FAT CHANCE

Where you've been and what you done
PHILinFRANCE
Posts: 6065
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:35 am
Has thanked: 3467 times
Been thanked: 1823 times

FAT CHANCE

Post by PHILinFRANCE »

Thought of doing something a tad special in the last days of my fifties

So sat down and planned a route along the River Lot to its source

Got the Donk ready for the google maps 5.20hr ride

Image20200703_081011 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Set off early enough with the weather in my favour , max 26c today

Image20200703_085318 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Early morning in France

Image20200703_090250 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_090709 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

I chose a back road route down a little unknown mini gorge with the River Vers running down it

Image20200703_093226 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_093333 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_094324 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Reached the small town of Vers where the river runs into the Lot .....1st view just through the trees

Image20200703_094307 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

From Vers i ridern the Lot valley plenty of time , great road hugging the cliffs

Image20200703_094837 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_094844 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_095459 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_095554 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Cna be realy busy though ;)

Image20200703_100009 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_100050 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_100131 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

This plaque near the bridge was to blurred to read

Image20200703_100206 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_100254 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_100341 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

This old abandoned railway runs along the same valley

Image20200703_100616 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Arty farty shot of a rainbow

Image20200703_100658 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

The metal suspension bridge over the Lot river to Bouziers

Image20200703_100156 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Heading for St. Cirq Lapopie

Image20200703_100740 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_100831 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

St Cirq Lapopie , high above the River Lot

Image20200703_101047 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

If you are ever in this area St. Cirq Lapopie is well worth a visit , its a favourite destination of mine for a run out , but from here on the valley was all new to territory

Image20200703_101322 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_101923 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Certainly didn't disappoint

Image20200703_102959 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

They do like to build on cliff tops

Image20200703_103459 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

This gives you an idea of the type of roads i was on

Image20200703_105404 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

The council houses round here are proper posh ;)

Image20200703_110336 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_110318 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Crossing the Lot on a new bridge at Livinhac le Haut , you can see the old bridge gates in the background

Image20200703_115549 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Just to let you know i'm not fibbing :lol:

Image20200703_120609 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Still a big river

Image20200703_121228 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

I pass through the Aveyron and now entered the Cantal

Image20200703_121943 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

More council houses 8-)

Image20200703_122925 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

I'd been on the road for about 3.30hrs so stopped for a picnic here

Image20200703_123349 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Egg and salad cream buties , a Twix and a can of coke ........boy i can live :lol:

Image20200703_123757 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Its hard to see but these are the first signs of rappids

Image20200703_131331 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Now entering a cattle region

Image20200703_131433 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Another posh house

Image20200703_131912 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

The river mellowed out again further up stream

Image20200703_132125 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

I found out why not much further on .... its was this dam at Entraygues sur Truyere ,the river split here and the dam was on the River Turyere , the Lot ran to the east

https://goo.gl/maps/u8ZqM46uZ3pxdtrf8

Image20200703_132408 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_132356 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Got a selfie and doubled back the the River Lot

Image20200703_132554 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Soon entered the Gorge du Lot

Image20200703_133123 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_133831 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Chapelle Del Dol et le Lot.

Image20200703_134238 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Estaing , i have to go back here and investigate the chateau

Image20200703_134734 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_134741 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_135032 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

From Estaing the river got wilder

Image20200703_142159 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_142202 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Untill another dam

Image20200703_150255 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

Image20200703_150303 by Philip Parkinson, on Flickr

From here i carried on to Espalion , i'd been on the road for 5.30hrs so decided to turn round and head home , i marked this place though

https://goo.gl/maps/mRtxFy63MpYm9sN39

So back to the heading ...................FAT CHANCE !!!!!!

I don't think i made it half way .....8hrs riding.....370kms and the source is way past Mende .....................this isn't an exact route along the river but an idea .....i'll be back.....................

https://goo.gl/maps/fHXhPnpnX6MpodRq9
Last edited by PHILinFRANCE on Sat Jul 04, 2020 3:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
daveuprite
Posts: 4790
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2012 10:47 pm
Location: Limousin France
Has thanked: 2452 times
Been thanked: 3293 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by daveuprite »

Very nice pics Phil. Good effort. It's a bloody long river.

When I did more road mileage, I used to ride from here down to Bort-Les-Orgues, Mauriac, Aurillac, Mende, Florac. Great roads mainly. There's a set of sweepers south of Aurillac that are like a race track, left-right-left-right full commitment corners - fantastic.

When you eventually find the source, tell us if it's ketchup or daddy's.
diggermanbob
Posts: 2145
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:44 am
Has thanked: 803 times
Been thanked: 534 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by diggermanbob »

Great report there Young man , we must try that next time I'm over :D :D
Tonibe63
Posts: 3042
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:05 pm
Has thanked: 1404 times
Been thanked: 652 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by Tonibe63 »

Great pics Phil, we can only dream of an area so quiet around here, happy birthday by the way.
As for the source? I think HP would be Daves favourite ;) .
Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
Tramp
Posts: 7660
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:04 am
Has thanked: 327 times
Been thanked: 634 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by Tramp »

Thank you from my heart.... My fav area me and Bob the pirate did that and we too had a marvelous picnic by the river Lot... And the trace the river Dordogne is a great route especially when nearnits source... Wilderness isn't in it... Rumour has it the cavemen still live there lol..

And a happy birthday you old fuggler in advance... Do you get a bus pass in France on your 60th....lol...not that many buses pass your shax...

And hello Diggerman....
aliwakeskate
Posts: 498
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:18 pm
Location: Birmingham
Has thanked: 268 times
Been thanked: 171 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by aliwakeskate »

Absolutely brilliant Phil. Cracking pictures that have brightened up my day. Spot on.



User avatar
chunky butt
Posts: 2036
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2014 10:39 pm
Has thanked: 54 times
Been thanked: 699 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by chunky butt »

Fats the right word :lol: :lol: nice pics there bud, and a nice day to do it on. V Pretty part of France. Yes and hello Bob, can I see a cunning plan evolving here? See ya tomoz birthday boy. :D
PHILinFRANCE
Posts: 6065
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:35 am
Has thanked: 3467 times
Been thanked: 1823 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by PHILinFRANCE »

Cheers guys it is a very special part of the world , it'd take a while but i'm thinking follow the Lot to the source , cut north to the source of the Dordogne and work down stream

And yes hi Bob , hope you and Viv are all good
diggermanbob
Posts: 2145
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:44 am
Has thanked: 803 times
Been thanked: 534 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by diggermanbob »

PHILinFRANCE wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 3:50 pm Cheers guys it is a very special part of the world , it'd take a while but i'm thinking follow the Lot to the source , cut north to the source of the Dordogne and work down stream

And yes hi Bob , hope you and Viv are all good
Hi Phil and Tramp and steve , yes all good here hope to catch up with all you guys soon.
bill_qaz
Posts: 1004
Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:53 pm
Has thanked: 689 times
Been thanked: 898 times

Re: FAT CHANCE

Post by bill_qaz »

Happy birthday and thanks for some brilliant pictures and write up, brought memories flooding back of holiday in the Lot isn't my picture the same old railway bridge?
DSCN2603.JPG
DSCN2603.JPG (193.02 KiB) Viewed 3433 times
Post Reply

Return to “RIDE REPORTS”