Day 11. Figeac to Espalion

Le Lot

I had been looking forward to this day riding up the Lot valley and it did not disappoint - mostly easy cycling on quiet roads with beautiful views at every turn.  The other good news was that the weather was cooler and far more comfortable for riding.

The only hard work came early with two hills and over 300 m of ascent out of the Célé valley followed by a superb fast descent down a wide road with sweeping curves to the Lot valley at Pont d'Agrès.  From here there was an easy ride following the river for almost 40 km to Entraygues, with the wooded valley looking quite atmospheric in the morning mist.

As the name implies, Entraygues is at the confluence of two rivers (where the Truyère joins the Lot) but the ancient bridge over the Truyère was closed for renovation, and the dreaded 'Route Barrée' sign necessitated a 2 km déviation to cross the river on a dam, though maybe the diversion was just to make sure that I rode past the local donkey field.

In town I stocked up with food, spotted this excellent piece of trompe l'oeil that disguised an electricity sub-station, and enjoyed a picnic in a park between the castle and the river.

After lunch the sun came out and the scenery got even better as I continued along more quiet roads to the picture perfect village of Estaing - one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France and home of president number two - apparently Giscard (still going in his 90s) owns the chateau that dominates the village. At the photo-opportunity on the way into Estaing I got chatting to a British cycling couple who were out on a day ride but told me that they had done an organised trip from St Malo to Nice earlier in the summer. We discussed my plan to finish at Sète and they told me that I was missing out the best bit of St Malo to Nice. Now there's an excuse to come back.

After a drinks break in Estaing I rolled on to Espalion with its elegant old bridge and discovered the hard way that my chambre d'hôte outside the town was up a ridiculously steep hill where I had to resort to a GOAP (get off and push) for the first time on this trip. Fortunately it was on the route for tomorrow. 
 

I got a very warm welcome and the host insisted that I used her washing machine rather than rinsing my sweaty clothes by hand.  And tea-making facilities in the room were a rare treat. She also insisted that I phoned her after dinner so she could drive down into town and give me a lift to save me having to stagger back up the hill. Memo to self if I ever do this again – stay in more chambres d’hôtes and fewer hotels..

Distance today - 91 k            Distance from St Malo - 904 k

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