A WEEK AT 4-VENTS, HOME OF THE FRENCH FEDERATION OF CYCLOTOURISM AND MOUNTAIN BIKING (FFCT)
On the grey and damp afternoon of Friday 8th of July, 24 Wayfarers with their bikes or tandems boarded Simon Hawskley’s Yorkshire Bikeliner coach and trailer onwards to Auvergne in Central France. The long journey which started at 17:00 in Leatherhead terminated at 4-Vents, Aubusson d’Auvergne, Puy de Dome on Saturday at 18:00. The group enjoyed a hint of French flavours on this side of the Channel at Porstmouth when dinning at Brasserie Blanc in Portsmouth where Raymond Blanc’s skilful menu gave everyone an appetite for French meals to come. After spending the night aboard the comfortable Mont-Saint Michel Ferry, the journey on the motorway was broken in several stages with a chance to take not only refreshments but also a panoramic view of the Auvergne volcano outline south of Clermont-Ferrand.
On arrival, the bikes were promptly housed for the night in a purpose-built bike garage, whilst the cyclists were welcomed with an “aperitif” by Didier, the 4-Vents Centre’s Director, Fabrice, FFCT Road Bike Adviser and the Wayfarers’ Leader for the week as well as Danny, the Centre’s Mountain Bike Adviser. Then the group was refreshed by a 4-course dinner with seemingly bottomless jugs of wine. In true 4-Vents style, the food and wine was not only generous but fresh local produce had found their way into French traditional fare, all served with the beaming and amused smiles of Maria, Aurelie and Edwige, the waitresses, who had never seen so many English cyclists in their dining-room.
Unfortunately the damp English weather had followed the group all the way down, and it was under the rain that the Wayfarers set off early on Sunday morning for their first ride (57 km with 700 m elevation to be completed by lunchtime). French groups may not have been quite so motivated but what’s a few drops of rain to English residents, and the whole group set off! A short visit of Ravel’s castle was made “en route”. Famous for its use as a backdrop for Cristophe Barratier’s film “The Choir”, the Chateau was owned in the 18thCentury by Admiral d’Estaing (1729/1794). The Admiral, having spent his life fighting the English all other the world, would have said before taking his turn on the guillotine during the French Revolution : “When my head has fallen, sell it to the English, they will pay you a lot of money for it!”. Back at the 4-Vents for lunch, dry and rested, the cyclists shunned the short ride with steep climbs offered by Fabrice for the sunny afternoon in favour of a walk and a swim in Lac d’Aubusson.
Monday’s forecast was “sunny and hot”. At the end of the first day’s cycling, the programme had been tweaked to offer a ride to Vichy with three levels of difficulties. A small group of four set off with a Garmin GPS borrowed from 4-Vents and loaded with the longer route to Vichy (139 km with a total climb of 1700 m). Meanwhile, a group of seven were driven with their bikes and tandems to Chateldon and rejoined the main group who were to cycle 90 kms on a much flatter route in the valley. After tasting the naturally carbonated water of the Celestins Spring (bottled and sold worldwide), Fabrice led a group of 18 through the elegant streets of Vichy to the “Halle des Eaux” where can be tasted waters from several other springs, each with its own therapeutic properties, some so tepid and high in sulphur that the smell alone does not encourage any tasting. The unpalatable taste was soon forgotten when entering the cool, shadowy, almost surreal restaurant garden hanging over the Allier River which Fabrice had booked for lunch (L’Eperon). The colourful lycra-clad cyclists’ long table almost became a modern update of Monet’s painting, “Dejeuner sur l’herbe”. Meanwhile during the relaxing long lunch, temperatures had soared to 39 degrees in places and it was an arduous journey back to 4-Vents. As night fell in the late evening, the temperature was just right to sit outside for an outdoor show presented by Marc Sagot, a volcanologist/photographer/guide who has professionally recorded live pictures and soundtracks of various volcanoes around the world, including the recent Etna and Iceland eruptions in Europe, and who is also an expert on flora and fauna in Auvergne.
Tuesday’s ride was to be to Thiers, which can be easily reached by almost flat roads, but as the town was built on three levels over the centuries, climbing was again “de rigueur”. After visiting the “Musee de la Coutellerie” (Knife Museum) which retraces the past of Thiers, now suffering from its knive manufacture having moved to the Far East, the Wayfarers continued their climbing to a picnic spot (750 m high) by a lake south of St Remy-sur-Durolle where the contents of the generous packed lunch provided by 4-Vents and carefully hoisted all the way up was revealed. Unfortunately Frank’s derailleur snapped half-way up to the lake. As the bike had become totally unusable, Ian with his famous bag of tools, removed the derailleur and shortened the chain which allowed Frank to get to the Cycle shop using one gear only. Thank goodness it was all downhill to the bike shop! (Apart from 4 punctures, it was the only mechanical incident for the week). For those who had reached the top, the sunny weather changed to a storm very rapidly and in spite of the quick dash downhill, a hailstones shower had to be endured for a short duration on the way back.
For Wednesday, to relieve saddle sores and heavy muscles, an easy ramble on the volcanoes had been planned with Marc Sagot. However the huge and destructive storm which the region suffered during the night and the heavy morning rain precluded any walking. A visit to the “Maison de la Pierre” in Volvic (another natural spring water also distributed worldwide) was an interesting replacement to the morning’s walk. By lunchtime it was still raining and the planned picnic had to be eaten in the covered facilities offered by the “Maison du Parc des Volcans”.
By Thursday morning, the forecast had considerably improved and two programmes were on offer. A fast and lumpy climb to Ambert (90 kms with a total climb of 1550m) was tackled by seven strong riders, five of which continued for an additional 7 kms – adding a 200 m climb to their day - in order to visit Moulin Richard de Bas, still producing paper from rags. Meanwhile the rest of the group cycled at a leisurely pace to Lezoux enjoying several “café-stops” on the way and taking their time over visiting the modern and very well appointed Musee de la Ceramique, which shows an important collection of red earthen ware dug out from the banks of river Allier, some dating back to the Romans who already knew how to produce very fine “Wedgewood” style decorations.
Meanwhile Fabrice had assessed that, as the group had progressed during the week and as the weather forecast was particularly good for Friday, the climb of “Col du Beal” (1390 m) would be feasible by all. Six cyclists still preferred to be driven part of the way, whilst the rest set off for the “Col”, stopping for coffee in the village of Brugeron, reaching the summit – each in his/her own time – before sitting down to a lunch of local food at Auberge du Beal. As a few had never had the opportunity to cycle such an ascent before, a majority of contented faces are to be seen on the souvenir photograph marking the Col. Just about a mile from there, a special stop was made to “Jasserie Jean-Marie” (mountain farm) where the retired owners, Alain and Odette, charmingly steeped the group back into history, back to the days of French subsistence farming, when picking wild blueberries whilst watching the grazing cows during the short summer meant that there would some money for the farmers’ children to be educated in town and to end up with an easier life than that of their forebears’. Wild blueberries (myrtilles) are known as the “Blue gold” at “Col du Beal” for that reason, but nowadays there are no active “Jasseries” left and very few cattle grazing as the farmers’ sons and daughters have all left to live in other parts of France.
The fast descent back to 4-Vents was soon completed. Simon was back at the Centre with his coach and busy loading the bike trailer. A farewell aperitif was served by Didier and Fabrice. This gave the group an opportunity to thank all the 4-Vents staff warmly. Sallie (the Chef) had been busy preparing a special dinner for the last night which was served with bottles of local red Livardois-Forez, a region on which empty roads the Wayfarers had been cycling for the week. A very quiet coach load made its way back to Ouistreham where a Normandy style dinner was awaiting at “Le Channel” Restaurant before boarding the ferry back to Portsmouth.
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Message to the Group:
It was truly enjoyable to visit Auvergne in your company and we thank everybody for their thoughtfulness in paying for our meals at Le Channel.
Amicalement
Frank and Francoise
Heard in Auvergne:
Maria, the waitress from Portugal, to Francoise: What a lovely team you have brought to 4-Vents, so chatty and smiling!
