Day 7 Loop from Nasbinals

What an unexpected view! Shortly after waking this morning, I glanced out my hotel window and saw this incredible scene unfolding below. The glow of the impending sunrise line the horizon, and I watched as the sun slowly broke through. Using my phone, I captured a series of photos over a few minutes—the resulting animation is below. It was a beautiful way to start the day.

Today’s ride was a loop starting and ending right here in Nasbinals. Our group was small today. Three of us, Chris, Brent and myself. We kicked things off with a small climb, which rewarded us with a grand, 25-mile descent into the town of Espalion, before tackling a grueling 6-mile climb to get back to base.

Just like yesterday, we were fortunate to start in cool temperatures—somewhere in the low 60s. As we rolled out of Nasbinals, we faced a gentle 5-mile warmup with a gradual 3% grade. In the crisp morning air, we passed cattle grazing on either side of the road. Each herd was watched over intently by a massive bulls. When we stopped to snap a few photos, the bulls made it clear they weren't thrilled with our presence, letting out loud snorts to warn us not to get any closer!

Cresting that first climb, the world just dropped away. Down, down we rolled, flying faster and faster over perfectly smooth pavement. With barely any traffic, we had the road entirely to ourselves to just lean into the speed. It reminded me of a favorite one-mile descent on our Tuesday morning ride back home—except this one just kept going.

Needing a quick coffee break, we pulled into Laguiole (famous for its handcrafted knives) and found a café right on our path. We knocked back a round of cappuccinos and rolled out, entirely unprepared for what came next. As it turned out, we were only a third of the way down. The real downhill playground was just getting started!

When we hit the town of Espalion, our downhill fun was officially tapped out. It was incredible while it lasted, but now it was time to pay the toll: six miles of climbing. At times, those six miles felt double that length, but there was nothing to do but put our heads down and pedal.

Brent and Chris are both mountain goats compared to me, but five miles into the suffer-fest, I finally reconnected with them at our lunch oasis. As always, the fresh local food was the perfect mid-ride reset. The midday heat was starting to turn up, giving us the perfect excuse to push through the final stretch—there was ice cream waiting for us back in town, after all.

The summit finally arrived just four miles out of town. What a day! Between the endless downhills and that beast of a return climb, it was an absolute blast, and the day’s reward was right there waiting for us. We pulled into town and immediately tracked down some cool, refreshing sorbet—easily the best way to cap off the ride. From there, it was back to the hotel for quick showers and to get this blog typed up. We’re heading out for dinner at 7:00 PM before crashing early. Word on the street is that tomorrow is a lighter recovery ride, but we're already making plans for an early rollout!