The grand tour of France in a motorhome September 11th Day thirteen

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A lazy start to the morning, we are doing our washing! I’ve been poring over some of the potential cycle route maps we can follow later today.

The route 35 cycle map proves useless and we are lost. Again! Have I ever said how much I appreciate having OS maps on my phone? Wish I could find something like that here. Google maps is not helping at the moment.

I have led mag down some rough gravel farm tracks which I am hoping will get us back onto the map road routes. This one track is part of the ‘Pilgrims’ Way network. Le Puy is a major stopping off point for pilgrims apparently, on their way to Lourdes and then into Spain.

Thus far, we have had some ridiculously steep ascents and hairpin bends (don’t you love E bikes?); extensive road works and lots of lose gravel on the inner bends making life tricky. But, in fairness, the views across the farmland and the little city are stupendous. The road sign with the holes in it is disconcerting. People have clearly been using it for shotgun target practice. Just so long as they don’t decide to move towards British ‘live’ targets, eh?

We have had to do some walking as some of the tracks are so rough, rutted and cobblestone strewn, that it is literally taking your life in your hands trying to cycle along them. We’ve had a few bemused looks from pilgrims we have passed on the way.

At Christopher village, we stopped at a lovely little restaurant in the centre of the village for bacon and cheese muffins, as in little cakes. Yes! Bacon and cheese! And they were of course, absolutely delicious. Washed down with Pepsi. Oh we know how to live the high life! The village church is worth a visit – very interesting architecture and unusual belfry arrangement.

After all that morning climbing, route 31 downhill back to Le Puy has come as welcomed relief. Interesting field systems passed on the way; a sort of bocage system of terraces and small vineyards with large domed stone huts. Very ancient apparently. We end, inevitably back in the square at the same ice cream parlour with another ice cream sundae.