La Partage des Eaux
Today marked two significant milestones - passing the 1000 km mark and crossing the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. I left town and crossed the river Tarn where I got my first view of the Millau Viaduct, an audacious piece of engineering that takes the motorway across the Tarn valley, linking the Grandes Causses plateaux of Sévérac (which I crossed yesterday) and Larzac (which I needed to cross today). One of the bridge pylons is taller than the Eiffel Tower!
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| Crossing the Tarn at Millau |
If
cyclists had been allowed to ride across the viaduct it would have saved me a
great deal of effort - instead I had to toil up a zigzag road for about 4km at an average gradient of almost 10%. Fortunately
there was hardly any traffic and the road surface was very smooth, but I
needed several rests (with the excuse of taking photos of the viaduct)
before eventually emerging on the plateau by a car park that was very busy with the local parapentistes.
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| The ascent to the Plateau de Larzac with the Millau Viaduct in the background |
Once on the plateau the going was much easier to a coffee stop in the attractive
village of La Cavalerie with its old walled centre, and then I followed the
old N9 which was almost empty as a motorway now takes most of the traffic. I turned off at Le Caylar onto minor roads that undulated over
the plateau until a small rise and a sign by a ruined building announced the
Col du Vent at 703m.
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| La Cavalerie |
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| On the Plateau de Larzac south of Le Caylar |
I wondered why this insignificant ascent warranted a sign but the south side was a very different story – 10 km of continuously
steep descent with lots of hairpins which I took very gingerly before continuing through the
vineyards and across the Hérault river into Gignac. I got the phone out to look for the hotel only to discover that I had almost ridden past it on the way into town...
Distance today - 87 km (and 1056 m of ascent)
Distance from St Malo - 1068 km
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