France 2016: A la Dordogne et quelques bastides

[GrinningGSer]

Day 6 still Rocamadour
Castelnau de Bretenoux

Fabulous lunch and stunning views, but the heavens opened and photography impossible, so we motored off to a bastide village of Bretenoux:

It was raining so hard, (doesn't show on the photos) that she who must be obeyed, wouldn't leave the comfort of the bike, so we departed and crossed the valley and up through thunder storming clouds to the hilltop village of Loubressac:

Very heavy rain stopped all play so we abandon touring and hit the restaurant for the remainder of that day:

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day7, its a Saturday and Sarlat Le Caneda Market

Arrived in the rain and suddenly the sun appears: maybe there is a god :

Sarlat is a posh town with an action packed Saturday market, which is very enjoyable and likewise our Hotel La Horie delightful:

Nice pool, but nobody using it:

 

[leedude03]

almost mirroring part of our trip we have just arrived back from. try and visit Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and also chateau de beynac while in the area.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day 8 La Roque Gageac and a Bastide
Parked the bike and a much bigger one parked alongside

Paid for a ride on a Gabarre:

These are flat-bottomed, originally used for transporting goods downstream, often with no return and their timbers being dismantled at the end of the journey

Rain at last stopped and the sun came out and time for a proper visit to a bastide: through its entrance wall:

Bastides are 13thCentury fortified, walled cities, characterised by central courtyards with archways;

All are in S.W. France and this example of a beautiful bastide is Monpazier. After experiencing so much rain, I forgot my sandals:

but hey... we improvised and it was time for some lunch

We both fancied light lunches and salad perigord (or was it salad perigeux) was ordered, but is was so rich and huge, with kilos of meat, far too much, that I could only consume half and the same applied for my wife,Juile:

Then a walk around the regimented streets to walk off the calories:

 

[GrinningGSer]

try and visit chateau de beynac while in the area.

Chateau de Beynac and Chateau de Marqueyssac
Yes, Chateau de Beynac is a 12th Century castle in process of restoration.

perched high above the Dordogne

its views are splendid and you can see a gabarres (from our previous day) below

However, its high walls were not enough to defend against Richard The Lionheart, who took the castle by scaling them in 1197

The Dordogne marked a heavily fought boundary between the the French,on this side of the river and the English at Chateau Castelnaud on the opposite side, where
King Richard I 'The Lionheart' succumbed to an accidental crossbow arrow to his shoulder, soon causing fatal gangrene.

I asked our French speaking hotel manager, "Why are there so many Americans in the Sarlat area?" He replied in an American accent....."It's because they haven't got any castles !"

 

[GrinningGSer]

Chateau de Marqueyssac

miles of beautiful gardens, the literal HIGHlight of which is the 'belvedere' viewing platform, high above the Dordogne and distant Roque Gageac:

This has been the first day of our two week holiday that it hasn't rained and most welcome it was,and lunch at Marqueyssac was one of the most enjoyable.

Big need to take advantage of sunshine, so one final bastide that day:
Bastide de Domme

Yes, GSA really was sloping like this, in gear on side stand and not once did it fall over !!!

And our final view of the Dordogne to remember on our last day in the Perogord region , from the walled Bastide de Domme:

 

[leedude03]

Well i was putting together my own ride report but it seems you have just about taken photos of all the places we went to and almost the exact spots where i took photos from in our first week. not to worry.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Two more locations and then complete

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day 9 Richelieu 6 hr ride
Stopped at Musee Alfred de Vigny and the owner gave us instruction re his cognac production

Then a huge thank you to our friends, David and Sarah, who spoiled us with a welcome lunch at their incredible self-build French home in Bonneuil

Richelieu seemed a long slog and there was a 20 mile , almost straight road leading to this 17th Century, rectangular 'new town', created at that time by the second most powerful man in France:

Everything was old here and it was our 'Night in a Museum"
Bike securely locked away:

with a big old key

The room was old..... very old

Pictures everywhere of previous occupants "Phantoms", as the owner told us

The bathroom was the only modern feature, but they had nowhere sensible to locate a toilet, so why not in a cupboard....

A very UNUSUAL place

 

[GrinningGSer]

Day 10 Les Freuberts

Keith and Barbara welcomed us to their modern guest house and one of the few in which wi fi worked superbly. A super evening was enjoyed with other guests (in English) interrupted by a thunderstorm.
Thank you Barbara for recommending St Malo as a place to visit the next day. Like so many ferry ports, people embark/disembark and miss the town and the OLD WALLED CITY of St Malo is a gorgeous place

St Malo would please anyone who loves an eclectic mixture of designer boutiques, selling a wide range of designer bags/shoes/clothing,mixed with a wide variety of restaurants/bars and cafes as well as the touristy tat. In all something for everyone.
A fab lunch, during which another thunderstorm activated, covers were drawn and it was fantastic. Togs on and a ride in a horrendous squall followed, "Do motorcycles aquaplane?", was the voice in my bluetooth headset
I was laughing so much at the ferocity as the rain pounded my arms. (I believe London experienced a storm the same day )
Elevages des Ruettes:
A working equine house and the owner INSISTED in parking the bike at the rear under cover:

Vive La France

Our clothing was so wet that I needed to use towels, to prevent the dripping water finding its way through the floorboards!
Day 11 Chez Nous

Bike filthy after 1,600 'shitty' miles

COMMENTS
All hotels booked through Booking.com. All hotel owners very insistent on secure parking (without me asking).
The worst holiday weather that I have experienced and taking a motorcycle was the WRONG choice. I'll guess that we had three days of good weather riding, in which we saw fabulous French roads, but the bulk was a continual routine of clothing changes and it became a 'pain-in-the neck' I wish we had gone by car and that's a sad thing to say on a motorcycle forum. The real shame is that it may be difficult to persuade my wife to do a similar trip next year (our 2014 trip was a good motorcycling trip made better by the weather)
However, we saw some amazing places/people and the end result is that we survived the adventure and we're still talking.
Bike: Awesome :ague. So glad we had our new Puig touring screen fitted. No issues whatsoever, safe as I could dream and didn't miss a beat and after long stretches we were not exhausted..... just wet... very wet and we struggled to dry kit overnight
GrinningGser signing out and thank you for listening

 

[Arsey]

Great pics.Shame about the weather.
But why the 'we struggled to dry kit overnight ' ? You need to ditch the BMW shite and get some modern Goretex laminated kit.

My Rev It stuff is dry within a couple of hours of a deluge,as the rain just runs off.

 

[GrinningGSer]

Arsey, I know you are right and I may also look at Rukka gear, next purchase. Our BMW kit did not let water through the inner goretex linings,so we were actually dry, but it did not feel like it; the outer cordura was so soaked that it became nastily cold to wear. Normally great,with fabulous venting but this was beyond its abilities.

 

[Mr K]

Arsey, I know you are right and I may also look at Rukka gear, next purchase. Our BMW kit did not let water through the inner goretex linings,so we were actually dry, but it did not feel like it; the outer cordura was so soaked that it became nastily cold to wear. Normally great,with fabulous venting but this was beyond its abilities.

I bought Held Gore-shell kit last year before going to Spain and Portugal in November - I would recommend it.

 

[ebbo]

Laminated Gore-Tex is the way if you can, water just runs off and it dries just so quickly.

 

[GrinningGSer]

To quote ABR magazine June 2016: 'There is no doubting that the price (of the BMW Rally suit) is at the upper end of the scale and as such if it has a weakness then it is down to the fact that waterproof membrane is not laminated to the outer layer, allowing it to wet out quickly in downpours. That said, it is more breathable and suitable for warm weather riding that its high-speced and priced laminated competition.'.
All of your comments are correct and The Rally suit was the wrong suit for the conditions encountered, but it was superb in my 2014 trip when I enjoyed the breathability.
My Sidi Adventure boots proved 100% waterproof and I gave them an internal wash, when home, noting that they also hold water with 100% effectiveness: big

 

[Ash]

Superb pictures... Superb..

 

[Camel Toe]

enjoyed that....made me hungry seeing all that delicious food and fab places to see...... get a klim suit says little old me.....snuff dry always....