29-07-2014     Villefort – Ville-Vieille (St. Eulalie)     105 km

One cannot always go with the wind, I know that, and I have certainly been lucky so far, but boy will this be a hard day against a cold, severe mistral! First things first: breakfast. Like in a hotel, only whoever has got the idea to lay down cold eggs for the guests? Is this really France? My four friendly dinner companions of last night sleep in, so I have a solo breakfast for the first time. They are just in time to make a picture of me before the shuttle carts, and to say goodbye. The road is wet, the temperature has gone down, but at the start it's only partially clouded. I will take the same route north as in 2010, as on the map I can't see if the really interesting looking alternative a little to the east does connect to Saint-Laurent-les-Bains, which is really a pity. (Now, at home, I see I should have done it!).

	Different vehicles		Road over le barrage
	Views down from   . . . .		. . . .   le barrage

Le Lac de l'Altier

During the first 10 km I have to go up to and then up from the storage lake in the Altier – with magnificent views, I know, I know, and with the strong wind from the north that's not an easy matter. While going up from the dam I also have a great view of the D51 along the Altier, a road that I definitely have to return for, one day (so two reasons already to return to this area). After the 'real' climb is done, the mistral on the deceptively flat road through the great wide open landscape means hard work. With difficulty I manage a poor 11 km/h.

	'Interesting' road along the Altier		Gaining height
	Châtaignes des Cévennes		Umpteenth wonderful road

Un tout petit train

First of many 'cols'

Not going down to sea level!

Also, the clouds are gaining more and more ground, er, sky. I avoid La Bastide-Puylaurent, where we had such artistic pastry four years ago, which gives me a new col almost 'for free'. From the other side you definitely do not get it for free, though the sign '10 km à 10%' cannot be true (the Col Notre Dame des Neiges being only 1139 m high). However, what an AMAZING descent. In Saint-Laurent-les-Bains I interrupt it for some food (bread and cheese from yesterday) which I munch away outside, barely bearable (track suit on), on the village square, with a very bleak sun.

	Amazing descent from Col Notre Dame des Neiges		. . . .   through Saint-Laurent-les-Bains   . . . .
	. . . .   and further down		And then a long way up (from the Borne, deep down)
	Hazy view back (wet camera glass)		Gaining altitude again

The remaining part of the descent remains spectacular, only, as I had feared, it starts to rain. The road goes down steep until a bridge over the Borne, at I guess, about 700 m, and then goes up STEEP. It's not that warm, but struggling with such a grade (10%?) with a raincoat on, ouch! The unspoiled nature of the Cévennes, well, apart from these fantastic roads, it's marvellous! Between the mountains the wind is not so bad, and the rain, well, it's raincoat on, raincoat off. From the Borne I go up more than 500 m. I pass another sign '10 km à 10%', which I notice looking backwards.

What I didn't go down I didn't go up

The counterpart of the col near Manosque

Hazy horses

Again this is much overrated. At a junction with a col sign I turn north, and at the next turn there's the next col sign (another tourism professional who has concocted this?). I meet a fellow Dutchman who came from the right, from which side considerably more work has to be done, so he assures me. From here I can look up to my next 'real' col, the Col de Meyrand, which means going up some 200 km in 4 km, nicely along the slope of a mountain range, mostly to the east (tail wind!).

The road along the mountain slope to   . . . .

. . . .   this col

Even on this gray day quite nice

Follows a short, cold descent to a place on the ligne de partage des eaux where four years ago we looked for a place in the shade, and now I am happy to find a hotel-restaurant to have half an hour of shelter against the cold, the wind and the rain – it rains really hard when I put my bike against the wall. I enjoy a delicious tarte aux châtaignes and the conversation between an older couple and supposedly two grand children. It isn't raining so hard when I get outside, still 45 km to go, starting with the Col du Pendu-du-Brouillard.

The two cols . . . .

. . . . around the break

Always look on the bright side ...

My thermometer indicates 9 degrees :-(   From the col a descent against the wind, a crossing of the Ardêche, another short climb and then quite a long, windy descent – with a lot of gravel as a bonus to today's misfortune – to Saint-Cirgues-en-Montagne, where I put on an extra layer of clothes below my raincoat. At 16:40 I have 18 km to go, so an arrival at six is still within reach. From Saint-Cirgues a 5 km climb which was a real killer in 2010 to reach our gîte; today it means another short phase with the wind from behind, and then north again. To my surprise up north the sky clears completely, whereas strange enough I still ride in the rain from time to time.

Drier moments

The Loire, comme prévu

The local road to the gîte

To come across the river Loire here doesn't surprise me anymore. I keep struggling against the wind until I finally reach Sainte-Eulalie, five minutes before six. A unwanted surprise: at the tourist information I learn that the gîte is located five km further to the north – in Ville-Vieille, quite close to the Mont Gerbier de Jonc. The door of the local supermarket is closed to my nose, but a boulangerie is still open and has one last fruit pie something in the vitrine. Also it's warm there! It gives me energy for three km, and then it's just a short stretch, over a small road, going up slightly, into the fog/drizzle. Another surprise: a perambulator in the middle of the road, or rather, path. Quite exhausted I reach Ville-Vieille, which consists of just one farm annex gîte d'étape with a friendly farmer/host, Michel. It feels like heaven to me. I only go out into the cold to make a phone call to Champis, as inside there's no connection to a network.

Mont Gerbier de Jonc

My own bedroom  . . . .

. . . .   with its own view

Michel asks me, have I come across his daughter? – the one with the pram!   He (or his wife) prepares me some healthy meal, and joins me for some conversation. Which I greatly appreciate, since I'm the only guest today. My bedroom (the only bedroom?) is zero-star, but I put two mattresses on the floor, take two blankets, and lie down for a five-star sleep!