Trevor and I took a trip to Southern France (the region surrounding the Dordogne River) in order to do some biking. We took the train and arrived in Brive-la-Gaillarde, home of a foie gras factory...
After taking a circuitous route to Proissans, we stayed in a Bed and Breakfast outside of Sarlat-le-Caneda, and went to the Saturday market in Sarlat. It was pretty hectic. There were lots of tourists and a lot of stalls selling lame clothes and other crap to tourists, we even saw one stall selling gear plastered with characters from American professional wrestling (WWE). We also caught this guy, who left his car parked overnight in the lot used for the market. Now he's trying to back out between the vendors...good luck.
Of course the region is known for their castles perched on the cliffsides, not their intricate parking maneuvers. We spotted plenty of the former, but opted not to take as many pictures as the tour groups being chauffeured in tour buses through the winding roads. I like this one because of the ivy-covered small building beside the main residence.
Near the end of our second day, we took a break in Assier after riding 125km through rolling hills. Luckily, there was some entertainment in the form of a tiny kid riding his bike around like he owned the place. He was jumping it up and down the steps of this gazebo and generally acting like a pint-sized bad-ass. Keep up the good work.
After riding 140km through almost continuous steep hills, we were worried we would be too sore to complete the third day's riding to make it to Cahors where we were getting on the train back to Poitiers. Fortunetely, a good nights rest and a decent breakfast helped a lot. We were on our way, just outside Capdenac, when we encountered this in the way...
The road had been washed out. We tried to get around it, as the shortest detour by road was an extra 15km out of the way. The wall to the right supports a railway, we were able to climb up onto the railway. One of the tracks was still in use, but veered off into a tunnel going the wrong direction. The other set of tracks were unused, but were overgrown with thorns and we were stymied. We had to shorten our journey and head back to Capdenac to catch the train there. On our way back into town we found a notice from the city regarding the temporary closure of the road...dated February 21, 2006.
Luckily, Rebecca was waiting for us in Poitiers with a rabbit stew....Mmmmmmmm.
2 comments:
Ah rabbit Stew! Detours can be good.
Big storms tonight in ILL.
I guess the best tool of an adventurer is adaptability! Good for you, I think I would have been panicky. Mom
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