I awoke to the sound of rustling bags, as usual. They were, in fact, rustling so loud that I could hear them even though I had ear plugs in! We packed and rode into town as there is a market on and Paul decided it would be a good day to buy some cheese (see photo) and have that with baguette. The cheese is very nice and has lots of pepper in it. I thought the pepper would be over powering but it is in fact very nice.
Originally we had planned to take a look at the chateau this morning but in the end both of us would rather be one and a half hours down the road than just leaving so we skipped the chateau. The road was pretty hilly, rolling hills I guess, so I decided not to contest any of the sprints today. As it happened I won the first one simply because neither of us saw it! Paul was a bit shocked at the other ones when I didn't sprint but in the end it was the better choice. It was a bit cold today however riding with Paul kept me more than warm enough :)
We made quite good time in spite of the hills. We had planned to get a snack somewhere however none of the towns had any shops, most disappointing. At the small town of Ferrieres-sur-Sichlon we stopped and ate some flattened peaches that I had been carrying, very tasty. Then it was pretty much uphill all the way to the Col, Col de la Plantade, a very pretty route.
It was pretty cold at the top, I was coated in sweat, Paul rode on while I put on my jacket. It was not particularly steep so just a gentle roll down the hill. However at one spot there was a sudden section of gravel from road repairs, quite scary. I caught Paul at an intersection and what was he doing? Eating small wild strawberries growing by the side of the road. Very tasty :) We continued on to the town of Palladuc, which was at the top of a hill, bummer. But alas there was no food there either! So we had a small slab of cheese each, quite restorative, and then down to the town of St-Remy-sur-Durolle and lunch!
The wait for lunch was well worth it. The restaurant was perched on the side of the road and was packed. We, naturally, got the Menu du Jour which was three courses with wine. There was an interesting Fruit de Mer tarte entree followed by steak with lentils. I really don't like lentils but when they are in a thick beefy sauce they are actually quite nice :) Dessert was an apple tart. And all washed down with a half litre carafe of red wine.
We then rolled down the hill to Thiers. The descent was really good too, the best one of the day! Theirs is a hill side town and so after a quick check to confirm that there was no camp site up here we got a hotel, l'Aigle d'Or. Alas this is the only hotel near the town centre and is a bit expensive, 67 Euro per night, but we are staying there anyway.
We went into town for a bit of a walk and for Paul to investigate the restaurants. We are going to have a light dinner tonight as there is no riding tomorrow and then have a good, i.e. dearer, meal tomorrow night. The speciality of the town appears to be a knife called the Thiers. There are many shops selling them, Paul is actually interested in a cork screw as we don't have one. Yes I know, unimaginable isn't it, Paul without a cork screw!
The town is a bit strange really, there are many empty shops. It looks like it used to be very industrious but now it is all a bit run down, even for France. Given that there are only two hotels in the town itself Paul thinks the place mainly attracts day tourists which seems a reasonable guess. There is a great view out over the plain from the town, you can see the Puy de Dome which was in the Tour last year I think.
For the simple dinner tonight Paul got a terrine in pastry, salad, baguette (almost none left in town) and two delicious cakes from a chocolate store, a citron tart and a chocolate slice. It was all very delicious, although we didn't need any of the cheese.
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