Day 10 - The Millau Viaduct
Tuesday 8th September 2015
We leave Le Caylar soon after 10am after the usual boring French breakfast of croissant, bread, butter, jam and coffee.
First stop is at the bottom of the hill at the service station on the motorway exit for a tyre pressure and oil check. All is well so we get onto the A75 to complete the journey through Millau and onwards towards Avignon.
This route takes us across the impressive motorway suspension bridge at Millau. The road runs over gentle hills at elevations between 700 and 800 metres. Traffic is light and progress is rapid.
Then we round a corner and there is the famous Millau Bridge laid out before us. It is 2.5km in length and at a height of 700 metres, one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century.
The French are justly proud of this construction and on the north side there is a viewing point just for photographing the bridge. Oh and also to promote the cheese known as Roquefort which presumably is manufactured nearby.
We pull into the halt and duly get our pictures taken by an obliging French couple. Of course we do the same for them. On review we wonder whether the shot of us with alien-detecting antenna strapped on our heads was deliberate or not.
There is a toll of €4.90 on the exit to the bridge. We follow the next off-ramp and sweep down into the town of Millau.
We pick up the west bound road heading up the Tarn valley gorge and swoop through small villages with the river on our right and towering rock faces on our left.
We stop for coffee at a small village cafe before heading back into the hills. During the route planning I chose to follow some more mountain roads up into the national park of les Grand Chausses.
At first the riding is lovely, up onto the high table tops which give the area its name then down winding country roads through thick forest and up and down steep gorges. It is beautiful. There isn't a cloud in the sky and it is very hot in the valley floors, cooler on the high peaks.
Then my plan to sample the back roads comes a bit unstuck as the road becomes narrower and narrower.
We are riding over the Col d'Escalier. The start looks just fine but after a few kilometres there are a lot of small rock falls and many corners are covered in loose gravel. Eventually the road is only wide enough for one car and blind corners are very nerve wracking.
Experience tells me that locals often career round these mountain roads without much thought for oncoming traffic. The road is mostly unfenced with small stone walls lining the many bridges and viaducts. Idyllic but scary as hell.
After a couple of hours and with only about 40km completed we are relieved to get back to a main road. And what a road it is! The D907 is a series of fast curves and sweepers dribbling down a lovely river valley.
We make up for lost time and after a visit to a Lidl for evening supplies we stop at a roadside camp site. It is out of season and the office is locked up but the sign says 'ouvert' and the shower and loo block has lights and hot water.
We set up the tents in a quiet corner and feast on bread, cheese, fruit and beer. It is dark by 9pm and we are asleep by 9:30.
We leave Le Caylar soon after 10am after the usual boring French breakfast of croissant, bread, butter, jam and coffee.
First stop is at the bottom of the hill at the service station on the motorway exit for a tyre pressure and oil check. All is well so we get onto the A75 to complete the journey through Millau and onwards towards Avignon.
This route takes us across the impressive motorway suspension bridge at Millau. The road runs over gentle hills at elevations between 700 and 800 metres. Traffic is light and progress is rapid.
Then we round a corner and there is the famous Millau Bridge laid out before us. It is 2.5km in length and at a height of 700 metres, one of the great engineering feats of the 20th century.
 |
| The Millau Viaduct |
The French are justly proud of this construction and on the north side there is a viewing point just for photographing the bridge. Oh and also to promote the cheese known as Roquefort which presumably is manufactured nearby.
We pull into the halt and duly get our pictures taken by an obliging French couple. Of course we do the same for them. On review we wonder whether the shot of us with alien-detecting antenna strapped on our heads was deliberate or not.
 |
| The dynamic duo, always connected |
There is a toll of €4.90 on the exit to the bridge. We follow the next off-ramp and sweep down into the town of Millau.
We pick up the west bound road heading up the Tarn valley gorge and swoop through small villages with the river on our right and towering rock faces on our left.
 |
| Coffee stop |
 |
| River Tarn |
We stop for coffee at a small village cafe before heading back into the hills. During the route planning I chose to follow some more mountain roads up into the national park of les Grand Chausses.
At first the riding is lovely, up onto the high table tops which give the area its name then down winding country roads through thick forest and up and down steep gorges. It is beautiful. There isn't a cloud in the sky and it is very hot in the valley floors, cooler on the high peaks.
 |
| Ooh lovely |
 |
| Route up the Col d'Escalier |
Then my plan to sample the back roads comes a bit unstuck as the road becomes narrower and narrower.
We are riding over the Col d'Escalier. The start looks just fine but after a few kilometres there are a lot of small rock falls and many corners are covered in loose gravel. Eventually the road is only wide enough for one car and blind corners are very nerve wracking.
 |
| Relieved to get back to the main road |
Experience tells me that locals often career round these mountain roads without much thought for oncoming traffic. The road is mostly unfenced with small stone walls lining the many bridges and viaducts. Idyllic but scary as hell.
After a couple of hours and with only about 40km completed we are relieved to get back to a main road. And what a road it is! The D907 is a series of fast curves and sweepers dribbling down a lovely river valley.
 |
| Tents up, time for a beer |
We make up for lost time and after a visit to a Lidl for evening supplies we stop at a roadside camp site. It is out of season and the office is locked up but the sign says 'ouvert' and the shower and loo block has lights and hot water.
We set up the tents in a quiet corner and feast on bread, cheese, fruit and beer. It is dark by 9pm and we are asleep by 9:30.
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