On Sunday we rode up the valley to Prats du Perigord, a name
that appeals to my childish nature and makes me smile. It is in fact a very pretty place, the church
is most unusual with an extraordinary large flat bell-tower .
 |
| église St Maurice |
From Prats we turned left towards le Bois de Foncave. I knew there would be a long hill ahead to
negotiate and was relieved to find it quite an easy climb. A large sign informed us that the woodland we were riding alongside was a Parc du Nordic, an area designated for
those hikers who like to propel themselves along with a couple of ski poles.
 |
| a nordic walker |
It was a very scenic route and I felt positively smug when we got to the top of the hill, looking out across the tops of the
chestnut woods and a magnificent view of the surrounding countryside. (When we got home Paul
consulted his trusty computer to inform me that there were fifty nine registered cyclists
of that particular hill. We came fifty ninth! Maybe I should get myself some ski poles.)
We then dropped down to Le Got and cruised along the route
nationale towards Villefranche, up Donkey Valley, through the woods and
home. A pleasant ride but no wildlife
encounters apart from two crows and a dead mole.
Today, as we set off on one of our regular local rides, I
couldn’t help but think of that poor Dutch rider who crashed out of the road
race in Brazil yesterday. One minute Annemiek
van Vleuten was heading for a gold medal and the next moment she was lying
unconscious in a gutter. Thankfully she
was not too seriously injured.
Our route this morning took us along a very secluded valley
and we were rewarded by the sight of a stag and then, further on, a young deer
drinking from a stream at the side of the road.
The countryside here is truly a wonderful and diverse environment for
cycling.
I always try to go to the September 'troc' in Prats du Pd. It's such a beautiful village, it surprises me each time I go.
ReplyDeleteIt's always been just a place we drive past on the way to Sarlat.
DeleteWhen you look at the words Prats du Perigord it is fine. It is just when you say it. I suspect we would call it "the place where the prats live" if we lived near there.
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine the jokes if we'd bought a house there.
DeleteNoilly Prat is said ..pratt and that makes me laugh as well. You'd think that They would say ...pra. I had a friend whose maiden name was Pratt, it was awful the number of times that the word came into the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was Noilly Pra!
DeleteOne of the temp jobs I had with the Council three years ago involved working at a Family Psychology Ventre where the chief clinical psychologist was Dr Pratt. After a while we started to get on very well and being one for use of surnames, like me and Morris for instance, I longed to call him Pratt and could not stop myself. And so it came to pass I started saying "morning Pratt" and he responded "morning Phillips" while the other girls in the office froze. When the centre closed in some cuts I gave him a card in which I wrote about existentialism. They all thought I was mad, but not Dr Pratt.
DeleteI'm not even sure I know what existentialism is.
DeleteI'll leave you to check it out with Paul, save to say it is said that all great goalkeepers are existentialists.
DeleteSuch very beautiful scenery and certainly very different from here in the uk.
ReplyDeleteThe landscape is quite varied, some parts are very green and similar to rural Britain, other areas are more rocky and dramatic.
Delete