We were long overdue for a day off, so day 11 was it. Two of our group members rented a car and
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Day 11, 12- Rest then Barcelonnette to Valberg
We were long overdue for a day off, so day 11 was it. Two of our group members rented a car and
Day 10- Barcelonette- The great Col de la Bonnette
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Day 9- Digne-les-bains to Barcelonnette
Lac de Serre-Poncon
Our lunch stop in Seyne was short but we did manage a nice pizza “vegetrien”. After lunch we climbed col St. Jean then descended the back side with picturesque views of Lac de Serre-Poncon. We then followed the Ubaye valley to our final destination. Barcelonnette proved to be a great base camp for the next few days. We felt like we were in a ski resort, which is what it is in the winter. The tour will stop at the next town north, Jausiers this year so there was a buzz in the air especially at the local shops.
Day 8- Opierre to Digne les Bains
East side of the river in Sisteron
Day 7- Vaison la Romaine to Opierre
Now that we had conquered Mt. Ventoux we figured the rest would be “downhill”…NOT! Today’s ride would take us over three tough cols in sweltering heat. We took on our first “eboulment”; a fairly major rock slide that required some sweat and strength to get over. After a well deserved picnic lunch at the top of col de Soubeyrand we pressed on to our final destination in les Begues, outside of Opierre. We were really in a remote area with virtually no cars. Our hotel was a true country inn. Basically there was our group, another group of cyclists from Holland and three guys on BMW motorcycles. They served a very hearty meal of salad, pasta, pork roast, cheese, and dessert. We got our first thunder shower but we were safely snuggled in our rooms. All in all a nice quiet spot and one of our better nights rest.
Day 6- Vaison la Romaine to Gigondas, Vacqueyras
The next stop was a true winery and a little more attitude but still excellent. After one more stop we made our way to Baumes de Venise for an “unscheduled” lunch. How could we pass of the “bois” or wood fired grill on the street corner serving a true French “ BBQ lunch. But before that, we stopped in at a winery down the street and tasted some of the famous Muscat grown in this area. Generally served in the USA as a dessert wine, they offered a drier yet still fruity version. Both were excellent. They also had a great rose that we purchased.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Day 5- The climb- Mt. Ventoux: Sault to Vaison la Romaine
Our climb was beautiful. The 5-6% grade was very manageable and the cool temperature and picturesque pines took our minds off of the hard part of the climb to come. At Chalet Reynard we actually felt refreshed and ready to take on what many call the toughest climb in France. We had virtually perfect conditions; crystal clear with an interesting warm “mistral” wind reminicent of our Santa Ana's in southern California that would blow into our faces while climbing NE but give us a slight push on the long switchbacks headed NW. No doubt about it, a tough, steep, desolate climb. The only scenery were the other cyclists around you, and there weren't too many. About 75% up we stopped at the Tommy Simpson memorial. This was the British cyclist that died while climbing the mountain in the 80’s.
We finally made it to the summit; about 6K of real steepness 9-11% range. The descent to Malaucene was the best of our trip with a top speed of 50 mph. The road surface was near perfect and plenty of room to maneuver. We had fabulous celebratory lunch in Malaucene then pushed on about 6 miles to our hotel in old part of town of Vaison La Romaine where we would spend the next two nights. The hotel was literally an old castle that had been updated slightly with great views of the main city and the rolling Provencal mountains behind it.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Day 4- La Fuste to Sault
Many of us had to share a room here. Fortunately we were bunked up with Les and Sue. The pull out chair “sleepers” weren’t the best but after this day we really didn’t care. Dinner was excellent but we cooked from heat of the sunset. Most of our thoughts were focused on the next day’s ride up Mt. Ventoux.
Day 3- Moissac Bellevue to La Fuste (Manosque)
For once, we had less climbing. This was a fairly “non eventful” day, but we did have a great lunch in Riez; beautiful salads, "exotique", nicose, and a deep fried stuffed pastry sheel with pommes and chevre.
The last descent was not steep but 35-40 mph for almost five miles; a tandem team delight! La Fuste reminded me a lot of the Napa Valley; dry, hot, gently rolling hills with small mountains around and lots of vineyards. The hotel was quite nice, with a small “castle” like feel and beautiful marble floors that were so cool you wanted to sleep on them with the hot weather that we had experienced. This was appeared to be a gourmet food resort with a magnificent kitchen. The meal was quite heavy; scrambled egg appetizer with truffles and a lamb osso buco all served on a lovely patio.
Day Two- Castellane to Moissac Bellevue
Once you hit the quaint hillside village of Trigance (above), we climbed to the top of the mountain and descended down to Balcons de las Mescula for an awesone view of the canyon. This was a tourist stop complete with giant tour buses and the triket store.
We loaded up on water, had some food, and started climbing the south canyon loop. Views were spectaclular but a tough climb, with narrow roads and a fair amount of traffic. Once we reached the summit we made a bee-line for our lunch stop in Auguines.
This was a great spot and our first pizza of the trip. We also come to learn a new French food term and Provencal favorite; "assiette" provencal, “provence plate” with whatever is local. In this case assiette povire, salad of local roasted peppers. Yum! More climbing heading south through Aups, then a nice descent to Moissac Bellevue. This hotel was sweet. We had a beautiful dinner of fish, foie grais, chilled celery soup, and great local white wine with grapes I have never heard of. It was a special celebration for our tandem friends Les and Sue, their 20th anniversary.