On Friday I went on another 24 hour 'training trip' which turned out to be a real humdinger of a ride!
I wanted to have the most riding time on both Friday and Saturday and so I set-off at 14:00 which would give me approximately 6-7 hours of solid daylight on each day and enable me to do a nice sized trip without being away from home for more than 24 hours (baby commitments etc...).
The route I selected is one I've had my eye on for a while (I know the first half from previous trips) as it follows a national walking route through some serious hills (mountains!) which I've only really just begun to seriously explore.
Once again (as seems to be the case recently) it was a HOT two days with temperatures above 30 degrees on both days!
Below you can see the profile of day 1.
Not massively long at 45km/28 miles but that 700m/2000ft climb in the sun is a killer:
Here's a shot of things before they got 'hilly':
This was taken about half way up the 12 mile climb (a Cat: 2 T.D.F. climb in 2010):
The heat (and weight of the fully loaded bike) were taking their toll but I was feeling pretty good (knowing the climb really helped as I knew that there at was an end - and that there's a pub at the top!).
The views really are stunning and this shot shows a little side-trail which I'll be taking next time I head there as it looks like it might yield some great riding (at least it does on the map!):
After some seriously great single-track descending I finally came across a part of the trail that had been recently cleared and so decided to make camp (there was also a river nearby for water replenishment):
This was the first time that I'd used my new Six Moons Designs 'Skyscape Scout' tent in anger (Stuart, there'll be a gear report post on it to follow.....) and it did not disappoint!
Light and yet roomy (even for me!) and up in under 5 minutes it really is brilliant!
But.....it wasn't up quick enough to stop the mosquitoes!
I only got bitten twice but one of those bites was by the biggest winged-bastard I've ever seen (and that includes Africa!).
Here you can see the result of that bite:
OUCH!!!!!
After a night of warmth and comfort (as well as dreams of being charged at by boar) I was up and back on the trail by 08:30 (ok, I over-slept!).
I'd mildly screwed-up in that I hadn't remembered that I'd be riding the some of the same routes at the same time as the Ardechoise bike race (a hell of a route/distance!) and so I shared many of the days road climbs with some seriously fit roadies who seemed perplexed to see someone riding a fully-laden mountain bike up the same hills as them (although I got some comments of 'chapeau' from a few of the riders).
Here's a nice panoramic shot showing some hazy Alps (waaay in the distance) from near the highest point of the ride:
Then, after taking advantage of the free energy drinks and snacks (put on for the roadies) in the Adèche's highest village I parted ways with my lycra-clad companions and headed, once more, into the wild:
To begin with the trails were sublime! Really stunning twisty, rocky technical single-track which had me grinning as well as wondering at the sense in trying to ride a trail this technical with a fully-loaded bikepacking bicycle!
I know the shot below doesn't really look it but those sides were really steep and the trail wound it's way up/down/left/right for miles which was a joy to ride:
But.....the joy didn't last!
A large section of this path simply isn't possible on a bike. I spent a good 10km/6 miles walking and climbing with the bike on my shoulder up/through/over some seriously hard terrain.
On such a hot day it really kicked my ass but.....I emerged, burnt and a little dehydrated, at the other side and continued on my way.
(no photos of this section exist as I simply didn't have the energy to stop and take snaps)
Back on the twisty and narrow I attempted to make up for lost time by booting it along some more amazing trails in some amazing mountains!
Then, I had a rest.....
Things continued like this for a while and eventually I reached a summit (can't remember the name of it right now) which yielded a view so stunning that my panoramic setting on the camera wasn't sufficient to nearly do it justice!
Here's something like 120 of an amazing 360 degree view which I enjoyed for a few minutes with a couple of lizard friends I made (ok, to be honest I think I liked them more than they liked me!):
From there I descended into the town and rode up the road the 11 miles back home (along side hundreds of skinny-wheeled friends) before arriving hot and knackered back home a little more than an hour late (not bad considering how much I had to carry the bike).
All-in-all an amazing trip and one which made me all the more excited about the idea of doing this for 10 days across 4 countries in a few weeks time!!!
Right, my curry is nearly ready and so I'm off.....
Gairy.
