Going down the river: Ambialet to Albi

August 2, 2015

After rising at 7:30, and eating the usual breakfast of croissants, coffee, and juice, I got rolling down the river. Once again the ride was on a road made from a railroad grade, and once again there were tunnels, three of them. This time, though, the tunnels were lit, and although they are narrow, there was enough room to pass an oncoming car or two. Even so, the longest was over one kilometer long and curved, so I was glad to see the last of them. Once into Albi the fun began. The "headquarters" of the Semaine Federale is called the Permanence, and the route to get there was well marked. But from there to where one collected the badges, meal tickets, ride maps, etc. was not marked at all. The organizers expect that the great majority of the participants will arrive by car or motor home (more on that later) so the route from the autoroute was well marked, and the route from the collection point to the permanence was well marked, but not in the opposite direction. Collection of things was well organized in the gym of a village just outside of Albi, but the mayor of the village forbade the wearing of cycling cleats in the gym, so there was a line of shoes at the door! Once I got all my "stuff", it was an easy ride back to the permanence where the campground was just adjacent on the grass of an airfield.

A picture of the campground. The tents of the cyclocampers are far outnumbered by the motor homes and caravans.

Looking west from the previous shot, the extent of the campground starts to become apparent. 10000+ people, all camped here for one week of cycling.

After getting settled in, I wandered over to the permanence to see what that might contain.

There are stands for custom made bicycles. I want one of these!

No French convention would be anything without frest local food. Here's the cheese stand.

There were also stands selling wine, local beer, cycling clothes, bicycle parts, touristy stuff, and outside were the green crocers with fresh produce. For those who choose, it's also possible to eat in the restaurant where meals are served at breakfast and supper.

Here's the supper menue for Sunday evening.

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 623 km (387 miles)

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