Tarn & Cévennes
Gorgeous gorges and heavenly hills. Oh, and one gigantic bridge…
ISPEND MY LIFE trying to convince anyone who’ll listen that making these guides is hard work, what with the long days in the saddle, the hours of research and so on. You’d be surprised how many people don’t believe it. Today, even I’m not convinced… From the mighty Millau Viaduct we set off into the gorges of the Tarn region. The route is twisty, scenic, on good tarmac: it’s basically brilliant. But then we pick up the D986. It’s broad and immaculately surfaced, racing across sun-kissed farmland until it climbs into a forested area and throws out a succession of tighter turns, like the Nürburgring without the traffic or Armco. Then it clambers over Mont Aigoual in a flurry of hairpins, like a great Alpine pass but without any cyclists.
On and on it goes, mile after mile of scenic, sublime riding with barely any traffic. I think it might be the perfect road – it has something for everyone and it’s all great. Yes, we have to stop and take pictures, because we have a job to do. But hard work? Who am I kidding?