- Hot beyond toleration. It is over 40c or 105f during a few of these days. This is heat that makes you mad. It is dangerous.
- You have to be disciplined with your water intake. You need to drink 6-8 ltrs per day. And... you have to do it in small equal amounts throughout the day. That is .75 ltr per hour of effort . The rest comes before and after riding. It is so hot... you will not pee while riding despite essentially consuming a fountain's flow of water.
- Landes (Aug 20th) is a bizarre part of France. Undifferentiated, flat/crowned, unpopulated, trees with ferns growing below them, bugs to keep you moving along these sometimes paved logging roads... Not where you want to have a problem. It is a hard 50 mile crossing. You have to do it in a day.
- Once across Landes, this becomes the rural south-west France you might expect. Farmland with an increasing number of vineyards and Chateaux as you move north.
- The land is undulating at reasonable pitches. Perfect for bike touring.
Facts:
Aug 23th (rest day 24, 25th rain) - GPS - Mussidan to Perigueux
Distance: 26.09 mi
Time: 2:56:39/ Moving Time: 2:19:55
Avg Speed: 8.9 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 11.2 mph / Max Speed: 33.8 mph
Elevation Gain: 906 ft
Elevation Loss: 741 ft
Min Elevation: 196 ft
Max Elevation: 383 ft
Weather - 90’s nice
Climbs - flat
Difficulty - 0
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Comments:
A. This was meant to be a rest day. Its an easy flat course.
B. The first interesting city for awhile. I badly need a break, this is perfect. Rain kept me here an extra day.
C. This well worth a visit for the food, church (which looks like st mark's in venice without the gold roof), and old town’s night/cafe life. One of those places you never heard of as an American. You enjoy it more than expected.
Facts:
Aug 22th - GPS - Miramont-de-Guyenne to Mussidan
Distance: 37.26 mi
Time: 5:06:36/ Moving Time: 3:46:13
Avg Speed: 7.3 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 9.9 mph / Max Speed: 38.6 mph
Elevation Gain: 2,415 ft
Elevation Loss: 2,448 ft
Min Elevation: 99 ft
Max Elevation: 551 ft
Weather - 98 F. Still hot but not like the last few days
Climbs - flat
Difficulty - 5 heat, distance, and up/down
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Comments:
A. As biking goes, this is highly recommended. Small roads with the perfect up and down. There were a couple of dirt road adventures, including one through a vineyard and clump of houses that had me thinking... I am not allowed this way. Someone is going to come out and shoot me with salt rock.
B. At one point, 2 older women passed me on a hill. They were so happy. I let them have it... or that is the story I am sticking with. They should have left a number, so I could visit my manhood once in awhile.
C. This leg can be divided by Bergerac. Before it is isolated farms without many towns. After Bergerac, there are increasing vineyards, and while still small roads/rural there are more towns. The feel is different. You also start seeing actively used Chateaux.
Facts:
Aug 21th - GPS - CastelJaloux to Miramont-de-Guyenne
Distance: 33.64 mi
Time: 4.36/ Moving Time: 2.53
Avg Speed: 7.3 mph / Avg Moving Speed:11.6 mph / Max Speed: 35.2 mph
Elevation Gain: 1,565 ft
Elevation Loss: 1,611 ft
Min Elevation: 117 ft
Max Elevation: 576 ft
Weather - 40++c/ 100++ F. Blazing hot again
Climbs - flat
Difficulty - 4 heat
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - Update later (there was only one choice. the owner was nice but strangely without a wife. that seemed odd. and it seemed odd that I would notice.)
Comments:
A. The heat will make you mad.
B. There was a climb at the start. With Landes yesterday, it was a tough start. The top third was being tarred. That was not a pleasant section. After that, it is good riding. The high way can sometimes be dangerous because fast moving cars can see you all the time, but this is a good biking section.
C. Few towns in a land offering little support. I planned to go further, but ran out of water. This is truly rural.
Facts:
Distance: 49.97 mi
Time: 5:15:59/ Moving Time: 4:08:05
Avg Speed: 9.5 mph / Avg Moving Speed:12.1 mph / Max Speed: 31.5 mph
Elevation Gain: 1,355 ft
Elevation Loss: 1,253 ft
Min Elevation: 130 ft
Max Elevation: 505 ft
Weather - 40++c/ 100++ F. Blazing hot
Climbs - flat
Difficulty - 7 this is a top tier difficult day.
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - Update later
Comments:
A. Landes is a bizarre part of France.
B. It was dangerously hot!
C. The first 25 km are along an unshouldered straight fast industrial highway. Very dangerous and you will look for a way off. Finally after you leave that road, the lack of support and isolation are stressful.
D. Undifferentiated, flat/crowned, unpopulated, trees with ferns growing below them, bugs to keep you moving along these sometimes paved logging roads... Not where you want to have a problem. It is a hard 50 mile crossing. You have to do it in a day..
E. At one point I did not want to follow the gps down a dirt road and ended up taking a longer, more isolated, and dangerous one from Saint Gor back D???.
F. This was one of the hardest days. It looks flat on the map, but really it is crowned - Elevation Gain: 1,355 ft. You go slowly up and then slowly down. The bugs make it so you can not easily take a break and keep you moving above 20km... when you can.
Damn beeyatch we are probably not more than a hundred miles from each other. I hear ya about the heat. It is in the hi eighties here and I have been dizzy from the heat yesterday and today. But fantistiic riding. In particular the cute villages every few miles.
ReplyDeleteGregois.
You're on the other side of the central massif. It is about 150 miles..but I in chateauroux now.
ReplyDeletehttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luberon_topographic_map-en.svg
If you draw a line between gordes and voix. That's all good stuff for you. South of that line is challenging hills with small roads and just north is a valley.. good for making distannce. gordes and voix worth a stay.... one of my best ever meals was new someones backyard rest. In gordes.
Happy exploring to both of you!!!!