Day 14 Mende to Villefort 36miles

---

N88 to Badaroux,D901 to Villefort

Lots of rain last evening.This morning very cold in fact we spotted a car with ice on it's roof. Long sleeves the order of the day.

Long gradual climb out of Mende passing many saw mills & piles of pine trunks .

During this climb Mark decided to wait in a lay-by for me to catch up,but unbeknown to him I overtook him & was waiting for ages at the top of the hill.

Apparently he was concerned I had abandoned the trip & gone home at the thought of a very hilly stage ! He cycled back & forth for 2 miles up & down the hill looking for me. I though I was the one who is irrational ! We had a giggle about that.

Road very busy for the first 15 miles sharing it with white,red,pink,and blue van man on their way to a three day scramble trial.In fact later en route we were joined by scramblers as the road appeared to be part of the route,very noisy & not the place to be on a cycle.

The first climb was to f f f Col de Tourette it was f f f easy.

We went through our first tunnel of the trip which being claustrophobic I was dreading ,but it wasn't long & I lived to tell the tale but there are longer unlit ones further down the line which I will have to deal with.

The next high spot was the Col de Tribes at 1130 mts the highest point we will reach on our trip.

From there it was down hill all the way for a thrilling ,twisting descent for 15miles without pedalling ! Fantastic scenery on the way down passing a chateau that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Harry Potter film. Wooded hillsides of pine mostly but also ash & oak. Just before arriving at Villefort we passed a huge lake .

This ended one of the best days cycling we have ever had. Staying in a Chambre d,Hote with a lovely family & joining them for dinner after the Heineken Cup final..

---

Comments

[Lyn & Tony]

The Intrepid Pair
Loved the blog - Creech Hill will be a doddle after this. What a great day's cycling have loved every km with you.

[Craig]

where next?
Or will you just keep on going? The world isn't such a large place!

[Dowley]

Where next
Certainly not Cowley. This has been a great trip, your cycling experiences and general banter helped to get me into it

[John Parkes]

All down hill to the med!
All looks and sounds amazing, sixty km a day..hills..panniers on bikes... Very impressed. Sue when you return I can see you writing for the French tourist board whilst looking after your heard of fresians.