 m), was steady and steep, initially circling round the Mary and baby Puy, then climbing away with increasingly fascinating views. After 9 km of climb, a discrete sign at the side of the road indicated the top of the climb and we all pulled over for a photo. 

Men with a good altitude!

Then off again and steeply down, loosing half our gained height swooping down into the bottom of the long valley that would lead to the main objective of the day: the Puy Mary Col (Col du Pas de Peyrol) at 1589 m (5000 ft, 1 mile) our highest point. The valley is richly agricultural, its broad base indicative of glacial origins. Cow bells tinkled as musical accompaniment as we initially climbed gently through picturesque villages. We climbed more steeply and more of what was in front of us came into view. We quickly identified the pyramidal form of Puy Mary and also squat buildings that marked the adjacent Col; hope sprang in our hearts that there was a summit cafe!

We worked long and hard, whilst marvelling at the glorious views around us. Rowan spotted a kite and we all thought one of the big raptors we saw must have been an eagle of some form. The climb steepened and we worked harder and harder; the total climb is 15 km, so it's hard to pace yourself correctly. As we got closer we could see that the last sweep across the base of one of the steep faces of the Puy was the steepest. We kept together as a team to the bottom of this last 1.5 km, but separated on the last bit as we were pushed to maximum efforts at slope angles of up to 15%. With fully laden panniers, a real trial for any cyclist, but we had already cycled over 400 miles so our tired legs really struggled. But we all made it.

Nearly there!

Men with an even better altitude!

The top was a scrum of cyclists, motor bikers and cars all milling around a cafe (hooray"). We shot some photos of the glorious views both north and south. An extraordinarily beautiful place even with all the people. We settled down for some lunch fortified with coffees and hot chocolates from the cafe. Nice, but slightly spoiled by smells from the toilets (Blog support thinks this is TMI!)

Jeremy gets the panorama feature on his camera to work finally!

Then we were on the move again, for an exhilarating descent, initially along the razor southern ridge, then switchbacking onto its precipitous face. First time doing this sort of thing for Rowan, but he dealt with it well. We swooped and breaked and weaved our way down, and what had taken an hour and a half to climb took about 20 mins to descend!

A delightful valley is also present on the other side, but we quickly broke away up and over one side to an adjacent valley, the climb over taking us through more agricultural land, made difficult along one street he by a new gravelly road coating, a bit like riding on ball bearings in places. The climb was enlivened at one point when we wooshed past a man, very happy, lying in the sun across the ditch at the side of the road. 

We made good time after the top, initially descending steeply on a sharply twisting narrow road that required real care, then opening out onto a broader straighter descent that we all enjoyed. On the near flat section that followed we made good time with a slight tail wind allowing us to go along at a steady 20 mph, so we reached the small, immaculate, town of Jussac in good time.

More up and down next, with a brief stop for fuel in a small concrete bus shelter, before hurrying on. 

Not quite as picturesque as yesterday's random shelter.

We noticed a rapid change in landscape; the big mountains of earlier were gone, we were out of the Massif Central. Late afternoon and we were approaching a man-made lake at St Etienne Cantles. 

The manicured shores of the lake.

A final climb up before plunging down to its shores gave us a great view back to the now distant Puy Mary Massif; it gave us a great perspective on what we had achieved and been through that day, tinged with sadness that its natural glory was now behind us. 

Down again.

We had one last, long, brutal climb to do, 3 km at full effort on tired legs, before topping out and then 7 km more of more gently up and down before arriving at the very typical local hotel at Pont de Rhodes. 6:10 pm, well satisfied and exhausted.  

Favorite bits:
John - straight, wide road at the bottom of our third major descent of the day allowed him free reign - apparently he reached 40 mph
Roy - the valley as we came up to the climb up to the Puyo Mary Col, fantastic (in the true meaning of the word) landscapes
Rowan - the view back the Puy Mary Massif as we crested the final climb before the reservoir lake
Jeremy - finally climbing the Puy Mary Col (Col du Pas de Peyrol), 30+ years after first wanting to do the climb. Good things come to those that wait!

Amuse bouch
The proprietor of our hotel was serving us at the in house restaurant tonight and was charming and slightly amused by us all evening. Our first basket of bread contained 9 piece;, between 4 this presents a conundrum, but before we could fight over the last piece she whisked away the basket and came back with it piled a bit higher with bread. We rapidly depleated this basket also, so that she took this one away with a slightly raised eyebrow, returning later with an even higher pile and a smile of victory, as indeed the final basket defeated us.

DAY 7 - Issoire to Murat

Issoire to Murat
Distance 57 miles, 11.1 mph average, 1248 m climb, 3047 kcal
Weather : cold, showers with some warming sunny intervals.

Today was a good day for scenery as we followed the Gorge d'Alagnon and the valley of the la Sianne. Beautiful views, trees and wildlife on a quiet, well-surfaced road are the things cyclists dreams are made of. The showery nature of the day added to, rather than took away from, the enjoyment. We also clocked up our first major col of the trip,

Chilly morning in the travelling tent village.

We started the day with an efficient packing up of tents. It had rained heavily overnight so they were wet; we did our best to dry them off, but we were very aware that we had a lot of stuff a bit damp, and also a lot of stuff that needed washing (the camp site electricity had a problem that prevented their machines working). We had a nice breakfast at the camp site served by a slightly overworked young lady at reception and included a couple of fresh warm croissants each, very welcome in the cool conditions.

We set off into the centre of Issoire where we found a market in full swing; we thoroughly enjoyed visiting different stalls to get our food needs for the day, also seeing the odd things for sale (double beds and grandfather clocks for example). 

Square with market in full swing and fancy clock tower

See - told you it was fancy!

Art installation in square,
...or possibly a scrap metal collection

We got out of town easily and headed south towards our intended destination for yesterday; Lempdes sur Allagnon. 19 km of rise and fall later we were there and heading into the Allagnon Gorge. This started with a very gentle climb as we were heading upstream (those of you who followed our previous ride will remember that we have previously established that water runs downhill!). The road was good and the Gorge deepened very rapidly. We followed this until la a abort where we turned off and headed up the valley of the tributary la Sianne. 

Careful descending on wet roads is what Blog support is
hoping she's seeing here...

Another candidate for "Weathertop" if they ever remake
Lord of the Rings...

And yet another possible location...

The climb gradually steepened as we headed into a quiet rural idyl. Showers were frequent, but we found a great spot for lunch at Chaselles, where there was a bench under a tree and a roofed preserved village stocks!

Stocking up for lunch!

Initially sunny we sat out on the bench, enjoying the market food (particularly good Bleu d'Auvergne). Then it started raining heavily so we huddled under the roof. The sun burst out again as we set off. We all enjoyed this next section immensely, the whole landscape was a perfect mix to 'feed the soul'. Continuing to steepen, the valley ride finished with a last steep section up the side; hard work for us all, topping at the 1229 m Col de la Croix de Baptiste. 

Rain stops play before the team photo of the Col

Unfortunately, as soon as we gathered a deluge started and we had to dash off down the steep descent before a group photo could be taken. We swooped down a wide and smooth road, wary of the slippery wet bit and into the small town of Allanche, where we found a cafe for hot drinks. 

Another dodgy action shot from the camera addict

Cafe stop. 

We dodged a really heavy shower there and headed out into sunshine and steaming roads to continue the descent back down to the Alagnon, passing impressive exposures of columnar basalt on the way. 

This may look like an ordinary cliff to you, but
Jeremy is very happy because it's columnar basalt.

A final push down the main road and we arrived at Murat as the sun just caught the Mary and child statue that sits above the town at the top of the Puy that it is built around. Then a heavy shower turned everything dark again ...

Views here are lovely when it's not raining

Madonna and child in the dusk

We found our lodgings - a sort of hostel with well equipped kitchen and, most usefully, washing facilities, so we've spent a lot of time this evening just doing the laundry!

Puy Mary tomorrow!

Favourite bits
John - the route through the gorge d'Alagnon and valley of la Sianne
Roy - sprinting over the top of the col de la Croix de Baptiste
Rowan - descent to the cafe at Allanche!
Jeremy - arriving just 1 minute before the cafe in Allanche opened, then the fact that we were inside when there was an utter deluge outside. 

Interesting fact. They put bells on their cattle in this part of the Massif Central; similar to those in the alps, but perhaps more handbell-like in tone. Occasionally going past a heard would be like listening to a carrillon.

DAY 6 - Chateauneuf les Bains to Issoire

Distance 61.9 miles, average 11.1 mph, 1696 m climbed, 3611 kcal used

Weather - very cold morning, then clear sky's and hot in the sun. Showers all afternoon, some heavy, commonly ominous cloud.

The chilly campers foraging despondently for breakfast

We were a bit tardy getting going in the morning, not leaving 'til 9:30. We had breakfasted on our remaining porridge, enlivened with a packet of hot chocolate. 

This isn't a desperate breakfast dish - just a great way to
dry out and warm up gloves on a cold morning.

This was virtually our last food and was really only enough for 2, split between 4. Unfortunately the boulangerie in the village was closed, meaning our entire stay in the place had been marked by everything being closed all of the time! It's got a bit of a ghost town vibe going.

Don't let the awnings fool you. This place is SHUT!

The result was that we had to go 8 miles before we found breakfast, and those miles were mostly uphill as we climbed out of the gorge, past the Chateau du Roches (or Weathertop as blog support would have it). This was the first of many tough climbs in the day, but the empty stomach made it doubly difficult. The initial climb of about 200 m, done in sunshine under clear skys, brought us up to our first site of the typical conical hills, or Puys, that are the characteristic of the Massif Central. As we pulled into Manzat it was fascinating to see that the wall of the pharmacie that we had stopped at was made up of various forms of lava (yes dear reader, the writer is a Geologist. Had you guessed?). The first thing we discovered was that the Boulangerie in the village was shut because it was Friday! There was fortunately a little shop up in the square where we were able to take on supplies for lunch. We stopped next door at the cafe bar for coffees and hot chocolates, partly on the chance they would have croissants. On being advised no, but we could get them at the boulangerie, we were able to inform the hostess that it was closed as it was Friday!

This may look like the last place, but it has one important difference
-an open shop selling food!

We moved on and the next 5 miles proved to also be climbing. I in particular was suffering with dead legs, which was ominous, and doubtless down to the quick sprint I had made the previous day. As we reached a brief flattening out, to our right a fantastic view of Puy de Dome and its companions opened up. A bitter sweet sight as this had been one of our targets for the day, but time and tired legs had made us decide the evening before to miss it out. The views that we got of the mountain throughout the day, with it poking its spiky head above horizon, reminded us what a dominant mountain it is for this part of the Massif. 

Puy de Dome first view

We made it to Loubyrat at 700 m now, but dropped rapidly down when turning off towards the Valley des Prades. Rowan let out a cry of 'Patisserie!' and we screeched to halt. It was a treasure trove of lovely things and the staff viewed us with great amusement as we took our time choosing some delectable things, half of which we scoffed immediately. Our luck had changed, clearly, because as soon as we started eating our scrumptious, late, breakfast, the place closed. It was 12:30 - lunch time and we had only just done 13 miles. So we headed on down our first descent of the day; nice sweeping road in tree-shadow.

One of many fabulous views

The character of our day's ride changed here as we followed a route diving up and down along the edge of the Allier valley. We had views across the plain, first of Riom and then of the regional capital, Clermont Ferrand. We stayed close to 600 m for most of the time with short ups and downs, passing through small towns, including Volvic and ultimately the spa towns of Durtol and Chamlieres. 

A view over Clermont Ferrand

The chateau at Volvic

All the time we saw evidence of the volcanic origins of the area, with many Puys. In Chamlieres we stopped briefly in a well kept floral park with our last views of the twin towered cathedral of Clermont before continuing a climb out.

The Thermes at Royat de Chamlieres

Gorgeous wildflower area

A close up to let you enjoy the flowers properly

A chateau? No, this is the park loos!

At Ceyrat we finally left all of the big settlements, but unfortunately had to take the main road for a while as there were no alternative routes. We slogged up its slope, continuing our earlier climb, with cars and lorries zooming past, hoping to get off asap. We finally did at Theix, but continued to climb, finally peaking at about 880 m with splendid views of the tree-topped Puy Giroux below us. 

This might be the Puy Giroux (blog support's not sure!)

We then started a spectacular descent, loosing nearly 400 m mostly on good road with nice sweeping bends and not too steep. But we lost the last 100 m very rapidly and ground to a halt at a junction with misbehaving brakes and very hot wheel rims. Exhilarating, but now we had to start climbing again. 

Oh look, it's the Puy de Dome again...

Yep - that's definitely it!

By this time the weather had changed dramatically, now overcast with grey skys and occasional showers. We could see more ominous clouds looming, so we got on with it. After 2 gentler but still hard climbs we stopped for a last snack before heading on to our stopping place for the night. As we were readying ourselves to leave we saw a young cyclist running with his bike towards us. He had a puncture so we offered to help. It turned out that he was keen on our help, but wanted us to mend another inner tube he had in his bag (the one he took out of his wheel was more patch than tube, so perhaps not surprising), but the hole was a split next to the seam so I didn't hold out much hope, and indeed the mend did not hold. By now we knew we were going to be quite late, so indicated that we had to move on, but he was welcome to take some glue and patches, but he politely refused and headed off running again. It looked like he was well practiced at it - maybe a fan of Chris Froome? 

Hey, isn't that the Puy de Dome again...?

Now we descended more gently towards Issoire, where we had decided to stop. We made good speed and hoped to get there by 7, when most camp sites close. We came across another camp site in Perrier, but it was 'ferme'. A brief conflab and use of iPhones and iPad gave us directions to the Camping Municipal, but we thought they were wrong as they pointed to the middle of town. We headed in anyway; Issoire is a large town and was quite lively with music and people when we passed through. Then we saw a sign pointing towards a camping and followed it. As always the signs ran out and we frantically tried to get more information off the internet. I was quite anxious as it looked like we might be too late and it was clearly about to rain hard, but John was calm and persistent and some how found a location, only 1 mile away; so we whizzed off, all lights on in the gloom, over the motorway and straight into the camp site. It was 7:15, but the site was open and actually rather a nice one. Result! 

The group suddenly found there was wifi in
the restaurant

Not the best evening for friendly conversation...

Best bits
Jeremy -  1. John swiping the leftover bread rolls from the adjacent table when the occupants left. This is not a reflection on John's behaviour since we all urged him on, but a reflection on how hungry we get.
2. First view of Puy de Dome (are you allowed 2 best bits? asks Blog Support)
Rowan - the really long descent after reaching our high point of 879 m
Roy - surviving our steepest descent (we all finished this with our brakes virtually smoking)
John - final descent, fast sweeping corners

Notable achievement of the day
1. Roy has gone past 1000 km
2. Rowan has finally got the hang of voiture jaune 

Quote of the day
John, after evening meal, on the way back to the camp site: I'm looking forward to getting in my sleeping bag, putting on my hat and snoring ....

DAY 5 - Moulins Sud to Chateauneuf les Bains

Moulins Sud to Chateauneuf les Bains.
57 miles, 11.9 mph average, 1080 m climb, 3000 kcal used

Well it tipped down overnight, so it is just as well this ended up being a night in a hotel - though we hope you aren't envisaging us lying in luxury, as this F1 place is at the budget end of budget! 

Trust me, the entrance is the fanciest bit of this place!

We left the motel at 9 and hopped through the puddles straight into the nearby Boulangerie / Epicerie for boutiques supplies, then off. The route started off on quiet roads across the Allier flood plains past fields of ready to harvest maize, dotted with giant irrigation structures that made us feel tiny. We crossed the river and had our first climb of the day, short and sharp up to Chantel de Neuvre where we were afforded an excellent view from the church. 

Action shot - blogging support will be asking stiff
questions about risk assessments!

Carrying on along the ridge for a while, we continued to have good views until plunging back down to the river again. A closed bridge forced a diversion along a promising-looking cycle route, but the sting in the tale was a short, brutal 15% climb (think Hovis add), before descending to St Pourcain. Climbing again, we set out across an agricultural, rolling landscape. We stopped at a great spot; a shelter with seat and view across to the Chateau at Chareil Cintrat (this was more of a fortified enclosure). 

A shelter, a seat, somewhere to lean the bike and a view -
what more could cyclists ask for?!

We consumed a large part of the food we had procured earlier, steeply up and down to Chantelle before Jeremy realised he had left his iPad behind. Dumping bags he headed off on a 12 mile successful retrieval sprint. Moving on we passed on to to Bellenaves for our first major climb of the trip, brutal at first before more gently rising to 622 m. Then steep up and down until a final spectacular decent into the 'gorgeous' Gorge de la Sioule. Spectacular scenery with, at one point, a view enlivened with ducking and weaving ?martins. Passing the old bridge at Pont de Menat we ended up at our second Chateauneuf of the trip (this one les bains) at about 6 pm. 

The hobbits followed Strider to Weathertop

Pont de Menat - we didn't cross it, so no need to brave
the cobbles on a bike.

Campsite was quiet with no proprietor in site so we pitched tents and headed into the village. Enquiring of some locals we found all the eating places are closed on Thursday afternoons, so back to the tents to cook our emergency meal!

Very cold night followed - 6 degrees - so we're lying in our tents wearing all our clothes.

Best bits

Rowan - view over the Allier from the church viewpoint
John - watching the ?Martins dog-fighting over the Gorge de la Sioule
Roy - getting to the top of the first big climb
Jeremy - finding my iPad still there (following closely on from worst bit - leaving iPad behind at lunch spot and having to cycle back 6 miles to retrieve it)

Worst joke
Gorgeous cycling! (When cycling along the gorge......)