Lost the group a little after the coffee break and made my own way across the Southern Cevennes, from ‘Col’ to ‘Col’, to waterfalls, nice little side roads and fantastic views across the ridges, from morning to evening!

Sunrise above Florac, Cevennes, France

Col de la Tribale, Southern Cevennes, France

Col de l’Asclier, Southern Cevennes, France

High Plateau, Col du Sapet, Cevennes, France

We left Carcassonne, the southernmost point of our trip, back northeast to reach the heart of the Cevennes, Unesco World Heritage. We spent a wonderful stop swimming in a small lagoon created by a waterfall at Cirque de Navacelles, traversed Col du Minier on a lovely road to reach the highest point by road, Mont Aigoual, and then ended the day at the lovely ‘home base’ called La Lozerette in Cocurès, where we will spend three nights altogether.

View into the Rock Circus of Navacelles, France

Reaching the top of Col du Minier, France

Panoramic road into Cirque de Navacelles, France

Valley road in the Cevennes near Florac, France

A fresh morning brought alpenglow on the peaks above La Malène in the Tarn valley at sunrise and a seemingly endless sequence of hairpin turns of the D43 – this was my ‘own, private’ amusement before breakfast and before meeting the group as it drives across the bridge to the ‘Auberge de la Cascade’. We leave the Tarn valley to reach its best viewpoint, Point Sublime, before heading out to the more gentle plains and forests towards Carcassonne, the famous fort that I finally get to see myself after playing so many rounds of the namesake board game.

Sunrise on the Plateau above the Tarn, France

La Malène and the Tarn gorge, France

Cité de Carcassonne, France

Sunset above the Fort, Carcassonne, France

Across the Cevennes, we spent the first day in the Group. This is a relatively leisurely trip on small side roads, through Gorges, across Plaines and Peaks to small stone house villages. We started in Satillieu close to the Rhone Valley and ended up in the deep throat of the Tarn Gorge at a lovely old place with its own set of water falls and a perfect place to cool down in the Tarn river.

Col de Meyrand, France

La Cascade of ‘Auberge de la Cascade’, Saint Enimie, France

Tunnels in the Tarn gorge, France

Tunnels in the Tarn gorge, France

Bridge across the Tarn, Saint Enimie, France

Early morning brought fresh air on the Southern lakeshore of Lac Léman. Via Thonon, then I decided to climb the mountains. Via Col de Cou and Habère, then past Annecy and its lac into the Nature Park Massif des Bauges across Col de Plainpalais and Nature Park des Chartreuse with its Col du Granier, where I visited the Rock Circus (a dead end in the limestone mountains) of Saint-Meme. Then across the stifling heat of the Rhone valley to Satillieu.

Col de Plainpalais, France

Church, La Combe, Les Deserts, France

Saint-Meme, France

Felsengalerie nahe Saint Laurent du Pont, France

Picture with a stranger, Satillieu, France

On the way to the meeting point of my bike holiday in Southern France (“Ardèche-Cevennes”), I took the route via Entlebuech, Simmental Valley, Chateau d’Oex, Col des Mosses pass and finally along the shores of Lac Léman to Evian.

Col des Mosses, Vaud, Switzerland

Historic steam boat, St-Gingolphe, Vaud, Switzerland

Evian harbor, France

Don’t throw your bike into Lac Léman, Evian, France

I ended up in Munich, where there are still lots of bike trail options to choose from. The Isar is always a good one, irrespective of upstream (West of Munich) or downstream (East of Munich). I chose the latter and discovered the weir, the multitude of bridges spanning the natural channel, but then also the canal, where the church reflection is visible in the still water.

Isar weir, Munich Bavaria, Germany

Isar bridge, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Isar canal and reflection, Munich, Bavaria, Germany