Conques is recognized as one of Frances most beautiful towns by virtue of its lovely valley location and its medieval buildings and church bringing a strong spiritual feeling to Camino walkers descending from the austere Aubrac plains !
The lack of traffic, valley location and half timbered buildings provided a beautiful showcase to this lovely town !
The Romanesque church is famed for its amazing 12 C limestone carving over its entrance (a tympanum) depicting the Last Judgment with over 140 characters - some fairly harrowing with even a few baring a strong resemblance to H !
Out of Conques we cycled largely through the steeply sided Lot valley closely following the Lot river.
The conditions were ideal for cycling with the boys averaging a goodly 25 kms/hr in the beautiful conditions. Kev in fine form was flying on the flat determined not to have a last qtr fadeout like yesterday !
Capdenac le Haut a former Roman and Knights Templar habitat and fortress built on a steep cliff overlooking the valley was our exit point requiring a good 3 km climb out of the valley and providing for some magnificent views.
From there Figeac was a breeze only 4 more Kms further on although the boys had some trepidation about taking the road in with what appeared to be a motorway sign on the signpost.
The 4 km downhill cycle was pretty uneventful until a car overtaking on to the wrong side of the wrong side of the road forced Mike to take sudden avoidance action and veer off into a traffic lay by area - followed of course by some good old Aussie fist waving !
Finally in town we found the market square area that we had sat in two years prior when cycling in the Dordogne with great friends Viv and Linton - H with slightly fewer brain cells this time round could not remember the town but could in fact remember the baguette he had eaten in the market place !!!
This busy town with its medieval laneways is famed amongst other things for the birthplace of the guy who helped to decipher the Egyptian Rosetta stone, Jean Francois Champollion !
A lovely days riding made easier with the missing weight and today's sunny conditions. Hopefully more to come as we cycle through the beautiful Dordogne !
PS have had regular updates from Ross who is flying along. After two days of being soaked in mud Ross took to the road to put in some easier kms - with the improved weather he is planning on getting back on the trail again !
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