The best traffic-free bike rides around Saint-Aulais-La-Chapelle

A simple but elegant war memorial in Blanzac-Porcheresse, located near the church.

Among the oldest in the region, the Saint-Cybard church in Porcheresse was built in the 11th century. It is still surrounded by its cemetery and presbytery, which is one of its distinctive features. The church shares similarities with churches in the area (Etriac, Puypéroux, Bécheresse, and Côteaux du Blanzacais). It features narrow windows pierced in the buttresses, as well as rubble stone walls. In the 12th century, it was remodeled and reinforced to accommodate vaults. However, the building's condition currently prohibits visits; renovation work is planned for the very near future. This monument was listed as a "Historic Monument" in 1913. The church's patron saint was the monk Cybard, who came from Dordogne in the 6th century. He lived for a long time in a cave beneath the Angoulême plateau. https://www.sudcharentetourisme.fr/fiche-sit/eglise-saint-cybard-de-porcheresse-5895303/#truncate https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Cybard_de_Porcheresse

This is one of the wayside crosses located between the villages of Champagne-Vigny and Bécheresse, in Charente.

You have to be very careful with the roots of the acacias which lift the bitumen in places as well as the thorns of these trees. Otherwise very pleasant.

Consider deviating from the cycle path for a few minutes. Church your real the detour

Some sections of the track are damaged by tree roots and dangerous on a road bike. I often prefer to go by road.

The church is in the form of a rectangle thirty meters long and ten meters wide, flanked by 4 buttresses, one of which is located on the north wing and the 3 others on the south wing, a bell tower and a small extension on the south west part housing a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Massive building, reinforced by buttresses, low and poorly lit, it has a facade with a Romanesque portal surmounted by a large rose window. This gate is made up of 2 straight legs, and a projecting coving made up of 3 semicircular rollers with a keystone. The oculus rose is surrounded by a frieze with a sawtooth motif. The porch opens onto a single nave 22 m long by 9 wide without side aisles. It is made up of 4 bays with semi-circular vaults. The south wall is pierced under the 1st bay with a large semi-circular arch giving access to the chapel. The north wall has a pulpit which bears a monogram which would be that of Louis XIV. The choir of the church, raised from the nave by 3 steps, consists of a flat chevet and a span of semi-circular vaults. The bedside wall is pierced at each end with a rectangular door allowing access to the sacristy. The old sacristy has just been refurbished and has a very modern look with paneling on the floor and ceiling. The chapel of the Virgin is located on the southern extension of the church. It measures 13.50 m long by 7 wide, and consists of a small single nave 10 m long by 7 wide and a choir with a flat apse. The floor of this chapel is 1.25 m lower than the floor of the church corresponding to the initial floor of the old abbey. Access to the bell tower is through a door located on the east wall of the nave of the chapel. It consists of 4 floors and a vaulted ground floor. The facing is made up of medium-sized cut stone for the ground floor and the 1st floor and rubble stone coated with brown lime for the 2nd and 3rd floors.

A gravel section that lasts just under 2 km. The gravel is quite compact and quite soft to drive. This should pass easily on a touring bike with wide tires.