Once my bike was rolling again, all I could think about was getting to the next country on my itinerary, Switzerland, but I also wanted to balance that with soaking up as much of the French countryside as possible. So I mostly shifted into a less intense pace as I had been doing in Spain.
I stopped in Marmande, Bergerac, Brive La Galliard, Ussel, Clermont-Ferrand and Lyon.
In Bergerac there was a very well kept old town full of restaurants and bars. Apparently this is a popular spot for foie gras, though I didn’t get any. I did find a nice camp spot that was only 11 euros for the night. There was a tent nearby that sounded like a porn studio due to a couple getting it on.
In Brive La Galliard I found a cheap hotel centrally located. Unfortunately the weather turned wet and it rained most of the time I was there so I didn’t get to explore the city much, but by that point these cities were starting to feel a bit repetitive to me. I also was pretty annoyed with the hotel. The manager refused to store my bicycle inside, despite there being room for it in an unused area AND it was raining – he didn’t care. I woke up the next morning with bed bug bites. Sometimes you (don’t?) get what you pay for, I guess.
Then I made my way to Ussel, where I found a couple who had a nice AirBnB that’s frequently used by bike tourists. It was a really great tiny-home sized place. The hosts were avid cyclists, but they didn’t know English and I didn’t know French, so we couldn’t share about our love of cycling. That made me sad to not know French.
Love the charming architecture 
Neon pink morning in Ussel
Then I rode into Clermont-Ferrand, which had a younger population due to there being a few universities there. That was refreshing because a lot of the French countryside up to that point seemed to be full of people 50+ with almost no younger people. I stayed in a pretty cheap hotel there and didn’t stay long enough to explore much.
The next day I was ready to get to a bigger city, like Lyon. So I made it a longer day and booked it into Lyon.
I was so happy to be in Lyon because it immediately become more bike friendly. The French countryside was surprisingly unfriendly to me as a cyclist. Cars were constantly zooming by within inches of me, constantly making very risky moves. I felt lucky not to get hit. I was also honked at least a few times per day. Drivers don’t understand that honking at a cyclist is quite dangerous; all it does it cause them to swerve unpredictably.