Day 8 St Flour – Mende 52 miles
Garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/course/8165893 Elevation Gain: estimate – 1562m
Overview
After an initial fast road away from St Flour a tough,hilly road takes you over to the Viaduc de Garabit where the road descends to a scenic lake. A nice ride by the lake is followed by a big climb and a fair number of ups and downs before lunch. After lunch the ride is characterised by rolling forested countryside with great hunks of stone left by the ice age through a number of small hamlets that time forgot. The day is finished with a long winding descent into the town of Mende which feels like you pass from Northern France into Tuscany all of a sudden!.
Practical Notes
There is a fast road away from St Flour for the first three miles.
There are two bike shops in Mende – Planete 2 Roues, 5 Avenue du Pont Roupt, 4800 Mende 0033 466 491 700 and Espace Bikes, 34 Route du Chapitre, 48000 Mende 0033 466 650 181.
There is a fiddly section around St Chely d’Apcher.
A lot of the descents have sections of bumpy uneven surface today so please take care.
You will arrive fairly early to Mende which will give you chance to visit the city and cathedral There will be no restaurants open until later on (around 7-7:30) but there may be other places to get snacks.
Map
Elevation Profile
Start Point
Outside the hotel at 8.45.
Lunch – Picnic lunch around 35 miles in or if bad weather then Hotel Prunieres in Aumont Aubrac.
Evening meal – Mende has lots of choice of restaurants.
Route Notes
Miles Route
0 Leave the hotel and go L. At the r-bout go L again and follow the road down the hill.
1.2 At the next r-bout go R to Mende along the D909.
2.8 Further along the road rises and you will come to a r-bout. Go straight over following signs for the A75 and the Viaduc de Garabit.
3.1 At the next r-bout by an Esso petrol station continue straight on along the D909.
3.4 At the third r-bout take the first R to Garabit D909. The road descends then climbs then runs parallel to the A75 for a while then descends again.
Further along there is a long winding descent so please take extra care on the corners.
8.4 After a long descent you will see the Viaduc de Garabit and cross over a bridge.
At the end of the bridge go R along the D13 to Faverolles 5.5, Chaudes-aigues 30. The road is flat for about a mile then you have a glorious ascent to Faverolles.
12.0 After a long steady climb up to Faverolles, opposite a bar/restaurant go L to Mont Chanson along the D248. You should see the van on your L here so take care for traffic when turning.
After Faverolles the road climbs for about another ½ a mile and you will come to a football pitch and the road flattens for a while.
Stay on this road to St Chely.
21.0 When you come to a junction go L to St Chely-d’Apcher 6 along the D64.
24.5 When you come into St Chely-d’Apcher you will come to a cross road with bizarland on your R. Go straight over continuing to Centre Ville. Keep going straight on through the town.
Keep going straight on past a mini r-bout & keep straight on through the town. A bit further along the road forks. Keep R which takes you through the town centre. You will see sign for Office de Tourism. Keep going straight on through the town following signs for the tourist office.
At the other end of the village the road bends round to the L and you will go over a bridge.
25.2 On the other side of the bridge go immediate R along Rue du Pont following signs for Autres directions.
When you come to a bar go R to the r-bout.
At the large r-bout go L (third exit) following signs for the A75 motorway, Mende, Marjovols & St Alban. This road is the busy D809.
Follow the road round past the Carrefour.
26.0 The road climbs gradually. Stay on this busy road following signs to Aumont-Aubrac & Marjevols.
30.0 Further along you will come to a T-jcn. Go R under the motorway.
30.1 At the next jcn go R to Nasbinas & Aumont-Aubrac. Continue over a bumpy level crossing and continue to Aumont-Aubrac on the D809.
30.8 At the top of the rise in Aumont-Aubrac go sharp L along the D7 to Les Estrets 6, Javols 7, St Amans 17. There are some toilets on your R here.
34.5 Lunch stop just before Jevols (no WC here).
After lunch continue into Jevols and go over a bridge and keep straight on to Mende 28 along the D50.
37.0 At the T-jcn go L to Mende 22 along the D3. And then take the next R to Mende 22 (back on the D50).
You will pass through the small hamlet of Chassagnes please take care here as the surface is poor, it has potholes, rough surface and bumps in the road and you are descending to a tight bend in the road.
Stay on the D50 to Mende. Further along this road there is a fairly long climb and then a descent, this descent is steep in places and has some tight turns, it is very easy to overshoot the corners so take care.
At the top of the climb around 43.5 miles in the brew van will be there, make sure you have a breather before the descent to Mende. The first section of descent, the road gets a little rough and then bends round tight L, there is some really uneven surface here and a big bump in the road that sticks right up
45.5 As you get closer to Mende you will follow the road down a long winding road with some sharp turns so please take extra care.
48.8 As you drop down towards Mende you will approach a r-bout, slow down, check for traffic and go L to Mende. You are now on the D42.
50.3 At the next r-bout go straight over.
50.8 Further along you will come to another r-bout. Go straight over to Centre Ville.
51.3 At the very bottom of the descent you will come to some traffic lights and continue over a bridge over the river and come to a R-bout with a sculpture on it, go all the way round the R-bout and come back the way you just came but this time fork R up the ramp over the water to du Pont Roupt.
If you look to your L on the ramp you will see a bike shop across the road, this is the excellent bike shop Planete 2 Roues but up ahead you will see the hotel:
Hotel Pont Roupt
2 Avenue du 11 Novembre, 48000 Mende
0033 466 650 143