Day 9 - Sainte-Énimie → Meyrueis

Short ride, big climb!

What a blast this morning. As we rode out of Sainte-Énimie, the air was a refreshing change from yesterday—hovering in the upper 60s compared to the low-90s heat of our arrival. For the first 24 miles, gravity did most of the work as we traced the path of the Tarn River south through the spectacular gorge.

We paused in the riverside town of Le Rozier, situated at the crossroads of the Tarn and Jonte Gorges, to grab our morning espresso. The casual cruising ended there. With a hard left turn, we headed east into the Jonte Gorge and immediately began scaling the massive northern wall.

At mile 27, we left the main road and swung left onto a narrow, single-track ribbon of asphalt that immediately pitched upward. This was the monster climb of the day: 13 miles to gain nearly 1,600 feet, with pitches occasionally ramping up to a brutal 15% grade. For a sustained effort, that is incredibly steep.

On a climb like this, you have no choice but to find your rhythm, drop into your easiest gears, and pace yourself. It’s a long, slow grind where the physical endurance test quickly transforms into a mental game. And just to keep things interesting, we crossed paths with two cars descending from the opposite direction. On a road barely wide enough for one, it forced us to edge over to the extreme right to let them squeeze past on our left. It was a nerve-wracking maneuver—one step too far to the right, and it was a straight drop into the gorge below.

At the summit, a hard-earned lunch was waiting for us. I rolled in to find the riders who had pulled ahead already happily munching on freshly made food, and I quickly joined the feast. We didn't linger too long, though—it was already around noon, and the temperature was climbing almost as fast as we just had. Time to move.

From our lunch spot to town was a short stretch of less than 10 miles, and better yet, it was mostly downhill. Much of the route traced the high northern valley wall, promising a fast, sweeping descent similar to yesterday’s thrilling drop into Sainte-Énimie. And to top it all off, we had a strong suspicion that a well-deserved scoop of ice cream was waiting for us at the finish line in Meyrueis.

We came blasting into town, immediately tracked down a fantastic ice cream shop, and cheered as the support vans arrived with our luggage. After checking into our hotel, we finally got to shower and relax—a much-needed breather before gathering for dinner at the hotel restaurant at 7:00 PM.

We’ll definitely need to catch our sleep tonight. Tomorrow’s route is a beast: close to a metric century (62 miles / 100 km) with significantly more climbing—tackling 5,500 feet of elevation compared to today’s 3,382 feet. Check back tomorrow to see how our legs hold up!

Today's photos

Happy Biking

Brian