September 11, 2016
Day 6 - Meilhan-sur-Garonne to Rauzan: Off of the canal, on to the bike path
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Loic and his family were going to the beach for the day, so an early start suited him and us. We had a nice breakfast and hit the trail.
This was our last day on the canal, and the canal was doing its best to look alluring.
We had a moment of silence as we said goodbye to our new best friend. It had been a great ride along a beautiful piece of history.
We took off over back roads for La Reole. Once in town, we started climbing. Nothing outrageous, but it was a big change from the previous few days.
One of the benefits of getting off of the canal was that we could actually coast for long stretches. Of course, we had to climb to be able to coast...
One of the things about this country is that you will just randomly fall into places of incredible beauty. We just noticed this mill out of the corner of our eyes. Beautiful!!
We had coffee in Sauveterre-de-Guyanne and bought some food for lunch since it was Sunday. Beginning in Sauveterre-de-Guyanne, the "Piste Roger Lapebie" leads all the way into Bordeaux. It's a converted railroad, so the grades are very reasonable.
We followed the "piste" for the first 10km, then turned off to find our accommodation for the night. It was in Rauzan, about 10km off the piste. Some climbing was involved, so we took a break partway to eat our lunch.
Eventually we got to our accommodation - the Chateau de Villotte. Wow! We couldn't believe we were actually staying here!
We arrived a bit earlier than we had anticipated and there was no obvious place to contact anyone. So we cruised under a canopy in front of the chateau for an hour or so. The chateau's dog came out to say hello but since he didn't have a key, he couldn't help us much.
Eventually we got everything sorted out and got into our room. Again, Sarah (the owner), had thoughtfully provided a fan! Bliss! Another comfortable night.
The Chateau de Villotte is bike-friendly and tandem-friendly, and they're anxious to develop their cycling-related business. The rooms are lovely and worth considering if you're traveling nearby.
We were worried about whether we could get food on a Sunday night in the middle of nowhere. We shouldn't have. Rauzan has the excellent "La Cabane" which made two of the best pizzas in memory for us. As a bonus, we got to sit outside and watch the town come to life on a lazy summer evening.
When we got back to the chateau, Sarah had provided a bottle of the chateau's wine for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't do it justice. Not for lack of trying, though!
Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 369 km (229 miles)
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