I leave the hotel around 8.40 am.
It is necessary to go up on the plateau of Aubrac and in order not to take the national road I will use a secondary road almost parallel. I was a bit worried about this climb but it goes by slowly. The meter often shows a slope between 10 and 12%!
Then at a moment I see that I am out of this difficult phase, below I see the national road that I did not take. I ride more quietly and arrived at a hamlet I want to check the way and... no more phone! The day before, one of the four rubber feet broke and it slipped off the support without me hearing it fall... I go back a few hundred meters and find it on the road. Phew, that’s when you’re glad there’s not much traffic!

Arriving in Laguiole a little before noon, I queue in bakeries to find a sandwich that I would eat further on. It took me past noon and I ended up in a café, which allowed me to drink a good beer with the sandwich :)

The route continues without a hitch until the start of the climb up the Cantal where the heavy mid-day heat is hard to bear. I zigzag in search of shady spots.

Finally I arrive in Pierrefort with its rather steep streets. I stop in a café and enjoy a good ice cream. Once I’ve had my fill of water, I can continue on to Cezens where I meet up with my friend Philippe, whom I haven’t seen for about thirty years!