Our plan had been to drive south of Geneva, follow the Rhone River, and find a nice spot to start bicycling. The Rhone was interesting, but it seemed to be a little busy with more industry than we expected, so we drove further south. As we got south of Lyon the terrain began to look more inviting. Rows and rows of chestnut trees bordered the highway, just as apple trees border our roads here in the Shenandoah Valley. Now, we began to notice changes in the shape and texture of the land. Grapes and herbs became the scenery; and when we smelled the air, we knew we were where we wanted to be - Provence!
We want to share these pictures with our cycling friends of what seemed to be a little bit of cycling heaven. Quiet wonderful roads guided us through vineyards and olive groves. It was October and the harvest was in full force. Farmers would go by pulling a wagon mounded with grapes and destined for their "cave." We found some of these "caves" and tasted their famous product, Cote du Rhone. When you are riding a bicycle through these villages, all of your senses come alive. The smell is like that of a good kitchen where the smell of herbs linger on after a meal and the taste of a nice wine still rolls along the edges of your tongue.
We were only there for a week, so we are well aware of the fact that we had only scratched the surface of all the possibilities that Provence offered someone on a bicycle. We rode west from our hotel in St. Martin along the Ardeche River following the edge of the Ardeche Gorge. It was a spectacular ride that climbed up and then along the edge of the gorge. We would stop and look down to the river hundreds of feet below us. Traffic was very light. In fact, we probably meet more people on bicycles than we did cars. We crossed the narrow bridge at St Martin and rode up to Aigueze, a medieval village on a rock ledge overlooking the Ardeche. It was time frozen--narrow cobbled streets and ancient walls that could tell stories of a 1000 years. It was only surpassed in history by our visit to Pont du Gard, an eight-story high Roman aqueduct built in 49AD.
The big story was this mountain that began to come into view as we drove into Provence. It dominates the landscape. We pulled out the maps (remember, we had been thinking river, not mountain). Just east of Orange, northeast of Avignon, was Mont Ventoux, that infamous location were many mountain top finishes occurred in the Tour de France. It was like a magnet. We knew it was going to be our challenge. It was everything we expected and more. We started in Caromb and headed east to Bedoin where our hotel staff assured us it was the "real beginning." As we rode out of Bedoin the first sign greeted us with: " Mont Ventoux, 26km". Six kilometers into the climb another sign greeted us with: "10% grade next 16 kilometers". It was a beautiful day, 70 degrees at the bottom, clear skies; but when we broke out of the tree line, we put on the jackets we had carried, just in case it got cool on the descent. The last 6km did not get cool, it turned cold and windy. But, the mountain was covered with cyclists. Many would shout encouragement to Rosalie who was struggling to stay upright in the wind. It was a cyclist's world, but not for the faint hearted. Mont Ventoux gave us a whole new appreciation for "the boys of the tour." Viva la Tour!
We finished our vacation in Switzerland where even more stories developed. We leave these to your imagination and your dreams this time. Follow those dreams if you have not already done so. We have included one picture of the Grimsel Pass in Switzerland just to tease your senses and curisoity.
Mike and Rosalie Perry |