This post recounts the ninth day of my English Channel to the Mediterranean cycle tour in France with Peak Tours in June 2025. Read Day 8: Saint-Flour to Mende.

If yesterday was an unexpectedly difficult day, today was the opposite. One of my favourite days of the tour.

We cycled into the centre of Mende, past the cathedral, before heading out along the valley of the river Lot.

I had a curious incident not long after leaving Mende. My left foot slipped out of my shoe, which remained clipped into the pedal. It was impossible to slide it back in, so I stopped to accomplish this. I’d been riding for a few days with my shoes very loose to minimise pain caused by my feet swelling in the very high temperatures we’d been riding in. Originally, when I started suffering on day four, I assumed it was because the cleats on my newish shoes needed adjustment, and tweaked them accordingly. I might have paused to wonder why this was only the second time in 31 years of wearing cleated shoes I’d suffered any pain, and that the only other time was also in very hot weather. It was guide Mick who suggested wearing the shoes really loose, and this solved the problem. I just needed to tighten them very slightly.

We had a 20 mile climb at the start of the day. But, as the day’s gradient profile above shows, it was generally a fairly gentle incline. The scenery was lovely, along the Lot valley, and as we cycled across the river at Bagnolls-les-Bains the church bells sounded 10am, just as the cathedral at Mende had marked 9am as we set out.

As we approached the morning brew stop, I saw a dramatic sight: a ruined castle on the hillside. This was the Château du Tournel, built by the Tournel family in the 12th century. When it was occupied, those entering had to pass through seven gateways before reaching the main quarters. Our stop was next to the tunnel under the hill that the castle was built on.

A few miles later, I reached the top of the climb, at the Col de Tribes. Maureen was in the road taking a photo of me as I approached. Steve explained this significance of the location, pointing to a sign, seen above. This is a watershed: rivers on one side flow into the Atlantic; those on the other side enter the Mediterranean. It was symbolic of our progress towards the Med.

Now began a fabulous 15 mile descent, which took us to lunch and slightly beyond. After a tough couple of days, this was a delight, especially given the scenery that accompanied it: wooded hillsides, rivers and lakes, and rocky outcrops. At one point I videoed myself grinning as I relished gravity doing all the work…

Lunch was a picnic overlooking a lake, Lac de Villefort. There was a small beach here, and Steve and Maureen went for a swim. The rest of us took it easy…

We knew there was a big climb soon after lunch, and I enjoyed those last carefree moments before it began after the town of Villefort. The first stage was really steep, and I resigned myself to another sweltering battle against a French hill. But, to my surprise, after we turned onto the D901 the gradient became far more benign. I settled into a good speed, as I found my rythym. Perhaps that better night’s sleep in Mende made all the difference?

We reached the summit at the Col du Mas de l’Ayre (altitude 846 metres, and I settled in for another delicious, long descent towards Les Vans, with wonderful views that photos didn’t do justice. By now, we were enjoying the sounds of the south of France, which I assumed to be the cicadas, accompanied by the occasional roar of motorbikes, which was less welcome. I saw a few of our riders enjoying a break at a cafe in Les Vans, just before I stopped to let a woman cross to greet her friends.

We had our last real hill soon after Les Vans, after which we passed through a curious landscape of large rocks. It reminded me a little of Monsanto in Portugal, where I stayed on the Peak Tours Portugal tour in 2023. Our brew stop was just beyond this, but as it was so hot we didn’t linger long, preferring to press on to complete the final eight miles to our destination, Grospierre.

We had a few miles of flat countryside, with hills in the background, before crossing the river Chassezac on an interesting, narrow concrete bridge. I had one final Garmin moment, when it indicated a right turn, which I took. A very open lane took me up to a fine house, with people sitting outside, at which point the lane ended. I felt conspicuous as I turned round and cycled back to the main road. I soon found the correct, gravel track to our destination, Bastide de Vebron. My bike looked filthy after a coating of very dry gravel dust.

As I reached the hotel, I found most of the other riders enjoying drinks on a terrace by the road. Very unusually, I opted for a couple of beers before my shower. The Bastide de Vebron was a curious place. It was very old, with various outbuildings, including one that included my room. The bikes had their own room, as you can see above!

We had a good dinner here, but the service was slow. It looked as if the owner was the only person on duty, and I later found out the hotel had hosted a wedding party the night before, and perhaps everyone was tired after working into the night. The place had a huge amount of character compared with last night’s modern hotel in Mende – and those ancient, thick walls kept my room deliciously cool.

Read Day 10: Grospierres to Vaison la Romaine.

The day’s stats

63.34 miles, 3,228 feet climbing, 4 hours 35 mins cycling, average speed 13.8 mph.

The day’s highlights video