France - Brive-la-Gaillarde to Montpelier

Day 6 - Thursday 2 May, Brive-la-Gaillarde to Montpelier

When we got up in Brive, the beautiful weather had disappeared and the rain had come back. After an excellent breakfast we loaded up the bikes. Badger was relieved to see that his throw-over panniers were still on the bike. We put on our wet-weather gear, posed for a group photo then set off again heading for Figeac. It stopped raining but the roads were still damp so we took our time getting into Figeac. By the time we arrived the sun had come out so we stopped for a coffee and took off our waterproofs.

Badger Ready for the Off in Brive

Team Photo in Brive

Coffee Stop at Figeac

We went to Rodez for lunch, which was just a quick sandwich and headed off for Millau, which I was particularly keen to get to as I'd cycled up a huge climb there in 1993 and I wanted to do it again on the Pan, I also wanted to see the magnificent new Pont de Millau. I set off in the lead for a change, spotted a sign for Millau and charged off at high speed. Unfortunately in my exuberance I had picked the right road, but the wrong direction and we ended up on the motorway heading for the new bridge. We pulled into a picnic area and made a new French friend - a retired motorcycle, who'd come from the Isle de Re, where he'd experienced huge hail storms. I was more than a little hesitant when we set off as I plain don't like heights and the sightings we'd have of the bridge had done little to inspire confidence. I warned Eddy and Badger that they might have to wait for me to cross in my own time. I'd done the Forth Road Bridge years ago, got into a panic when I saw the water below in the gap between the carriageways and screamed off the bridge at 100 mph. In the event the crossing was fine, some clever Spanish engineer had foreseen the issue and had designed the sides of the bridge to prevent views from crossing vehicles.

A few miles after the bridge we turned off the motorway onto a backroad which started off as a bumpy, twisty, tight lane crossing some very scrubby heath land but turned into a series of up and down s-bends that had us doing some very serious bend scratching. To be honest I was amazed that I could keep up with Badger and Eddy, but I more or less managed it. Apparently I was braking far too much - I should have been letting the front wheel scrub off speed in the corners, but I was still adapting to Eddy's recommendations and a quick dab on the brakes made me feel much more confortable. We ended up in Ganges on the banks of the Herault, where we stopped for a quick ice-cream before the final thrash into Montpelier. Badger had texted his mate Sid who arranged to meet us on a roundabout as we entered Montpelier. Fortune smiled on us and Sid arrived at the roundabout at exactly the same time as us. We followed him back to his house.

Sid and his wife Lottie welcomed us with Cold Beers and spicy olives and after a quick change of gear, we went out for a meal in Montpelier. The restaurant turned out to be an excellant choice and several bottles of wine and a good steak later we headed back to Sid's. Badger and Sid caught up on their respective news over a couple of post-prandial drinks and then time for a reasonably early night.

Day Summary

Day	6
Miles Covered in Day	200 approx.
Miles Covered in Trip	1100 approx.