Past the 50km barrier - woo-hoo!

It has been another beautifully clear, warm day today with temperatures approaching 20 degrees. Andy woke up with a bad belly, probably as a result of too much red wine being consumed last night! That, plus extreme tiredness, meant he opted not to join me on a bike ride today. The route was straight out of our door, down the Col de Port road to Massat, up to the Col de Saraillé and Cominac, down into Oust, back along the road to Ercé and then back up to the Col de Saraillé followed by a descent back to Massat and then the 4km ride back up to Pissou.

The ride up to Cominac is worth it in itself - it has to be one of my favourite places in the world, a high pastures community set out on a plateau with panoramic views of the Pyrénées. A spectacular setting.

The ride was steady and uneventful. The conditions and the setting were just perfect. What more could you ask for! The ride back up to the Col de Saraillé from Ercé was probably the most tiring part - an 8km climb after already having covered 30kms. But head down and get on with it. Piece of cake!

On the descent from Saraillé to Massat, I passed another cyclist who was 70 if he was a day! He quickly tucked in behind me and followed me down the hill, chatting as we went. Although he had a pretty thick accent, I was able to ascertain that it was just his 2nd outing of the year and that he would have done a 55km loop by the time he had finished. Good effort!

I was tired by the time I made it back to Pissou. It was my longest ride yet, clocking in at 52kms and over 1000m of ascent in 3 hrs. I was pretty darned pleased with myself, to be honest! But I think the legs may need a rest tomorrow.