RST Camping Tour in the Limousin, Correze and Massif Central - France

[Fred A-M]

Just a brief account my latest cycle tour, 350 very hilly miles over 7 consecutive days done consecutively in southern central France on my very first proper fully-loaded camping tour.  Although I’d admit that the Limousin isn’t the most obvious or stunning of touring destinations, the rolling lake-strewn countryside, particularly in the east, nonetheless makes for pleasant and challenging cycling in one of the most de-populated areas of France. 

Day 1, covered 67 miles, going up to 3300 ft up on the Plateau de Millevaches before descending into the town of Meymac.  Having pushed myself, I kept days 2 and 3 relatively short as I moved into the Correze, the upper reaches of the Dordogne Valley, camping at Mauriac, before hitting the western side of the Massif Central for the most rewarding part of the tour, cycling up to the Mars Valley to the Col de Neronne (4000ft) and onto the stunning medieval town of Salers.

Day 4 largely descended, ultimately into the Dordogne valley, followed by one of two only genuinely flat parts of the tour to finish the day, 25 miles from Argentan to Beaulieu sur Dordogne.  This proved to be timely as I later read in the local rag that the temperature in Argentan at 38.5C was a regional record for any day in August.  I then headed back north towards the Limousin, with day 5 proving surprisingly challenging, with at least 6 steep climbs of at least 2 miles in a day of unrelenting hills from start to finish, amongst the toughest 55 miles I’ve ever done. 

Having never previously cycled more than 5 consecutive days, day 6, despite substantially more modest inclines, was subsequently a struggle and I fell short of my intended destination of St Leonard de Noblat, having instead having to camp at the lifeless Chateauneuf le Foret, finishing on the final day with a pleasant but still extremely hilly final 52 miles back to the car which I’d left at the campsite near Le Grand Bourg ahead of 3 hour drive to the Dordogne and a week of well deserved R&R.     


Day 2 - Upper Dordogne River



Day 3 - Col de Neronne



Day 3 - Col de Neronne



Day 5 - Campsite near St Germain les Vergnes

[julk]

Looks and sounds like you had a great trip.

[Cake]

Great photos again Fred.  Looks like a splendid area for cycling - and very hilly indeed by the look of it!

[geocycle]

Great pictures.  This is the first year for some time I've not been to france and I am getting withdrawl symptoms!

[stutho]

Beautiful Photos
 

I am recently back from 2 weeks cycling on the Loire.  I love cycling in France the road seem to have much less traffic than here and when you do see a motorist they give you lots more respect. (+ the food and wine  is better ;-)  )

[Fred A-M]

Aw shucks guys, you're too kind!     Thanks for your comments - was wondering if going for larger photos wasn't a bit OTT, but it does seem to give them much more impact/scope for appreciation.

Geocycle, if I recall rightly, Jura is a particularly favourite area of yours?

Stuart - sounds great, would be good to hear more about your route experiences and intinerary if you have time to share. Am I right in thinking your's would have been a family venture? 

Good food & wine and endless pastries are naturally an essential part of the experience.  Whilst I saved on accomodation this time around by camping, dining at the best restaurant I can is still an integral part of my evening routine!

[jags]

great pic's fred wow you sure done some climbing on that tour,so how did you enjoy the camping did you get good weather all the way.

[Fred A-M]

Thanks Jags.

Yes, it was extremely hilly though not as mountainous as several of the previous tours I've done.  On reflection, given the camping gear, and the extra 10kg or that I'm carrying on my person compared to 4 years ago and the relative lack of time I have for training these days, it was probably just about right in terms of a challenge.

On arrival I was warned by locals that a heatwave was on the way that week.  Thinking back to a particuarly punishing tour I did in 2005 from Strasbourg to the Dordogne (via the Jura and Massif Central) regularly climbing in temperatures of 33 to 40C, I was a little concerned.  Thankfully, late August temperatures are more modest and I was lucky in that the one exceptionally hot day saw me predominantly descending and then cycling along the tree shaded banks of the Dordogne.  Otherwise, temperatures were at the upper cusp of what I felt comfortable with.   

I enjoyed the camping, the Hilleberg Nalo is perfectly sized to accomodate one disorganised person and the ensuing chaos of four unpacked panniers.  I needn't have worried about planning ahead around campsites, as there are plenty and late August is ideal in that the majority are relatively deserted.  Obviously more time-consuming than checking in and out of hotels, but this just made me more time aware and focussed on making early morning starts.  With the heat and extra weight, this assumed a little more importance.  All in all, v enjoyable! 

[bertie_boy]

Hi Fred
Nice photos. Just as a matter of interest to us RST owners, how much weight were you carrying? I know some riders are a bit twitchy about loading up their RST's/

[Fred A-M]

Hi Bertie

Thanks

At a guess, around 18Kg though that doesn't include water bottles when full.  I was worried for quite a while about exceeding the recommended RST max of 17kg but someone else on this forum contacted SJS on this issue and was able to ascertain that this recommendation is to optimise handling rather than concerns about the frame.  That said, I wouldn't it load it up with 30kg and go off-roading.   

Having front panniers for the first time, I found that it handled extremely well, certainly preferable to overloading the back which just accentuates the RST's natural twitchiness.  Personally, I'd have no qualms about taking a well distributed load up to 25Kg, but stress that's my personal opinion!

Fred