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.

Today I leave the friendly confines of Meyrueis and head off to Florac, a town in the middle of the Cévennes National Parc. The whole week has been unseasonably cool (what most Houstonians would refer to as “freezing”) and today the added threat of rain adds another element of misery; I hate riding in the rain.

Today’s route is not all that long, but there is a rather daunting climb right out of the gate: after only a hundred meters or so through town to “warm up”, I cross the Jonte River and start climbing up the Col de Perjuret.

For. Eight. Miles.

Woof.

At the top of the climb is the Causse Méjean, the last causse on the trip and perhaps the most spectacular (as I mentioned in Cévennes Trip: Day 5, “the causses are ‘haunting, windswept, desolate plateaux, used for sheep farming when they are used for anything, but most often absolutely wild'”). The main issue for the day (other than the Col de Perjuret, naturally) was the utter lack of civilization, which meant there would be no place to stop for lunch. Thus, once again, I opted for a quick salad in Meyrueis before heading out.

Once past the Col, the ride would get significantly easier, including a screaming decent off the Causse Méjean. Sure, there were a few hiccups on the way into Florac, but I imagined they would be rather tame when compared to the first twelve miles of the thirty mile route.

As added incentive for the day, the route would take me past 300 miles (~500 kilometers) for the week, a total I had not seen for years (decades?).

This might look a lot like the picture from Day 6. That is because it is the same photo. But that is OK, because I had exactly the same thing on Day 7.

Starting off the climb, the clouds were ominous…

A bit of a break in the cloud cover, shining some light on Meyrueis down below.

Once I neared to summit of the Col du Pérjuret, the fog started to get thick.

Up on the Causse Méjean, I did not take a single picture. Why? The fog was literally so thick that I could not see more than 10 meters ahead of me. And even though it was not technically raining (I think?), it was so damp and wet everywhere that I just wanted to keep rolling.

About halfway down the decent, I came out of the fog to see some of the pretty spectacular scenery.

Florac is a cute town, with shady town squares…

…and the Vibrant River running through it.

Many of the buildings in town, including the church, date from the 15th Century (or before).

Since it was my last day of riding (the next day’s forecast called for heavy rain all day), I splurged a bit on dinner. That meant it included the cheese cart!

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