14-07-2018     boucle from Saint-Étienne-Vallée-Française     145 km

Gîte Le Pont-de-Burgen − D983/D140 − Saint-Roman-de-Tousque − Les Plantiers − Col de l'Asclier − Col de la Triballe − Valleraugue − Col de Sereyrède − Le Prat Peyrot − Col de Salidès − Saint-André-de-Valborgne − Saint-Roman-de-Tousque − D140/D983 − Gîte Le Pont-de-Burgen

I have set my alarm at a reasonable 7:30 a.m. and have breakfast with the friendly two 'East-Germans'; there's enough to eat and drink. The other Germans sleep in. I take my time. Alain gives a lot of information about politics, plants, animals, and - especially for me - also about the roads and climbs in the neighborhood. It seems that the Col de Lusette is out of reach from where I'm staying now. Dominique drives me down to JJ in the lower gîte. A lovely day through a lovely environment is awaiting me. I hope to avoid steep descents. The start is easy, some 9 km along the Gardon de Sainte-Croix. Then a steep climb (that's okay! I mostly prefer to avoid steep descents): 305 m up in 3.7 km; a gain in altitude I lose in a much shorter time over the next 5 km, on the other side of the D9, a.k.a. Le Corniche des Cévennes. I come to the first crossing where I have to decide what to do with Alain's info.

Beautiful matin Cévénol

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With a good spirit

Point of decision

Up

Tunnel de l'Asclier

(Not my first)   View down to the Hérault

I choose to go straight on, to attack the Col de l'Asclier from Les Plantiers. I hesitate to take an early break there, there is a restaurant, but postpone it; I still hope there will be time for the Col de Lusette. The 14 km to gain 600 m or so take their time, and as late 11:40 a.m. I reach the top, which is in a tunnel. Over a tiny road, considered dangereux by Michelin, I descend, dividing my attention between the road and possible places to eat. Not being successful in the second respect, I end up at the Hérault, and even there my hope is not fulfilled (nor is my stomach, well, a bit, by one muesli bar). I decide to continue to Valleraugue (and to definitely skip the Col de Lusette), and have a good salade du jour of which I don't need a specification of the non-vegetarian ingredients, in the same (busy) restaurant as in 2014. Yeah, I'm a conservative man. Like in 2014 I enjoy the easy-going very scenic ride up through the high valley of the Hérault to the Col de Sereyrède and keep going up till the ski station of Prat Peyrot, and am not surprised (nor annoyed) by the road still climbing till the junction to the Mont Aigoual, which (junction) must be above 1500 m.

JJ and the Hérault

(Outskirts of)   Valleraugue

Splendid D986 to the Col de Sereyrède

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(Well-known)   Viewpoint just after the Col de Sereyrède

Follows an open ride of some 8 km over the D18 and then a somewhat steeper part over the much tinier D19, with a last 'jump' upwards to the Col de Salidès. A second visit after my first visit in 1986 (stage Nîmes − Millau); time flies! I miss the junction to Le Pompidou, but that's okay. Now I have a ten km descent some 650 m down (I did it in the opposite direction in 2009 with Enya) to Saint-André-de-Valborgne. I think I've earned a poire belle-Hélène or a dame blanche or something of the sort, but alas, I have to satisfy myself with a Magnum icecream. Granted, it goes with a vue sur jeu-de-boules. Further up I find some small épicerie open on Sunday, where I buy some more stuff to eat and drink, and view the game from across the street. No time to write, or read, I have promised myself a swim close to the pont of Pont-de-Burgen, would I be there before 6:45 p.m. There's still 25 km to pedal away, with the 3 km climb I remember from the morning. The 7 km till the foot of that climb are slightly downhill (100 m down), and the climb after more than 120 km) is hard but lovely. All in all Strava adds everything up and comes to a big score: 3001 m. I'm too late for the swim though, and reach the gîte, where life is on the lower level tonight, shortly after seven.

Open landscape just below the Mont-Aigoual		Bis
Short climb to Col de Salidès		And then down to Saint-André-de-Valborgne
Till the end of the day   . . . .		. . . .   the environment stays   . . . .

beautiful

Interesting tomato/cucumber dish

Time for a beer from the fridge, a shower, and another delicious, healthy (and cozy) dinner in the garden. Tonight we're with seven. After that I wait for the darkness to fall. It's so quiet! Slight confusion when I go to bed and plug in my battery charger: darkness. A broken fuse. I phone to Alain, who is 2 km upstairs with his grandson, to inform him of this misfortune (the fridge is also out of power), and when he comes down I am already sound asleep, I think.