#themamil

Today was the toughest day on paper and took us from Espalion to Les Vans. The day's ride was 174km and we were due to climb over 2300m which included climbing 3 cols.

We rolled out of Espalion and were immediately faced by 2 pretty tough climbs, the first being about 11km long and rising over 350m.

I took a selfie on that one.

Then the next climb was much shorter at 5.4k and rose 219m. Of course with both of these climbs meant we had lovely descents afterwards which were great.

We travelled through some lovely towns and secnary including Saint-Laurent-d'Olt and were surprised to be following the Lot river again today.

We stopped for a cafe stop at Marrjevols at which was a lovely town and has some delicious pastries.

After that stop we started on the the biggest climb of the day which took us up to the Col de Goudard at 1022m. It was a pretty brutal climb, with some sections getting into double digit gradients, and despite thinking a couple of times I might need to climb off (it was REALLY hot), we made it.

And the views from up there were incredible.

A lovely descent followed with cracking views and then before long we were on to the next climb which again was followed by a lovely descent down to Mende where we stopped for lunch.

Following a lunch that took longer than we had originally hoped to stop for it was off again and very soon we were on to the next climb that took us to the summit of the Col des Tribes at 1132m. The climb itself wasn't too bad but had to taker a pic for the scrapbook.

It also happened to be the intersection point between the Atlantic and the Med.

The descent from Tribes was the highlight descent for me. The views were incredible and the road, although switching back and forth, was a technically easy descent which made it all the more enjoyable. We even stopped at the Chateau du Champ to take a pic.

And then we hit the lake at Pourcharesses.

We then stopped in Villefort for a drink as we had always planned a 2 stop strategy for the day (although in hiundsight we could have just missed it) before heading for the final climb of the day up to the summit of the Col du Mas de L'Aye which at an altitude of 846m seemed like a cheap Col to bag today. Still, heres the proof...

Today was a bit of an unknown. Certainly the longest day of the tour, at 180km it was going to be a fairly long day in the saddle, but at only 1100m of climbing, there was a chance that this could have been a day for spinning the legs and just getting it done.

The reality was somewhere in-between, with endless roads of undulating proportions meant that at times it felt like we weren't getting anywhere, especially when the Garmin pointed out that the next turn was coming up in 17km!!

The wind also proved to be a stubborn adversory again today, well, all until the last 1/3 of the day when it turned into a rather kind assistant as it pushed us along the Loire.

We had elected a 2 major stop strategy, the first at 55k for a drink and pick-me-up and then lunch at 110k. The idea being that it meant that post-lunch not only had we broken the back of the ride but that the last part could be done with a break with 20k to go which would be really refreshing.

Anyhow, we set out from Vitre as well assembled and focused as any serious cycling group could be...

We (headed out of Vitre almost due south and fairly soon David, Neil and I formed a group. The morning part of the ride was really pretty small villages, immaculately kept, interspersed by the undulating roads which seemed to stretch for miles and miles.

Whilst the wind was against us, we made good progress and also managed to avoid the rain as we passed through Craon, where we thought we might stop for a drink but decided against it as it really wasn't hugely pleasent. Although their roundabout horse statue was a nice landmark.

So we headed on to the small village of Chatelais where we found a delightful shop / cafe and sat outside and enjoyed a pastry and a drink. We were soon met by George and Derek.

After our break we decided to rollout and shortly after leaving Chatelais we were rolling along and out of nowhere the heavens opened. Thanksfully I had my Gore jacket but poos Neil wasn't so lucky and got fairly soaked. The rain last about 10 minutes and we didn’t see it again for the rest of the day.

Shortly afterwards we crossed the River Loire and entered the town of Chalonnes-sur-Loire.

It was slightly earlier than expected but we were waved down by Derek so told us he had to drive back to Steve and Damien because they had a puncutre but the pump was in the day bag.

So Derek left us witht he trailer and the picnic and we proceeded to make ourselves lunch.

After a hearty lunch, Derek returned and we deided to roll on. With only about 70k left we wanted to crack on but had a plan to stop for a break at about 50k.

Scooting along the banks of the Loire was a joy and the wind had become our friend as the km's just fell away.

We even came across our first few Chateau in the form of Chateau de Brissac

and even had time for a little sprinting for fun.

We eventually found ourselves in St, Renny-La-Varenne where we stopped for a drink and got chatting to a chap called Timo who left Yorkshire 30 years ago for a new life in France.

Finally back down to the banks of the Loire and more lovely views...

before arriving in Saumur which was busy with Friday evening rush hour traffic, so not the best way to arrive.

Well the day finally arrived and we duly set off from our base camp that had been home for the last couple of days in St. Malo. We looked like an unruly mob and in fact missed the first turning out of the car park. Lost after 50 meters. It was going to be a long day...

Once we got our bearings, for this first day we headed north to hug the northern coast line of St. Malo and got some fine views of the beaches and the sea.

We even just about got to see Mont-Saint-Michel

We rode along the coast to Cancale, and then hugged the shoreline before heading inland for Pontorson, then on to Cogles, Vessey and then Argouges. It was noticable how much the traffic subsided as we headed inland. It was also a relief and at times we were riding in blissful silence. This was the church at Cogles.

We stopped for a coffee at Saint Georges de-Grehaigne but we all felt that perhaps we'd been a little stop-start for the first 50k so we elected to put in a shift and get to lunch at 90k without breaking again. We needed to find our rhythm.

We stopped for lunch at which was a car park next to a graveyeard, but Derek put on a great spread of bagettes, various cous cous and pasts salads, cheeses, pate, crisps and more.

Fully reloaded we had only another 40k to get to Vitres where we'd end day 1.

The trip down to Dinan was very pleasent with the usual excellent quality of roads, but what we didn’t expect to find was such a beautiful setting.

When arriving in the town we were greeted by this lovely setting.

After a drink where we could have stayed longer we headed up to the ancient city and were greeted by a hive of activity with people sitting drinking and eating in beautiful surroundings.

After circling around the ancient city we headed across the viaduct to the north side of the town.

And then dropped back down to the river and headed back towards St Malo.

We then arrived at Saint-Suliac where we stopped for lunch on the beach.

Then we headed back to St Malo where we met Damien and Steve who are riding with us, and Derek the organiser of the ride.

Feeling very relaxed and looking forward to starting the ride tomorrow.

David and I met in the Ferry terminal and Louise got to meet him, and we then proceeded to embark, bypassing all security who took one look at us with our bike boxes and waves us through while everyone else was being scanned and searched. Embarking meant having to push our bike boxes up 3 flights of gangplanks to get onto the boat, where we stowed them in the baggage locker for oversized bags and then proceeded to the bar where we met Neil who was also sailing. We had a drink and then dinner before "retiring" to bed.

The sailing was calm and a few hours kip on the floor was fine (although my Whoop seemed to think differently and I'm currently typing this with a 1% recovery score - although it thinks I only slept for 25 minutes).

On arrival in St Malo it was a lovely day, and passport control was straight forward.

David organised a cab for us, which involved a game of Jenga with our bike boxes to make them fit...

On arrival at the hotel we built up the bikes, cycled to the nearest bike shop to pump the tyres up properly, and then had a spot of lunch before beching in at 2pm for a short bit of downtime and re-charging. Then we headed into St Malo for dinner.

The views were lovely…

Starting with a drink by the city wall on the sea front. This is me and Neil.

And then on to dinner in the main pedestrian thoroughfare.

This is David and Neil…

It was a lovely relaxing evening.

Then we cycled back to the hotel, got a little lost, lost Neil for 20 minutes, and retired.

Back in 2019, I managed to tick off one of the big bucket list items, by cycling LEJOG (Lands End to John O'Groats) over the course of 9 days. It was an amazing event and a great challenge and the idea of riding a country end-to-end stuck with me.

Then COVID struck and it feels like I've been in an eternal loop ever since, riding the same loops around Farnham and the South Downs, with the odd exception.

This year marks 50 years on this planet for me and I came across the St. Malo to Nice ride and decided that this had to be (with a family-pass permitted of course) my present to myself.

The ride sees us depart St. Malo in the north of France on day 1, and arrive in Nice, the south East of France 10 days later. Along the route we will take in many cols as detailed below and the infamous Mount Ventoux (another of the bucket-list items).

Yesterday we received the itiniery for the ride and it looks something like this.

Day 1: St Malo - Vitre

We start with a fairly relaxed start to this 10 day tour, with 130km of riding and 900 meters of climbing.

Day 2: Vite - Saumur

A longer day at 180km and with a very slight increase in climbing with 990 meters, but it should feel fairly rolling.

Day 3: Saumur - Vivonne

Another rolling day with a slight upward trajectory for the day, but nothing too heavy. 950m of climbing today.

Day 4: Vivonne - Brantome

Now we start to get a little more lumpy and the climbing becomes a little greater. 1430m of climbing and another day where the overall trajectory of the ride is sloping upwards, before dropping down again in the final few km.

Day 5: Brantome - Souillac

Lumpy continues with some short sharp shocks with gradients of 12%+ to contend with. Today we'll be climbing around 1810m.

Day 6: Souillac - Espalion

1920m of climbing today.

Day 7: Espalion - Les Vans

Today is a significantly harder day in the saddle with 2620m of climbing.

Today's climbs include:

Col de Goudard (1052m), Col de la Tourette (839m), Col des Tribes (1,131m), and Col du Mas de l'Ayre (846m).

Day 8: Les Vans - Bedoin

Only 1580m of climbing today but a couple of sharp shockers on an otherwise fairly flat (relatively) day.

Today's climbs include:

Col du Serre de Tourre (322m)

Day 9: Bedoin - Moustiers-Ste-Marie

Today's the day we get to tick off that other bucket list item, Mt. Ventoux, before heading towards Moustiers-Ste-Marie. The profile of the day, Ventoux aside, is actually fairly comfortable. Today though is all about Mt. Ventoux. Just the 3020m of climbing to contend with today.

Day 10: Moustiers-Ste-Marie - Nice

And if we thought our work was done, we were wrong. The final day sees us climbing 2310m, including a pretty 'grippy' first climb out of Moustiers-Ste-Marie, then them continuously climbing for around 100k before finally starting the descent towards Nice and the sea.

Today's climbs include:

Col d'Illoire (967m), Source de Vaumale (1,180m) and Col de Clavel (1067m).

So that's my late June - early July plan. The tour total looks like being around 1483km and 17,500m of climbing in total.