central massif

We said goodbye to evan in paris and boarded a local express train south to Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of the central massif. It was time (finally!) to put my money where my mouth was (or guidebook where my job was) and do a ride out of LP’s Cycling France. Didn’t actually work on this one, but the important thing is that I know who did, so I knew who to blame for any mistakes…

The 3 day ride through the Parc Naturel Regional des volcans d’Auvergne was awesome. Very different landscape to either the pyrenees or the alps. Very… idyllic farmland surrounded by massive volcanos. Not bad really.

Above is our first nights campsite in a paddock above the village of Le Mont-Dore. Actually I think it was at the Col de la Croix St-Robert. A parapentist kindly wafted his arse above this hill, and our heads, in the evening.

After a day of ambling along pleasant valleys, crossing the odd col and exploring quaint villages in lycra (among them, Besse, big sister of the super.. Super Besse), our final day saw us summount the Pas de Peyrol. The tour might have gone there this year but we havent got around to checking this yet (stages 5 or 6 were near here?). Anyway the climb was pretty rad. Here I am taking a breather at a very convenient mountain-side café, only 100 vertical metres from the col.

The col itself was swarming with tourists/walkers who go there to walk along the stunningly barren ridges and peaks of the volcanic region, the most popular of them is Puy Mary. The rest of the ride was down hill all the way to Aurillac where we caught a train to Toulouse. From there it was a cruisy (but f’n hot) ride to Auch where we are now – kicking it with Heddas Manou and waiting for the rest of l’equipe pilgrimmage to rock up.