Despite drizzle all day, the fabulous scenery more than made up. With over 1,000m of climb, so it should have. Things started flat enough, though, with this pleasant railtrail (pic) out of Sarlat.
The smooth tarmac and lack of gradient made my bike feel much lighter. Actually, it was lighter. When I unpacked the tent in the evening I realised I’d left half the tent behind at the campsite. No more camping for me, then…
Anyway, breakfast this morning was the usual coffee from a bar-tabac (these always have a few local blokes discussing something over a coffee or liqueur who all turn round when I come in), and a pain au chocolat and cake at a boulangerie-patissier (which always have someone just leaving carrying a baguette or two) (pic).
The food is always fresh and delicious. If you’ve ever wondered how the best raspberry crumble and custard in the world would taste in cake form, get to this place in St Julien de Lampon now.
France has a lot of big rivers. After all the rain of the last few days I can see why. This is the Dordogne, which I criss-crossed today (pic).
I was taken with this bike outside a house near Calès. They’d locked it up, though the chances of anyone riding off on it seemed slim: it’s at the bottom of a steep 4km climb, one of several I had today.
It’s not just cows that sit down when it’s about to rain. These geese at a foie gras farm did too (pic). Unless they’re just too fat to get up.
I had lunch overlooking spectacular Rocamadour (pic). (I can’t resist saying ‘three, four…’ before its name.) But I tried and failed to order a coffee. It’s a place where nothing much has happened in the last few hundred years. Bar service, for instance.
Miles today: 54
Miles since St Malo: 528