Bergerac to Le Bugue

May 15, 2019

Six crossings of the Dordogne and lots of small towns in between

We made our way carefully down the two flights of twisty, turny, newly refinished very very old wood stairs in our socks (a house rule) for breakfast in the kitchen at 09:00 hours. A slip and fall here could be catastrophic. We both made it safely to a spread of quality breads, jams, yogurt, juice and coffee. Scott also enjoyed the local fresh walnuts and hazelnuts. Our breakfast companions were from California.

We had to negotiate the staircase twice more before retrieving our bikes and setting off back across the bridge and back over the river. An interesting start to our day - where the route planner took us through a field following a foot path! We then traveled a mix of roads through the small towns of Saint-Capraise-de-Lalinde, Lalinde, and Trémolat. The riding had been quite flat along canals and the river but became noticeably hillier leaving Trémolat. Looking at a map, this section is in between two very pronounced meanders in the river.

The route planner thought this was a road.

The lovely route along the canal was to end with a "route barrée". We decided to press on and test the other side. The surface was rougher and there was a lot of debris from recently cut down trees that lined the side of the pathway.

Logs piled at the side of the path. These were quite old trees and it was hard to tell if the logging was part of a plan to improve this cycle path.

Looking back at Lalinde where we had lunch.

The views are always worth it.....so says Scott. The Dordogne below.

The road down the hill to the confluence of the Dordogne and Vézère rivers at the small town of Limeuil.

The last town we visited was Limeuil which is classified as one of the most beatiful Villages of France. There are 161 villages in France rated as a Plus Beaux Village.

The bridge on the right crosses the Dordogne and the bridge on the left crosses the Vézère.

Limeuil is located at the confluence of the Dordogne and Vézère rivers. The village is still partly surrounded by its original fortified walls. We left our bikes near the gates and hiked up the cobbled streets that wound through the village. The lemon sherbert at the top was a well-deserved treat.

Limeuil. A very pretty town on the top of a hill.

A lovely home in Limeuil. Very high, steeply sloped roofs in this area.

The day was getting late and the last six km to Le Buque went quickly. The town is located on the Vézère River. It was a warm afternoon as we located our hotel and Pat found some young children to receive her "Canada" pencils. It is a great way to make new friends.

Late in the day on the road to La Bugue.

L'hôtel de ville (city hall) at La Bugue.

Finding a restaurant was a real challenge today. Some closed Wednesdays others too formal looking and we were about to settle on a pizza place (not our first choice today) when we stumbled upon Creperie L Abreuvoir. We shared a wonderful large smoked salmon salad and a duck gizzard gallette, both at the recommendation of our hostess. All very good.

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Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 216 km (134 miles)

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