Cycle Touring in France: Train and train again

Yesterday morning we had a fast ride into Ales, as it was downhill all the way, but the town was pretty grim and uninteresting, so it was off to the station for a way out to somewhere else. Puy-en-Velay, it was not to be, as we could not get all the way with our bikes. Instead we purchased tickets to Langeac and decided to cycle across the mountains the day after. A ride of around 42km. It rained all night long and the forecast was grim so we went again to a local station to find some way of getting out. Fortunately they had a bus link to a town 8km away, where we could catch a train to Puy-en-Velay, so we cycled the distance instead and here we are. Incidentally, it did not rain during the day at all and I am getting a little skeptical of the weather forecasts.

This large town is in a volcanic region and they built a great statue on top of one of the old cones along with a cathedral which contains a much smaller statue of a black virgin. There are lots of shops selling lace, antique books and medieval artifacts close by the cathedral, and cafes galore. We have booked our first stay of more than one day at a place in order to rest our legs and get some jobs done. It's self catering, so we ate at 'home' tonight and drank some of the local aperitif called Verveine before moving onto the Brouilly.

View from the top