Day 4 in the Dordogne

Our final day of cycling in the Perigord involved a fairly simple ride from Les Eyzies back to our starting point of 4 days ago, Lalinde.  It never ceases to amaze me just how much you can see from a bicycle and over this time we feel we have experienced so much of the French countryside in a relatively short space of time.

Today the abnormal run of warm sunshine finally broke and it sprinkled rain all day with the mercury barely rising over 5 degrees.  Yes we were a little cold, but still having a wonderful time and riding along the river and through forests in the rain brings on a whole different perspective.  Of course those little pit stops at the café for a hot chocolate also came very welcome. 

Two of the towns we took in today included Limuel, a safe haven and port for heavy barges in centuries gone by situated in a strategic location at the confluence of the Vezere and Dordogne rivers and Tremolat, with it’s 12^th century Romanesque church.  My favourite today was Le Bugue with it’s bustling little main street we stocked up on some cold meat, bread and pastries for lunch.  Again the little interactions you have with each shopkeeper are magic, whether or not they speak English they speak to you as if you are long lost friends, they are happy to serve you whatever you want and for 10 euro you can feast like a king.

Just 6km from the finish we sat under a tree by the river in Mauzac to eat our lunch and then finished the ride on a tiny little road that was barely doubletrack with the river on one side and vineyards on the other.  Arriving back at Les Magnolias, Robert of Aquitaine cycling was there to meet us and after a quick debrief, we retired to our warm room, showered and took a 2 hour nap.  This evening we walked around the town and along the river and then ate the best Chorizo pizza ever, from Ayrton Pizza.  A tiny little outlet operated by husband and wife we watched as they made our pizza, then we ate it in the desserted town square.  Quite a way to spend Easter Sunday!

Tomorrow we begin the 3^rd phase of our holiday, hiring a car and heading south to Provence and the Luberon Valley.  Mont Ventoux awaits!

Keep riding

Mike

Leaving Les Eyzies

Le Bugue

Ho hum, yet another medieval farmhouse

Tremolat

View of the Dordogne from high above Tremuil

Country Roads

Mauzac on the Dordogne

Dordogne is the home of many Swans.  We watched them float down the river with the current feeding on the bottom and then, fly back up stream 

Lalinde

Jean Claude our Pizza maker of Ayrton Pizza

Country road and a sprint finish for Sarah back into Lalinde

Mike

Cycling the Dordogne Day 2

The ride today was a loop originating from Belves and is known as the castles loop. 

The highlight of the day was visiting an enormous 13^th century medieval castle called Chateau de Castelnaud set atop a majestic rocky outcrop overlooking the river.  It featured lots of historic displays of weaponry and what life was like back then.  It would have been easy to spend more time here. 

We had picked up bread and cheese in Daglan, a beautifully restored medieval village and enjoyed lunch on the riverbank with the castle watching over us from above.  We then followed a gorgeous country road next to the river until we reached Chateau des Milandes.  It was just so quiet and picturesque, cycling on these roads is an absolute pleasure. 

We arrived back in Belves in full sunshine and enjoyed gelato in the town square, Sarah had Honey (miel) and Walnut (noir) and I had Pistache and Lemon (citron).  Very well deserved by Sarah who completed another 70+ km today and rode up every hill unassisted!  So proud of my girl!

We are adding to our French vocab daily and are enjoying the few short stilted conversations with the very friendly locals.  Here are a few more pics from today.

Contender for a pink jersey I'd say

Dordogne River

Chateau de Castelnaud

Crossbows seem to be the weapon of choice

Chateau des Milandes

Quaint laneway of shops in Belves

Belves town square

Just being silly

Coffee in Daglan

Daglan

The Castle

This knight was a very large knight indeed

Cycling the Dordogne Day 1

It was with mixed feelings that we boarded our train in Paris yesterday for the long trip south.  We had such a wonderful time in Paris, and yet we were ready for a change of scenery and a change of pace.  Our cycling adventure awaited in the Perigord region east of Bordeaux and so it was we found ourselves just 5 hours later in the warm sunny climate of Lalinde on the Dordogne River.  Dinner was amazing, just sitting in this quiet little village watching the sunset as we enjoyed a lovely French meal with red wine at La P’tit Loup (The Little Wolf).  Chilled classic jazz tracks from Charlie Parker and Miles Davis filled the air.

In the morning, our hosts at Les Magnolias served an authentic French breakfast with croissants, crusty bread, orange juice and a bowl of coffee.

Robert our cycling tour operator of Aquitaine bike hire arrived right on time and got us fitted out with the bikes and maps and we were off.  A slightly false start with me finding the one sliver of glass in all of France, but the puncture was quickly repaired and we were on our way.

The route from Lalinde to Belves took in several famous Bastides; Molieres, St Avit Senieur where we had espresso, Monpazier for lunch, Cadouin and finally Belves some 70 odd kilometres later.  This was to be the furthest and most climbing Sarah has ever done and she did it with style!

Monpazier was just amazing.  It was surreal to be sitting in the town square, enjoying Pizza and salad and to think it was founded in 1285 by Edward I, duke of Aquitaine.  It is the said to be the finest and best preserved bastide of the regions but our favourite was Cadouin nestled away in a sunny little valley.

Here are just a few pics to whet your appetite.

The Little Wolf - Lalinde

Molieres

Little church outside Monpazier

Pizza Cafe in Monpazier

Cadouin

Dordogne River from our bedroom window at Les Magnolias, Lalinde

Molieres - Deux Espresso si vous plait

Monpazier Town Sqquare

Cadouin

Cadouin Town Square and church

Arrival at Belves - Manoir De la Moissie