MEDIEVAL TIMES PART II - ROCAMADOUR, ST. CIRQ LAPOPIE AND CARCASSONNE (AUGUST 3-7)

This stretch was really originally about finding some terrain and time to do some biking, without any particular tourist sites to behold. We have found our biking rhythm and wanted to have a stretch of serious(?) biking where we might test our mettle a bit in terms of number of days in a row and distance and terrain. As we neared the end of the traditional tourist area of the Dordogne Valley, we considered continuing to the source of the Dordogne river near Clermont-Ferrand, deep in the Central Massifs Mountain. But based the advice of Liz and John (see you soon, we hope) and numerous other people (agents de les centres touristique informatifs), we decided to head south a bit and see Rocamadour and Carcassonne (the ultimate medieval sites). In this section of our trip, we pent most of it in the Quercy National Park that is partly in the Central Massifs features rolling hills (but big ones), farmers fields and deciduous forests. Lovely.

The weather has been sunny everyday, and increasingly warm. The 50 sunscreen seems to be holding off sunburns and we are refilling our water bottles several times per day.

In total in this section of our trip, we biked 225 kms, with total climbs of almost 2500 meters! Peter burned almost 8500 calories cycling and we are at just about 1700 total kms. Good for us...!
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Our first day in this section took us about 60 kms with climbs totaling about 500 meters. This lead us to Rocamadour, which is truly unbelievable, as you can see in the pictures below. The number of pilgrims is also unbelievable (apparently over 126 miracles took place here many many many years ago, attributed to a statue of the 'black madonna' - it is black...). The sights are awesome, especially from a distance, when not confronted with the odd choices of music and souvenirs (andean music and random incongruous irrelevant chachkis). Nonetheless, it was great to visit and the achievement of the climb was key in our confidence and kill development. People actually cheered us on as they drove past us in comfortable air-conditioned cars. We saw several looks of amazement and others who nodded their heads in disdainful disbelief.

Rocamadour

Ode to poodles Farley & Pompeii in stained glass

The next day, we headed off early in a southerly direction, with no real idea where we would end up, as Carcassonne was still about 250 kms away. The weather was lov ely in the morning, but grew hotter as the day progressed. By 2pm of so we had reached as far as we thought advisable given the climbs we did, the heat, and the suggestion that St Cirq Lapopie was a lovely place, similar to Rocamadour. If we thought the ride to Rocamadour had a big ascent (and it did), the ride on this day bettered it by about 300 meters, totalling just over 800 meters of climbing over the 5 kms we rode. Most of the climbing right in the am out of Rocamadour. There were at least 6 separate climbs, each of which would have worn us out less than a month ago. But we persevered and made it to lunch in a small town, Labastide Murat. While tending to sore muscles and eating our lunch in a park, we met up with Hilde and Theo, a dutch couple who were on route from Maastrich, Holland to 'the end of the world', an actual city on the Atlantic in Spain. They were but two of the many people who have urged us to ride along the Pyrennes to the Basque region and to enter into Spain. We exchanged number and they headed off, to Alice's continuing note that all other couples are dressed in matching clothes (hint, hint,Peter...).

The second half of the ride was just about all downhill. We were stopped by a local who is a cycle enthusiast, Christofe, who sent us down this lovely 15 kilometer ride and that was alongside an old riverbed, where the greenery now seemed to flow like the river once must have. Fantastic, and all downhill! Thanks Christofe! That lead us the base of St Cirq Lapopie, reaching which required one last climb, though well worth it.

We stayed in a lovely 17th century hotel and partook of the beautiful view and spent the latter half of the afternoon poolside, relaxing and getting to know Julia and Gerard, a couple from Paris/Limoges. More interesting conversation and exchange of contact info (someone to show us around in Paris perhaps). Very steep city, but lovely. For dinner we splurged on a second regional dinner (this one without meat), that featured truffles, Rocamadour goat cheese, and a nice local fish.

View from our 17th century b&b in St-Cirq-Lapopie

A good sleep was needed, as the next day, still in the Central Massif mountains, we headed off again towards Carcassonne. Alice chose this route, based on her topographical map-reading skill set, which led us to our highest ascent day (just under 1 kilometer). It was a long day because the temperature rose to over 40c, and we still completed 95 kilometers. We stopped in this random town, Lisle Sur Tarn, just in time for the Lisle-fest, which included a live band and some food and artisans in the town square. We stayed in a no-star hotel (is that even possible??), also the only hotel in town.

The next morning found Alice weary and definitely in need of a 'rest (off-the-bike) day'. We tried to get into cycling by leaving Lisle-sur-Tarn and heading towards Toulouse (a change of plan from our original hope of making it within 30km of Carcassonne). 15km into our ride it was clear that not only was Alice unable to pull it together but Peter also 'checked out' - so instead we stopped at the wee town of Coufouleux, hopped onto the train, and arrived in Toulouse a mere 45 minutes later.

And so began our 36 hours of rest, errands (laundry, bike repair, map store) and shopping. Alice spent most of the afternoon relaxing in bed, after doing laundry at the laverie while Peter got his bike fixed up (mirror and stand) and ran errands in 40c heat. We had a great internet connection in our air-conditioned hotel and so Skyped with a few family and friends. Nice to at least her voices on voice mail, if not live... And then a quick jaunt through town in the evening to show Alice what Toulouse looks like outside her hotel bed!

Nice, but on a carousel..?!?

The next day we took a bus to Carcassonne to complete a full day of rest. It was AWESOME! More lively than the game, it was was also even more beautiful. 52 towers and over 3 kms of walls built in the 12c, filled with tourists and not-bad tourist shops and dining establishments. We walked around the ramparts, on cobblestone roadways, gazed at intricate buildings and towers, and generally took in the sights to see. It really put a cap on the medieval part of this adventure. It was quite interesting to fantasize about who walked the same roads and what life might have been like almost 1000 years before.

Upon Meg's Facebook suggestion, we tried to take photos of what might be Carcassonne game pieces, but that would have probably been best done in a hot air balloon, getting aerial shots. We certainly could imagine how the inventor of the game was inspired by the city. See for yourself...

City & cathedral view

Part of city with pastures


Spires


River

River 2

One of Alice's highlights was the 'medieval food court', where we took in regional food, including roasted garlic and mashed anchovies spread onto toasted bread. One of Alice's pivotal food moments o the trip...

Medieval "food court" in Carcassonne

Medieval Times Part 2 grading:

• weather (B+) – gorgeous but a bit too hot for cycling or walking or being outside. On 1 uphill climb, we could smell the tar melting and see slick pots appear in the roads.
• landscape (A) - best yet! medieval towns, vineyards, large rolling hills with great views
• cycling challenge - moderate to difficult
• physical and emotional response (A) - we climbed almost 2500 meters in three consecutive days. A real accomplishment for us, especially given the heat
• our relationship (A) - we are thinking of removing this criteria from the list as we are getting along consistently well and there is little to report
• food (B) - laid low with food this section of the trip, except for a truffle omelette which was nice and the garlic anchovy bread which was great.
• accommodations (B+) - great medieval accommodations in St Cirq Lapopie, and air-conditioned haven in Toulouse and Carcassonne. A creepy 'no-star' accommodation in Lisle brings the average doooowwwnnnnn
• other people – (B+) - Met an increasing number of cyclists on the road, and Julia and Gerrard in Lapopie
• entertainment – (C-) - Tired most evenings from cycling, and Lisle-fest (featuring an unremarkable rock cover band) rounded this less-than-average grade

Overall Grade: A (for the cycling and medieval atmosphere and landscape)