Pushing up from a lunch break spot on the Lot River.
After our rest day in Toulouse we hopped on a regional train, a TER, and got a jump on a strong headwind day to Tonneins, which is on the Garrone River, the same river as Toulouse. The Lot River and the Garrone come together at the confluence just southeast of Tonneins, so we rode east to meet up with the Lot and head upriver.
Our first sight of the mighty Lot River, in Clairac.The Lot ends where it meets the Garrone in the west.Look at that river course. So many bends and horseshoes.
One of the allures of riding a river is that you tend to stay on fairly flat ground. But, if you want to ride some hills you get that opportunity when you ride up to the towns along the rivers which are mostly tucked up high and dry above flood level. Or, you take a route up onto a ridge above the river. Most folks would think that flat riding along a river is ideal, but it does get a bit dull, and our legs and rear ends appreciate the hill climbs and coasting downhill.
Another view of Clairac from the bridge on our way to a grocery store.A quiet tree lined road. Our train ride did not deliver us beyond the wind, we had a gusty day.Feeling like bridge trolls at our lunch spot. But it was sheltered from the wind.Castelmoron-sur-Lot.The regional route Rich was following on his map was V86.
La Vallée du Lot à vélo, the V86, like many bike routes, takes you to scenic spots and through town on very picturesque and historic streets. What can at first seem like a gratuitous turn or two, ends up somewhere lovely.
Castelmoron-sur-Lot felt like taking a step back in time. We had much more of this feeling to come as we continued up the Lot.The reward for a day of battling the wind? Indian food for dinner and a bottle of local white wine in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.Porte de Pujols, the last bit of the ramparts that surrounded the city in the 14th century.Crossing the river on our way out Villeneuve-sur-Lot. The Lot is known for flooding, these buildings look ready for it.Use your imagination to erase the billboard and the bollards and you could be back in the 14th century. Oh and Rich, erase that bike tourist in your mind too. And the car.
Work continues on the Vélo routes, and the mapping app Rich uses, Koomoot, isn’t always completely up to date. Sometimes new signs will contradict Koomoot directions. We had one of those contradictions at a single track trail by a rail line. Koomoot wanted us to cross the rails on a road behind us and stay in the right bank of the river. We ultimately chose the single track.
The sign was brand new. I love the added on ‘camping’ sign. Across a rail bridge.It’s always such a mental boost to get to ride where automobiles cannot go. Bike touring is hard, but the rewards are fantastic.V86 for the win. The new routing took us to le Moulin de Lustrac. A perfect spot for a snack break.Built about 1296. Right around the time work was being done to make the Lot navigable by building dams, facilitating the movement of goods from Quercy to Bordeaux.A very impressive set of mill buildings.Who doesn’t love a door that opens to a drop into water?And a reminder of more recent history.Another cool old mill building at Monsempron-Libos. This one definitely has folks living in it. I wonder what it’s like to have water flowing under your house?Another stunning historic building on the Lot. No idea what it is.A bridge over the Lot with a sign showing the bends in the river.Puy-l’Évêque is on the narrow neck of a horseshoe bend of the river, and our next night’s stay. Our sense of riding back in time got stronger when we went for a walk before dinner.The narrow side streets are named for the trades that were practiced on them, street of tanners, tinters, etc.One of the small streets.Looking over the medieval buildings to the River.Kitty looking over the city. Nearly a fifth of the residences are holiday homes. The buildings are beautifully kept up.
A stretch of nice weather, no wind, and a beautiful river to ride. We were moving each night, riding happily along, but moving always means unpacking and packing. It gets tiring. Especially with bike panniers. What a mess.
We go from this in the morning.To this. All tidily packed up and at the grocery store to get lunch provisions.It was quite cold that morning as we pedaled past vineyards and waved to folks walking the Camino de Santiago. One of the routes through France goes right along the route we were riding.The route is well marked and takes advantage of parts of an old railroad line.Riding along the old railway route through Castelfranc.And back over the river to Albas. This agricultural area of the Lot is mostly vineyards, all in the Cahors AOC wine region. Another beautiful place up on a hill above the river.Which means riding up up up. But if you were cold this warms you up.Rich added for scale by the big fake wine bottle.The trail stayed above the river for a while. I’d forgotten how cold it was until I see I’m wearing my down jacket. And a wool sweater.Near Douelle, a chateaux above the river. All of these towns were also ports for the shipping of wine along the river, headed to Bordeaux.Lunchtime in Doulle, where a small park had a table and chairs for us to enjoy.Approaching Pradines, yes, another town in a bend on the river. A view across the vineyards.
Our next stop was Cahors, where we checked into our hotel and immediately decided to stay another extra night. Our hotel room overlooked the famous Pont Valentré, a medieval three tower six arch bridge. We got to town in plenty of time to unpack, shower, relax a bit and head out to a chocolate shop.
My supply of chocolate was getting low. I love the window display at L’éclat Du Noir. I look for the independent chocolate shops.And Rich looks for the independent beer bars.
Our rest day was lovely, we walked around town, visited the Musée Henri-Martin, whose paintings we also saw in Toulouse, and had a vegetarian lunch. And napped.
It was a good choice of rest day, since it rained quite a bit.Post museum, post lunch, on our way to a nap through the charming old streets of Cahor. A scallop shell showing the way of St. James and the bridge in the background.The bridge is a stunner. The chocolate is delicious. The view from our hotel room. The Best Western Plus Hôtel Divona Cahors. The happy travelers and that amazing bridge.
Stay tuned for more Lot River. The cold wet European spring is certainly not super great for bike touring, but we’ll take cold over rain. Unfortunately, some rain is in our future. The highs and lows of traveling by bikes.
After decades of living and working in wonderful San Francisco we gave it all up to travel the world. Not owning a car allowed us to save money and live hyper-locally. Now we’re living around the globe. Follow along to see where we are and what cats I manage to pet.
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Less Car, More Life 