12. Bugarach and Rennes-les-Bains Bike & Car Fest

Keeping with the “bike-picked-up-by-car” theme, today I biked about 25 miles to the Pic de Bugarach, where Lynn picked me up in the car so we could explore some other places together. It went pretty well! 

Pic de Bugarach, biggest thing around these parts

What’s up with Pic de Bugarach, you say? Well, it’s the tallest mountain in this region of France, with a local legend worth checking out. It’s called the “upside down” mountain, because the top layers of rock are much older than the bottom layers of rock. Did aliens do that? Counter-culture folks developed the idea that aliens inhabited the inside of the mountain, and would take any local humans with them when they left the mountain and returned to outer space during a forecasted apocalypse, scheduled for 2012. The population of the area increased dramatically during 2011, lots of hippies and New Age adherents preparing for the event. Uhhhh, nothing happened in 2012. Many of the counter culture folks stayed around, even now, and lend a unique flavor to towns around the mountain area, including Esperaza, and the tiny burg of Bugarach. 

Cycling-wise, Bugarach was a fun destination. Lightly-used well-maintained roads led there from Quillan, mostly through dense forest with almost no population. Good climbs, but nothing drastic. I was even passed by a few race cars participating in a “Marathon for Vintage Rallycars”. Then, approaching the town of Bugarach, was a several-mile screaming descent. The “town” itself was a bust, just a few buildings and a bus stop, and a place where Lynn was able to park when she drove out there to meet up with me. She got to speak with some local farmers, all in French. Just then, several vintage sports cars came cruising through Bugarach, along with an American 4-wheel drive truck pulling a small fiberglass camping trailer. They must’ve been on an organized rally, with identifying decals plastered on the sides. Hahaha, turns out I’m not the only person who loves to play on these obscure country roads!  

We didn't get the camera out in time to catch the cool sportscars, but what's this American guy doing in their rally?! 

Memorial honoring war dead from St-Louis-et-Parahou, WWI & WWII. A similar memorial is found in almost every town I've ever passed through in France 

Crew working on restoration of the church in tiny St-Louis-et-Parahou

It took us only a few minutes to be done with Bugarach, so we headed another 10 kilometers upon the road to Rennes-les-Bains, hoping for something more to see, eat, or explore. Turns out it is a unique town with a salt-laden river flowing into town, which is used for all kinds of aromatic therapies and soaking pools. We didn’t engage in any of that foolishness, preferring instead to  walk around the town, take pics of the cool buildings. along the river, and find a cafe to eat lunch! Success on all counts, after searching out a legal parking place (like MANY French places, parking is precious and oft-times hidden). There were only two restaurants we found serving food around 1:00 pm, and we knew that EVERY restaurant closes EVERY day at EXACTLY 2:00 pm…so we gambled on a beautiful outdoor cafe for a grand meal: Caesar salad with chicken, egg, tomatoes, & vegetables, then soup and local fish. More French-speaking practice, then a walk along the the River Sals to see the buildings, and later a peek at the hi-tech spa and pools developed at the town. Then, the big question: ride the bike back to Quillan, or drive back with Lynn in the air conditioned car? Since it had gotten pretty hot this afternoon, I wimped out and took the car. 

The route home was pretty unusual at first: the Google Map directed us several miles along a narrow one-lane crushed gravel/paved road, weaving around and through a National Forest. We had to maneuver pretty close to a couple of passing cars, and drive sideways on a slope along the road to avoid a huge tractor pulling a big trailer. We came out at the road leading to Rennes-le-Chateau, a castle we’d visited a few days ago. Go figure. Beautiful panoramic scenery along these valleys, none of which looked very impresive in our photos. And, of course, we saw the random castle ruin or two! It's easy to take for granted we're in the Pyrenees Mountains, which appear majestically off in the distance on our drive from time to time. 

The rest of the way home was no problem. Then, hang out at Le Calibri, our favorite cafe, for a “Beer and a Kir”, then walk on to our house 3 blocks away.  Good day all around.