2005, Day Thirteen, Sarlat

Day thirteen 6th July

I have mentioned that the scooter is for short trips into town but today we use it for sightseeing and manage to notch up about 20 miles or 33K.  This wasn't too bad as we used back roads, so it wasn't too busy, we also tested the power of the bike by riding up the side of a cliff and it coped really well.

The plan was just to visit to Domme, a walled town high above the river Dordogne, but as we where already some distance from the site, it ended up as a full sightseeing day.  We checked out a provisional quiet route on the GPS (but as you can not gat a laptop on a scooter we had to remember the route) and setoff on a narrow road that ran alongside the site.   This road after initially climbing up hill from the site eventually led down to the river where we crossed over at Vitrac and packed up by the river for a walk.  This was only after about 4 miles or 6.5K riding but it was very hot and the riding position very uncomfortable, especially when your back isn't in the best condition.  Here many canoeists were passing by and we could see that parts of the river were running much faster than for the canoe trip we did.

 

Back on the scooter and uphill to Domme, we missed the turning and ended up at Domme airport but by doing this we did get some fantastic views over the Dordogne.  Headed back to Domme and parked up just off the main square, one of the advantages of using the scooter rather than the van or even a car.  Great place for a day out with glorious views and also there are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, bought some knickknacks as presents for folks back home.

 

We came back down to the river via the road on the other side of Domme to cross the river at Cénac-et-Saint-Julien, where we stopped on the bridge to take photos looking back up to Domme.  Dot now suggested we visit  La Roque-Gageac, as it looked nice there when we drove through on the journey to Sarlat.  Now this surprised me as it's Dot that is not that enthusiastic about being on the scooter (she doesn't like it at all and I spend most of the time I am riding, giggling at her making squealing noises every time we turn or accelerate) , but it was only another couple of miles from this position. 

We park up in La Roque-Gageac, next to where boat trips are running and set off for a walk, when we get back a boat trip is about to leave so we take the opportunity and hop on for the trip. 

 

We sailed down the river until we came to a bridge at Château de Castelnaud, then back to our starting point at La Roque-Gageac.

 

The ride back is done in one go and its not very good for my back but the scooter is running well and we are doing exactly what we wanted to do with it, so at the moment I think it was worth the outlay for the tow bar and bike (although in 2006 it is not the same and we hardly us the scooter, could be because the holiday was much shorter and we pick sites that are within easy walking distance of town centres).