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Places to ride to
from RidersRest...
We have compiled many routes with a
description and maps
which incorporate most of
these spectacular locations they can be seen at
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motomassif.info
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You will find us more
than willing to assist in route planning during
your stay with us or for your onward journey.
We are competent with
most SatNav systems and have the facilities to
upload waypoints and routes using MapQuest/Navteq
mapping technology.
If you would prefer
we could also organise lead rideouts from
Ridersrest for a small fee (Usually enough to cover
Fuel & lunch) This would usually consist of approx
200 mile rides through your pick of places below,
utilising the great roads, cafes and views along
the way.
Built into limestone cliffs,
with its medieval houses clinging precariously
overlooking the gorge of the River Alzou,
Rocamadour is a major pilgrimage site. The town is
famed for being the site where the body of St
Amadour was discovered near the town’s chapel in
1166, an event which led to a succession of
miracles in the town. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary,
the town ranks behind Rome, Jerusalem and Santiago
de Compostela as a pilgrimage site. Visitors to the
town can climb the Grand Escalier (Great Ladder) to
the 12th-century Cité Religeuse (Religious City) at
the top, which consists of seven chapels. Visitors
can also climb the Chemin de Croix (Way of the
Cross) for exceptional views of the Dordogne from
the ramparts of the 14th-century château.
Other attractions nearby
include the Rocher des Aigles birds of prey
conservation centre, the Forêt des Singes monkey
sanctuary and the Grottes de Lacave underground
caves.
Les Eyzies - Sarlat
les Caneda
Sarlat the geographical centre
of Périgord-Quercy, is by far the most important
tourist site in the region Over a million
visitors discover or re discover this medieval
jewel every year. This town of l0,000 inhabitants
today occupies top spot in terms of tourists and
culture. Although this is basically a cultural
town, industry is also represented, mainly by
food processing firms, many of which produce foie
gras. This foie gras, one of the most highly
rated in France has contributed to the great
culinary reputation of the Périgord in general
and the town in particular.
Although it has one of the largest medieval urban
areas (13th to 16th centuries) in the world,
Sarlat cannot claim a very distant past. The
initial Sarlat abbey was most probably founded
between 820 and 840 AD by Duke Pepin of
Aquitaine. Saint Bernard stopped off in Sarlat in
1147 during his journey through the South of
France to spread the gospel to the many Cathars.
The plague was predominant at the time. He gave
the sick consecrated bread to eat and healed
them. This event, this miracle even was
commemorated by the building of the strange
graveyard lantern which, still today, remains one
of the towns symbols.
A warren of alleyways, virtually unchanged since
the middle ages, lined with warm ochre stone
houses, each with its own distinctive facade and
ornately sculptured window embrasures, set off by
the stone roofs and turrets, make Sarlat a must
for any tourist visiting the Dordogne. Sarlat’s
Saturday market is excellent, teaming with life,
an unforgetable experience from the street
artists that throng there, to the wonderful fresh
local produce.
Font de Gaume
Located in Les Eyzies, on the Sarlat road, Font de
Gaume Cave is a showpiece of Magdalenian engravings
and paintings from around 14 000 BC. The flints
(chisels, scrapers, blades) and other things found
in the cave during the excavations testify to a
continual occupation since the Mousterian age, or
the age of the Neanderthals.
Discovered in 1901 by
D. Peyrony, the Cave, 130 m long, contains about
250 paintings. The visitor can only see 30 of them,
the most beautiful ones and the best preserved.
After 60 m underground, the “Rubicon” is the
beginning of the decorated part of the cave, with
red dots on the left wall. These caves were not
used as dwellings, they were shrines, according to
A. Leroi-Gourhan The Grotte de Font-de-Gaume is
famous for its cave paintings from the Magdalénien
period. It is entrance is 20 m above the valley
floor of the Beune valley, at the lower edege of a
huge limestone rock.
The cave was first
settled by Stone Age people during the last Ice Age
– about 25,000 BC – when the Dordogne was the
domain of roaming bison, reindeer and mammoths. The
cave mouth is no more than a fissure concealed by
rocks and trees above a small lush valley, while
inside, it’s a narrow twisting passage of irregular
height in which you quickly lose your bearings in
the dark. The first painting you see is a frieze of
bison, at about eye level: reddish-brown in colour,
massive, full of movement, and very far from the
primitive representations you might expect. Further
on a horse stands with one hoof slightly raised,
resting. But the most miraculous of all is a frieze
of five bison discovered in 1966 during cleaning
operations.
Location: Really out of the
way on the D90, 15km north east of Rocamadour.
But quite special and worth a trip. Open from 1st
Apr - All Saints Day. Open 08.30-18.30 in August
without interruption. Otherwise times vary.
See website.
This spectacular cave complex is impressive on a
large scale. Part of the trip is by gondola and
the complete trip will take around one and a half
hours. Unfortunately not only will you probably
spend time queuing to get in, there is the
possibility of further queuing inside whilst you
wait for a gondola and then later for a guide.
But it is certainly worth visiting if you are in
the area.
Our recommendations: Very
popular so you are advised to get there first
thing if at all possible to avoid the queues.
Don’t forget your jumper! You could combine it
with a visit to Rocamadour.
Okay not the place for a
ride in the winter months but some major twisties
to be had in and around the area in the spring
and summer months - stunning views also...
Ride through the
romantic Dordogne Stopping at Argentat for
Lunch then on through some winding roads and
picturesque villages - Collonges-la Rouge -
Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne and Turenne Fortress.
This fairy-tale castle
dates from the 15th century and is located in the
'Parc des Volcans' region of Auvergne in
south-central France, next to (and surrounded by,
for it is on an island) an attractive lake. But
the castle once stood on a hilltop, with fine
views across the valley below! It was between
1942 and 1952 that the dam of Bort-les-Orgues was
constructed, and the valley filled with water.
At that time, the castle
was owned by the French electricity board, and
had suffered from many years of abandon. At the
time the dam was completed the local commune of
Bort-les-Orgues acquired the castle. It has now
been renovated and gained a new lease of life as
a popular tourist attraction in the region.
Reached by a walkway,
the castle is immediately recognisable by its
five towers, each with a different design. There
is also a 15th century chapel on the island, the
Chapel of Saint Blaise.
Inside the castle, the
large rooms of the lower floor are furnished in
the rich style of the 19th century, while
upstairs is reserved for art exhibitions -
Chateau-de-Val is well known for the exhibitions
of contemporary art that are held there each
summer.
It is also possible to
ascend to the roof, for a lovely view out across
the lake....
Puy
Mary
The
emblematic pyramid of Puy Mary (1 787 m) proudly
oversees the Cantalien volcano which is the
largest volcano in Europe (2 700 km²)....
The Puy-de-Dome is a mix of
extinct volcanoes, thick forest, rivers, lakes
and mountains.The
oldest geological mountain range in France and
part of France's largest national park, the Parc
Naturel Regional des Volcans d'Auvergne.
Visiting Clermont without going to the top of the
Puy de Dôme (1464m) would be like visiting
Athens without seeing the Acropolis.
Puy-de-Dôme is a large
lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in
the Chaîne des Puys region of Massif Central in
south-central France. Curiously, this chain of
volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava
domes and maars is located far from the edge of
any tectonic plate.
Oradour-sur-Glane
During World War II, the village of
Oradour-sur-Glane, on the outskirts of Limoges, was
destroyed and its people were massacred by Nazis.
The site of one of the most horrific massacres of
the Second World War Oradour-sur-Glane is now a
memorial to the events of June 10th, 1944. On that
day, Nazi troops killed virtually the entire
village population - only six people out of 648
inhabitants survived. to tell this crucial piece of
history, part of the village remains the same as it
was after it was destroyed, with everything left in
place just as it was on that day. The cars are
still on the street exactly where they were left,
furniture still in place in the houses that
survived the fires. Oradour-sur-Glane is truly a
unique memorial and one that genuinely evokes the
meaning of one of the awful events of that time.
Story
The Lac de Vassivière or
Vassivière Lake is one of France's largest
lakes, in fact a large reservoir, about 1000
hectares in area,... The D940 up to Payrat-le-Chateau
make this a must ride and is one of the most
perfect roads for bikes.
Millau
Bridge 380 mile round
trip
For those of you who don't know what the Millau
Viaduct is, it's the world's highest suspension
bridge, and one of world's longest. It opened in
2004, and is located in the mid-South of France,
bridging a long valley. The A75 auto-route runs via
the bridge. The bridge rests on 7 pillars, and
spans 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) with a width of 38
meters (125 feet). The tallest portion of the
bridge is 244 meters (800 feet)!
1. Chateau de Puymartin, 2. Château de Puyguilhem,
3. Château de Jumilhac, 4. Château de Hautefort,
5. Château de Bourdeilles, 6. Château Châlus
Maulmont , 7. Arnac Pompadour National Stud and
Chateau, 8. Segur le Chateau, 9. Château de
Coussac-Bonneval.
The Dordogne region has many of the finest castles
in France, often in spectacular locations, and
frequently surrounded by carefully manicured
gardens with far-reaching views over the
surroundingcountryside. Many of the castles date
from the turbulent times in the 12th-14th centuries
and the wars between England and France (see
Hundred Years War). Also where Richard the
LionHeart spent most of his days.
Biker Friendly France,
Biker friendly accommodation in France,
Motorcycle friendly France
motorcycle friendly France,
biker friendly B&B France,
motorcycle friendly B&B
France, Motorcycle tours, motorcycle tours France,
Millau Bridge, Pyrenees, Picos,
Honda, Yamaha, Harley Davidson tours,
tour europe on a motorcycle,
Kawazaki, BMW, GSers, KTM, Ducati, Triumph,
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