Finally we were blessed with a bright sunny, but a bit chilly day. On the bikes at 9 with all our clothes but knew that the big climbs were in the first half of the ride. Although only 27.7 miles an a bit under 2300 feet of climbing with several short double digit grades to conquer.
Our first challenge was past the hill top castle of Beynac. This was a long and often steep climb that taxed our climbing legs. Did someone say "e-bike" - maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day soon.
Like most of these medieval fortresses the are as high up as possible and close to a precipice to minimize enemy attacks. Good for fighting but not so good for grocery shopping.
Like many European towns getting there is a steady uphill grind, and this street was no exception.
Contrary to popular belief black swans do exist but sometimes hard to find.
Just as a reminder of rides past the route planning does not always plot a rideable path. This is the universal sign for "dead end" so a quick recalculation got us around the obstacle and on our way with little wasted climbing effort.
No, that is not a sascwatch but Kim doing what she does best when the urge arrives; find a corn field and squat.
This decommissioned rail line is now a "rails to trail" velo route with the roadway underpass still operational.
Once on the other side we were on our way to a much needed coffee and snack stop.
The coffee was essential but with no pastry to be had we settled for some scraps of bread and some holdover chocolates hiding in my pack.
Another cliff side town between the river and cliff which is one of touristy stops along the way.
The sunny day brought out the tourists who crowded the street and river in canoes and kayaks.
Tourist shops lines the main street and this toy shop was no exception.
This stepped path went up somewhere but nowhere we wanted to go so we just walkded on by.
Kim snagged this last baguette which she stuffed into my pack for the final miles back home.
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