Surferbruce

It's been a while since my last dispatch so here's some recent pics for the europhiles. Winter has arrived with some punch, November was tons of rain with some snow on a couple days. For a So Cal guy it's been a little rough, but finally December has brought some clear (but still cold) days.
Alors, our petite maison, on a colder day

full winter gear has been in order (plus our killer 1985 Peugeot 305, even the Gendarmes laughed at-don't ask)

the village of St. Antonin

the better half, always on it.

the roads here are endless and in winter you see very few cars

we're not in the big mountains, but it's always up and own

Wanderer

Thank You!!!!!

We're just waiting for spring in Northern Illinois.

McTufferton

Looks freakin' fantastic. I like the tree lined streets. Making me jealous.

It's 4 degrees here today; at least you're riding... I've been indoors on the trainer.

Thanks again for the pics.

cyclezealot

Snow.. That means it's likely below freezing.. Get closer to the Spanish border and you'll find it snow less. Today was great.. Perfect cycling.. Like 17 C. and I didn't get in a ride... Tomorrow's ride. I'll have to get out the camera.. The snow line is up at about 2500 ft. As Californians would expect.

Surferbruce

more typical landscape

often the occitan spelling is shown for villages in this region

village of Verfeil

roads are littered with ancient crosses, lately i've just been praying for warm weather

Bruniquel

another view of Bruniquel

cyclezealot

^.. One thing we miss. Corn on the cob. At least a couple times a year.

Surferbruce

cool graffitti in Villefranche de Rouergue

moi

fog around Najac

limestone in the Gorge d'Aveyron

Najac

Surferbruce

hilltop ruin

climber in the gorge

cockpit shot

my weakness

i've almost forgotten what traffic is like...

Surferbruce

market day

the cool thing is it's nearly impossible to get lost. never carry a map anymore, usually we just head out the door.

Villefrance after some rain

finally a couple shots of what i'm up to off the bike, besides eating and drinking wine...

MIN 

so have you ridden with any locals? how fast are they?

Surferbruce

hope you enjoy and get inspired.
stay tuned, the spring classics, the giro, and lots of the tour of course lie ahead.

Surferbruce

i've ridden with some locals as well as the local club a few times. They're mostly machines, especially the old guys. less flash, less posing, and far fewer 2000 dollar cf wheesets than i'm used to in l.a., but the on the club rides i'm usually riding with the 50-65 year olds who just hammer for three hours every sunday. the cool thing is they all end at the local cafe, take over a big table, and serve up rounds of lemonade and rosé mixed together, an awesome post workout drink if i must say so.

roadiejorge 

Great pics surferbruce, those roads look great to ride especially with little to no traffic. The idea of riding from one town to the next enjoying a warm croissants in each sounds glorious.

MIN 

Man that sounds great. It would be amazing to ride there. Soon.. soon... Thanks for the photos Bruce.

Surferbruce

we've woken to frozen pipes two times so far. today was a gorgeous sunny 50 degrees once it warmed up though.

JoesInBoston

I love reading your posts. Thank you surferbruce!

seb1041

Inspiring roads.

How's your french?

cyclezealot

appreciate the photos.. The fleuve is the Dordogne?.. Down here, lunch is a big deal .. Rarely do the Catalanes stop for lunch... They want to get home to family... BUt, we do have a post ride Muscat ; whiskey & orange juice at the club house..

dcbikeguy

Nice Bruce. Just what I needed.

I'ts cold a sh*t here, and I'm stuck inside doing PowerPoint.

nesdog

Beautiful shots! We envy you.....

What you are missing in L.A. this week: snow low down in the foothills and dustings in the high peaks of Malibu, ice in the corners climbing Rock Store and Stunt. Rain this week and cool temps.....and lots of riders enjoying the sun between storms.

cmsuter

I'm glad I'm still young and I have plenty of time to travel. That looks beautiful.

Surferbruce

My french is ok, been taking classes for about three years. Interestingly, I made a big leap the first month or so, but at the moment am going through a bit of french fatigue, kind of like my head is clogged with it. Normal I'm told.

Surferbruce

non, le fleuve est l'Aveyron. lunch is a big deal here too, the auberge's are packed with workers at lunchtime, and the daily menu's tend to be 12 euros-exactly what the lunch stipend is- and they all do amazing repas.

seb1041

Félicitation pour ton ouverture d'esprit c'est rare de voir des anglophones apprendre le francais!

Did you blog it?

Surferbruce

i need to do one, i've got it set up, but haven't jumped yet. My wife had been blogging for a while though, and while not too bike-centric, it gives another view on our adventure- www.ourjuicylife.blogspot.com