Ruins and Clermont-Ferrand

4:57 / 53 miles / 4,300 ft. Off to Clermont-Ferrand ( pop. ~150,000 ) This is one city that we could name all along our trip that people would recognize .We were excited to reach the city as we always are, but then the craziness of rush-hour and road construction made us wish for the countryside again. We did find our way to the center of the city near the Cathedral, which was built with lava rock, so it has a black dirty limestone look. Again, the weather was not cooperative and we have been using most of our cold weather cycling gear. We try to snap pictures when the sky is blue, although we are often shivering to keep our bodies warm. We did find our way to Château de Mauzun, we took a nice hike together and enjoyed the view of the valley through the archway of the ruins. These are some of our favorite times. We enjoyed the small alleyways of Billom, FR, and again enjoyed the evening again with our Warmshower hosts Florence and Pierre. We had lesson on cheese, and home a cooked dinner. Florence and Pierre did a very long bicycle trip with their three boys many years ago in South America and Florence wrote a very nice book about the adventure. Another highlight of the day was when Lisa got on the wheel of a SDWorks pro rider, and stay with her until the top of the climb! 😀🚴‍♀️⛰️Read more