Day 12: Saint Sylvestre du Lot to Prayssac: A lot of plums and some hazelnuts

August 14, 2014

Track 04 LC 52 km

People we met complain of the bad weather but we don't. One heavy rain of hardly 20 minute per day is good to cool down the road. This is what we had today. We arrived to B&B in Prayssac hold by dutch couple who were interested to discover our trikes. Nice people welcoming us with a drink in their penthouse, flooded by the evening sun.

Our trikes spent a safe and dry night into the back room restaurant in Saint Sylvestre du Lot

Plums harvest, a large tarp is hydraulically deployed around the tree, see on right side, an hydraulic clamp is pressurized around the plumb truck and shaked. The plums fall into the tarp, the tarp is then tilted to tractor sort of box, see on left.

We stopped in the country side shortly after Lustrac to discover the all drying process of plums to be transformed into dry plumbs, pruneaux. Washed with water, the rotted are eliminated.

Dried for 12 hours into the gas conveyor belt. Humidity has to go down to 21% to be on wholesale market. Keep in mind that water is added before being sold to the consumer in grocery store and bring up to 31 %, so the margin goes directly to the grocery store owner.

Dry to 21%. I bought one kilo or so for 3 euros.

The different drying stages on the conveyor belt

Discovering château of Bonaguil north of Fumel

Château of Bonaguil on the road leaving for Prayssac

Philippe and Pierre Louis, Paris 5ième, met in Duravel, en route to Montpellier via Cahors.

Today's ride: 64 km (40 miles)
Total: 775 km (481 miles)

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