Monday, September 19, 2022 | Christoph Haidinger | Edelweiss Bicycle Tours
Volcanoes, awesome cheese, breathtaking views and wonderful architecture to name just a few of the highlights. This tour leads us through some of the most rural areas of the Auvergne and Occitania (and all of France). We will go along fertile river valleys - along the Allier, the Truyere and the Lot. We will enjoy highlights in the cities of Le Puy-en-Velay and Clermont Ferrand, the towns Rocamadour and Conques.
Good people of New Zealand, we are looking forward to finally meet you. We are feverishly awaiting your arrival to Clermont Ferrand to start this wonderful tour together with you!
Our guests arrived! Happy Welcome, Bonjour! Today we did a quick walk through the city, we came by the Notre Dame du Port and the Notre Dame d l'Assomptions. We found out why the buildings are black and how high the snow was in the winter of 1833 - about 2 metres!
Somewhere between busy and relaxing, our first rest day in Clermont Ferrand was rather interesting.- beginning with the Welcome Briefing, then the Daily Briefing and after that, "getting to know" our E-Bikes.
After the more formal morning we started out to see some of the Highlights around the Clermont Ferrand area. Some of us went up the Puy de Dome, some went to see the Michelin museum, some of us just had a nice stroll through the volcano-city of Clermont Ferrand, visited the cathedral or did a little shopping.
At the end of the day, we went to dinner at the irish-pub-style restaurant Le Devant.
Sightseeing is nice, but having an E-Bike ride next to the Allier river and the nature all around is a highlight in itself. Gernot and Christoph shuttled our E-Bikes to Brassac le Mines and we arrived by train. We had our first real try on the E-Bikes this day and it was beutiful. A little bit of main streets in the morning, but Brioude and the countryside after very much made up for that.
Even more so a dip in the hotels pool, a beer or a wine after the ride - and the lovely dinner in the evening!
After a very nice meal in the evening, with this nice family operating the hotel and the restaurant it is time to move on. The morning ride was quiet and enjoyable. We were at the Chateau de Lafayette - the birth place of Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, in less words, the Marquis de La Fayette. He was the hero of both the worlds of America and France. Not only did he fight in the American Revolutionary Wars and the French Revolution, he was also a great enforcer of human rights and democracy.
At midday we had a suprise-lunch: a picknick at the Allier river. Thanks to the chef Gernot, who prepared some wonderful regional specialities.
After the Gorge d'Allier - the Allier "canyon", and a bit of a climb, and one, little steeper, but not so long climb at the very end, we finally reached Le Puy-en-Velay.
City Walk or E-Bike tour? At this day only Howard, Pippa and Gernot were brave enough for a small tour around the countryside of Le Puy. The rest of us did a walk through the city, had a look at the mornings weekly farmers market, established in the 15th century and now one of the most beautiful in France. After that the cathedral, the St. Michael on the needle and the 213-cannonballs-Madonna. Some even found the hidden Verveine shop, where it was possible to take a sip of the local digestif, whilst being told the story behind.
At the end there was even a concert, given in the chapel St. Michel d'Aighuile - again Howard and Pippa took the chance to look and listen.
After our dinner at the hotel we went out for a short walk for the light show, prepared especially for us at that day
It is a rather long day today. Not is it only about 90 km, but also 2327 m in positive altitide difference! Everybody made it! Your were very brave - fighting the hills until our nice hotel in Peyre en Aubrac. In between our tour we made several encounters with the Bete du Gevaudan - a never forgotten beast, which was roaming the Lozere (back then Gevaudan) area from 1764 to 1767. Whatever it was - a wolf, a dog, a hybrid, a hyena or just a costumed sadist - we will never know. The myth about the beast of Gevaudan remeins until this day.
We had a long ride, but thanks to the heritage of Edelweiss - motorbike tours - we had a nice suprise at the arrival in our hotel - the BOOT BEER!! After hopping of the bike, sometimes it so happens, that the first beer you drink after a long days ride is one, where you are still in your boots, or your bicycle outfit
A knife - clear, from Laguiole, obvious - but what is a Buron? So far we met some of the ingredients to get some nice Tome or other sorts of regional cheese: nice green ranges at high altitude, Aubrac cattle and their fatty milk. Traditionally the local Tome was made in burons - small stone huts in the desolate area of the Aubrac high plateu, made out of granite stones with a cellar, a ground floor and a first floor. The cellar for storing and maturing of the cheese, the ground floor to make the cheese and the top floor to house the cheesmakers.
After a nice snack right before midday, we had another stop in the small town of Nasbinals. From that on it was a very energy-conserving ride down into the town of Laguiole. After some time in the Hotels Spa, or a walk around town we went to see how the local knife was made in the Forge de Laguiole.
It looked like it is going to be a rainy day... how was it? Well... we could count the raindrops - it was like 26 of them. Other than that it was a lovely day, not too cold, not too hot, a bit windy, all in all a nice riding day.
We started our day with a guided tour through the chese dairy in Laguiole, where we learned how the cheese from around the region is made these days. It looks like one guy started the Coopérative Fromagère Jeune Montagne, the cheese factory and moreover a system which takes care not only of the company, but of all its cattle herders and more.The factory making the cheese tried also to copy every bit possible from the local buroniers, in order to leave the local cheeses as traditional as possible. We do not know how the cheese tasted before, but we can say for sure, that it does taste good to this day!
After a nice downhill ride we were arriving at the Truyere river. In Estraguyes the Truyere meets with the Lot river - we met with Gernot in order to have our midday snack. We then followed the Lot river until our nice and lovely hotel in Vieillevie for the best dinner ever! Thank you Ursula for the good scouting!
A nice ride along the river Lot and a side valley. What is in that valley though? Brace yourselves for the town of Conques - a majestic church surrounded by lovely old buildings. The Abbey church of Sainte-Foy has its name from the relics of Sainte-Foy, which made it a worthy journey for pilgrims from the medievil ages. Altough the relics were received by means of rather unorthodox methods...
A lovely ride to the city of Rocamadour. Almost everything we did, we did on low-traffic, single lane streets and in the sunshine. After the arrival vis a vis the small town, on a viewing platform, we were in awe. Who chiseled this town into the rock and why? Does not matter really, it looks amazing!
After moving into our astonishing rooms right in the middle of the towns lower elevation, we started to scout the town, the grand escalier, the chapels and the palace gardens. Pippa and Shirley even did the Durendal challenge and found the mystical christian sword of the famous paladin Roland, known from the 11th century poem, the Song of Roland.
Another long day of riding, another 89 km, almost 2000 m of positive altitude difference - puhhh... It looked a bit overwhelming at first, but at the end again - a boot beer in your hand - everybody did it, and it was no problem at all!
The higlight of this day definitely was the landscape, the desolate towns, the quiet and the overall ambience of that area. We had a nice ride on beautiful back roads with almost no traffic at all. We found another breed of cows, the Cantal or Salers cattle.
It started with a chilly morning, a bit windy but with the sun coming out - the sun stayed out, the wind became stronger and the temperatures dropped down to 3°C when we were at the pas de Peyrol! We could see our breath in the air. Other than it being a very cold day, it was an amazing ride and an amazing view from the top, right below the Puy Mary.
Whilst going by some people one racing bikes, we became an idea about how the guys at the Tour de France or similar bike races must be feeling.
After arriving in Murat, having a stroll through this lovely town, a lunch or a wine, we head back to our hotel in Clermont Ferrand.
In the end we had a beautifiul farewell dinner at the restaurant Le Devant, where we reflected the highlights of our tour and celebrated Jamies birthday!
We had a great time together with all of you! Thank you for the nice tour Jamie, Pamela, Lynley, Pippa, Howard, Wyvern, Beth, Nancy, Shirley, Glenda, Tony and Helen!
We are looking forward to see you again,
Your tourguides, Christoph and Gernot
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