Something was already said about it during the previous ride, but when you leave the hotel cold you see it in person: the Millau viaduct. A prestigious but beautiful project: a viaduct with a highest pillar of no less than 343 meters, making it the highest bridge in the world. The viaduct is an important route from Paris to the south. But enough about concrete, we want asphalt! And that's what you get, lots and turns, with barely 500 meters of straight road. After drooling at the viaduct, you dive into the Tarn basin. The river over which that viaduct was built. The Tarn rises on Mont Lozère, spits its water into the Garonne and is 380 km long. You follow the river, where it is most beautiful, a quarter of that distance as a faithful companion during your journey. As often said, a river guarantees bends. Also in this case. You string the curves together as if you were shoveling through a dish of macaroni. One bend is even more beautiful than the other. You keep changing your position, then back through the valley, where you see the holidaymakers at the campsite enjoying the surroundings. And then again at a height, where the river is shown to you in all its beauty like a large ribbon that cuts straight through the landscape.
Just after Ispagnac you leave the upstream drive of the Tarn.
I am not in favor of driving on major main N or B roads, but the part of the N106 that you are now on really makes an exception to the rule. The road builder, reportedly a fanatical motorcycle enthusiast, has laid a super piece of quality asphalt here, which will regularly leave your mouth open in your helmet for many kilometers. After 15 km you turn east and in fact you drive around Mont Lozère. On the way to the next highlight of this route: Lac de Villefort, a large reservoir at an altitude of 600 meters. Here it is time to strengthen the inner man.

After lunch you will have another fantastic section with spectacular views. When you turn onto the D19, the road surface becomes slightly worse, but the beauty around you makes up for a lot. The bad road surface is not so bad that your fillings rattle out of your molars, but it is not smooth asphalt. That will happen again if you start driving parallel to the Ardèche a little later. Another river and more bends. As mentioned before, it is a guarantee of turns. The area (also Ardèche, named after the river) is known by the many Dutch holidaymakers who stay here every year. At Aubenas you head north again, not via the main road, but the road straight north. Admittedly, it resembles a double-lane cycle path in terms of width and the hairpin bends are occasionally very narrow, but what an experience. No traffic and miles of enjoyment of extreme tranquility and the wild landscape of the Ardèche.
The last part of this route is more like a circuit, wide, smooth asphalt, nice long bends... they should just do something about those cars, although you can also see them as "obstacles to be overcome".

Just south of Privas you enter the grounds of Hôtel Restaurant Les Châtaigniers. A fantastic place where you can sleep, eat and swim. You can easily catch your breath here for a few days.
Sipping your latest refreshment, you think, OK, I'm really dizzy from all those bends, but boy, does the MRA put them together nicely.