Tarn it
Reluctantly left Jen and James' place and headed south west. The first 100kms was on fast D roads and surprisingly few trucks. The next 30kms out of Rodez was a nightmare as they had just repatched the bitumen with loose gravel. Very slow riding and very hard on the arms.
As soon as I hit Compeyre, I was blown away by the gorge. One minute you're in flatish farming land and the next you are facing a mighty canyon. Very cool!
My (not very good) map showed two routes from Le Rozier to Florac and of course I choose the minor road. It turned out to be incredibly wonderful and horrifically dreadful. Firstly it climbed through a dozen or so hairpins with magnificent views back down the valley. It was at this point that the camera battery decided to die and so I have only a few photos on my iPhone. Unfortunately I can't extract them from my iPhone until I get some decent wireless.
The road then wound across the top of the mountain for ages and I was beginning to wonder whether I was lost again. I stumbled upon some road signs but all the road numbers were different from the two maps I had so I was still none the wiser. I chose a direction based on the sun and hoped for the best. It was an interesting route but the road down into Meyueis was a shocker. It was lumpy and bumpy all the way down very steep hairpins with very few guard rails and (as usual) suicidal French drivers coming up the hill on my side of the road.
I was very tired and my arms were aching from the constant braking through hairpins. Those sort of twisties I don't like. I had a long rest in Meyueis and then did the final bit to Florac. I found the campsite and selected a large enough space for the imminent arrival of the "boys" tomorrow.
I lobbed into the local supermarket just before closing and missed out on getting my usual salad-in-a-bowl - so I had to settle for ham, tomato and cucumber crackers. Not such a bad dinner in this heat. I spent the evening being entertained by the neighbours attempting to set up their tent for the first time. I could see where they were going wrong but I didn't intervene. He was being a right nark to her and she was being a right bitch back - they deserved each other!
I'm camped right beside the river and looking up to roads where every corner has yet more stunning mountains and spectacular gorges - I'm gonna really enjoy the next few days.
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