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25km bike tour at La Bastide-Puylaurent |
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Take the D6 along the Allier via Les Huttes, Masméjean, Château de Chabaleyret, Chabalier and Chasseradès station. After 500 metres, turn left, cross the level crossing and continue on this small road via Grossefage for 2.7km, then take the road on the left via the hamlet of Les Gouttes, the Peyre and Grabio crosses, and the Palet de Gargantua dolmen. Turn right onto the D906 and follow it towards Villefort for 950 metres, then turn left and left again onto the old abandoned road that leads to La Bastide via the Pradillou roundabout.
20,5km / 25km / 27,7km / 30km / 36km / 37km / 41,5km / 48,4km / 57,5km / 59,4km / 60km / 70km / 76,8km / 77km / 81km / 90km / 95,7km
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Distance: 25km, Maximum altitude: 1176m, Minimum altitude: 1016m, Total ascent: 360m.
IGN maps: La Bastide-Puylaurent (2738E). Largentière la Bastide-Puylaurent Vivarais Cévenol (2838OT).
Chasseradès is an ancient commune that has retained its rural charm and historic heritage. Its stone houses, often covered in lauzes (local flat stone), are typical of Lozère architecture. The village also boasts a 12th-century church dedicated to Saint-Blaise. This Romanesque church is a fine example of the region's religious architecture, and has been restored over the centuries while retaining its medieval character. The village is also famous for its railway viaduct, built for the former Compagnie du Midi train line linking Clermont-Ferrand to Nîmes. The Chasseradès viaduct, with its imposing arches, is an impressive testament to 19th-century engineering.
The legend of Gargantua's Palet is part of a tradition of tales associated with the character of Gargantua, a mythical giant created by the writer François Rabelais in his Renaissance novels. Gargantua is often depicted as a giant of titanic proportions, endowed with extraordinary strength and an insatiable appetite. In French popular culture, his passing is often associated with the formation of singular landscapes: rocks, dolmens and large stones are supposed to be the ‘remains’ of his exploits. As for Gargantua's Palet at Le Thort, legend has it that the giant, while wandering in the mountains of Lozère, threw a huge boulder which then froze on the plateau where it stands today. This gesture is said to be the origin of this imposing boulder, reminiscent of a giant shuffleboard.
