In my previous rides here in France I went north, east, and south. To complete the rose of the winds I rolled westwards.
I did design my route and I googled ahead of time if Martel, my destination, has an ice cream shop (in case of the improbable event that I wanted one). In a nutshell, I hammered the important details out.
The road was hugging the Dordogne most of the time except the climb to Martel. For the last few days the weather was perfect – sunny but not to hot – so the ride was very pleasant. On the way to Martel the road took me once again to Carennac and then to the pretty village of Floirac. When I arrived in Martel the ice cream shop was still closed, so I pushed Greengo around the village a bit. Martel isn’t new to me: we were here just last week and we also came a couple of years ago during winter, just in time for the annual truffle market. The prices were eye watering: some were going for €800 per kilo. Summer markets are way more affordable.
By the way, Martel is the Old French word for a hammer, and three of these are to be seen on the town’s coat of arms.
Given that I used backroads to stay closer to the Dordogne River on the way back, the pavement was at times in the name only but at least the roads were free of cars. It took me almost four hours to complete just under sixty kilometers. I was in no hurry and was enjoying the beautiful day.
It seems this was my final ride for the summer in France. Now it’s time to pack up my Brompton for the flight back to NYC.
Today in numbers:
58 km — distance cycled
1183 — year Henry the Young King, the older brother of Richard the Lionheart, died in Martel