As many of you know, I was once a cycle tour guide in Europe (which was the genesis of this blog). The company where I worked for all those years, Blue Marble Travel, has shaped my life in countless ways but sadly no longer exists. A few weeks ago, I was back in France, riding one of those Blue Marble routes, but not as a guide; this time I was riding solo.

It was tough leaving Sainte Enimie for a few reasons. First, although small, I really loved the town; the medieval section was amazing, and the hotel, while far from extravagant, was cozy and welcoming. Second, it was going to be another chilly (at least for me) day. I had purposely started the trip in late September/early October since I was worried about what could be excessive heat in the part of France. That was never a concern. Today it was in the 40s when I woke up.

The last reason was the most daunting. Even though the routes had been laid out by my former employer (a now-defunct European Cycle Tour outfit) and I had subsequently mapped them to GPS, I made all other arrangements. The hotels were all reserved online, the train tickets were purchased through an app, and the restaurants I found upon arrival. But by far, the element of the trip that caused almost all my angst was luggage transportation.

When I first started working for the company however many decades ago, we (clients and guides) carried everything on the bike. But as the years passed and everyone got older, this became decreasingly attractive and by the last trip that I led, virtually no one carried any of their gear on the bike, all was moved by who we called the baggagiste.

Well, a personal baggagiste was not in the cards so I resorted to what I had to do “back in the day” when the company’s baggage handler was somewhere else on the continent: I hired a taxi. The first four transfers went off without much of a hitch as I had contacted each of the hotels prior to my arrival in France and let them know that I would need a cab to move my bags upon departure.

No problem.

Sure, it was expensive (roughly 100€ a day), but in the grand scheme, it was a relatively small price to pay for an enormous convenience. Then came Sainte Enimie. The hotel, in every other way pretty fabulous, had not responded to my email about needing a cab upon departure. I was not overly worried as a couple of taxi services were in the town.

Or so I thought.

It turned out that there was only one such service and when I called upon arriving in Sainte Enimie the night before, he told me there was no way he could do it. “Pas possible.” So, I went to bed thinking that there would be at best, a bit of a scramble in the morning to find a cab. At worst? I really did not want to consider the worst-case scenario.

In the morning, after calling a taxi in the arrival town, Meyrueis, and being shunned there, too, I decided to call the local taxi once again on a whim. The conversation transpired as if it were the first time we had ever spoken: “Bien sûr, je peux prendre vos valises à Meyrueis, je partirai vers 11;00, ça vous convient?” (Of course, I can take your bags to Meyrueis, I will leave around 11:00, does that work for you?”

Gotta love the French.

The ride, while not particularly challenging, was fairly straightforward (only one turn in 35 miles), but also promised to be spectacular with the first half in the Gorges du Tarn and the second in the Gorges de la Jonte.

Even though I was sad to leave Sainte Enimie, within 5k I was upon the even tinier town of Saint-Chély-du-Tarn, which was amazing.

I love doors.

While the whole town of Saint-Chély was amazing, I was captivated by the tiny chapel.

I had lunch in La Malène, which consisted of boar sausage and aligot, which is a cheesy mashed potato side, and is delicious.

La Malène also has its own medieval section of town, including this chateau where I ate lunch.

The scenery was, well, gorgeous (sorry, I had to).

If you look closely, you can see my bike, which is actually quite large…

Food options in Meyrueis were somewhat limited, so I did what I almost never do in France, I ate a pizza (which was delicious).

That’s all for this leg of the trip, back again next week with more!