Cycling Mont Ventoux & Provence

Ventoux Cycle Day3: 81 Kms Heading South to the Luberon

1 AUGUST 2013

Time to leave the Mt Ventoux area and explore further south in Provence, before heading back to Avignon. As I headed south I was arriving in an area called the Luberon, bordered in the south by a range of mountains, a very fertile land of lavender and sunflower fields, vineyards, and fruit orchards. This is where many of the famous hilltop villages of Provence are, and I visited many of them.

I left the bed and breakfast of Christian and Christine at 10 am. Another day of clear blue sky, and light wind. Unlike yesterday, I was carrying my backpack, which probably weighed 10Kgs, so it made cycling a bit tougher especially on the climbs, but fortunately it was quite comfortable. I headed south following quiet but quite straight back roads through Mazan (somehow got lost) and Venasque. From Venasque (Km 25) there was a pretty steep climb of 350 vertical metres over the Plateau de Vaucluse, to be rewarded by a lovely 11 kms descent down to the Abbaye de Sénanque. At the top of the descent, it indicated a no entry sign after 10 kilometres which I ignored, and when I got to the Abbaye, the road became a one way road against me. I figured I should just ride on, so I climbed the hill from the Abbaye against the flow for the next 4kms, being careful staying out of the way of the on-coming vehicles. Then I had arrived at Gordes (Km 45).

Moving south to the Luberon
Stats of the Day: 80.52Kms ; 3 hours 58 minutes moving time ; average speed 20.3Kms/hour ; vertical metres climbed 1352.

Sunflower fields

Abbaye de Sénanque, near Gordes

Gordes, a stunning town, a tourist hotspot, with quite a few visitors arriving by coach, including a coach load of Chinese people, so I felt quite at home

Provence postcard view : the Town of Gordes, Luberon mountains in the distance

I then continued south with the Luberon mountains right ahead, crossed the D900 main road, and after another climb was in Ménerbes, one of the famous 'golden triangle' villages of Provence. I climbed up into the village and went to the tourist office, who took great pleasure in telling me that everything was full, and then offering no advice about where i could stay.

Hilltop Town of Ménerbes

Provence - Known for its Rosé wine

Ménerbes

So I then turned westwards, thinking that I should head towards the next big town of Cavaillon, where there would be accommodation, as a last resort. I followed the road D3 thinking I would find something in one of the villages. After a refueling stop at Oppède, where nothing was doing, I arrived at Robion to find the tourist office and an extremely helpful girl, who spent quite a time ringing round for me. Eventually one of her voicemail messages was returned and I was set up. I was instructed to go into the centre of town and wait for Hélène at the Café de la Poste, in the main square. And what a delightful main square it was, with lots of seating outside the Café, which was obviously the centre of social life in the town. After being collected by Helène, and depositing bike and baggage, and showering, I returned there for meal and 'une bière' in the nice warm evening.

Café de la Poste in Robion

Night stop in Robion, chez Hélène Rodriquez

View from my bedroom window in Robion

Robion is a delightful town

Ventoux Cycle Day 4: 113 Kms Hilltop Villages and back to Avignon

2 AUGUST 2013

After a nice breakfast on Hélène's patio, shaded by grape vines, I left for a morning ride, planning to return to Robion to collect my bag, and then set off back to Avignon. So I started off eastwards along the Luberon bike route, which goes as far as Apt, signposted all the way along quiet lanes, but with a few steep hills thrown in. From Robion, the route passes all the pretty hilltop villages - Maubec, Opéde-le-Vieux, Ménerbes, Lacoste and on to Bonnieux. I stopped in Bonnieux to sit on a Café terrace looking out over the Luberon, with of course Mt Ventoux still visible in the distance. At Bonnieux, as if I hadn't had enough climbing, I noticed on the map a forest path up to the top of the Luberon mountain above Bonnieux. So I set off and reached the top but only after a climb of 400 vertical metres to a height of 700m. I then came back down to Bonnieux, and retraced my steps exactly all the way back to Robion, a round trip of 67Kms. I made straight for the Café de la Poste for a lovely lunch on the terrace and then Hélène arrived with my bag. As I sat, I watched the local men gathering at the Café, greeting each other with three kisses on the cheeks, and rattling their balls noisily. Once they had all gathered for a drink or two, they set off across the square for an afternoon game of 'boules', the famous french game using small steel balls. I eventually dragged myself away from the comfort of the Café to cycle back to Avignon, another 45 Kms, not especially memorable as the roads were quite busy, but I had my bag to carry, so I chose to take the shortest rather than the most picturesque route. I managed to find the real suburbs of Avignon which was heavy going, and I wasn't back at my hotel by the TGV station until 7pm.

Stats of the morning ride: 67.05 Kms ; 3 hours 14 minutes ; average speed 21 Km/hour

Opéde-Le-Vieux (Old Village)

Opéde-le-Vieux - Mont Ventoux very clear in the distance to the North

Pretty Lacoste

Vineyards, castles and forest line the Luberon bike route

Bonnieux (with Mt Ventoux again)

Café in Bonnieux looking across to Lacoste

Looking down from the Luberon mountains to Bonnieux

Afternoon ride: 46 Kms; 1 hour 58 minutes moving time Average speed 23 kms/hr

Ventoux Cycle Day 5: 80 Kms Avignon to Pont du Gard, and back to London

3 AUGUST 2013

The final day was also my return day to the UK. I wanted to visit Pont du Gard, a famous Roman aqueduct. It was built during the 1st Century AD, so it's 2000 years old, and was part of a 50km long aquaduct that supplied the city of Nimes with water. It stands 50 metres high and crosses the River Gardon. It is made of soft limestone blocks, with the water channel constructed over the top of the Aquaduct.

Pont du Gard

I needed to be back in Avignon in time to catch the 4.30pm high speed train to London. I was mindful of the fact that I was a bit tight for time, especially if I had a puncture, or a mechanical problem. I dived into the tourist office at Aramon, and got a couple of local taxi numbers, so I could ask for a lift back to Avignon if I had a problem. The lady in the tourist office directed me along the main road which was 17 Kms to the town of Remoulins, the nearest town to the site. I followed the sign for the River Gauche (left bank), which is the longer route to the Pont du Gard. I paid my entrance ticket and was able to cycle to the aqueduct. There was a bridge next to the aquaduct to cross the river, so I did that and cycled around the site and along the river. I then cycled back into Remoulins along the Rive droite (right bank). Once back in Remoulins, I stopped for a snack, and then set off back to Aramon, and then followed the River Rhone along the main road to Avignon. It actually rained on this section, first and only time.

After collecting my bag from the Hotel, I went to the TGV station, and dismantled my bike. I then went into the station but didn't see my train shown on the departure board. ?? I looked at my ticket and then I twigged. The Direct London TGV (Eurostar) train leaves from Avignon town station, unlike all the others that leave from the TGV station! Oh Sh*t! I went out of the station and looked for a taxi - long queue! I saw a bus with a massive queue loading up which was heading into town. Somehow the bus swallowed up the whole queue and we were on our way into town. Slowly! I realised I was not the only one, there were at least 5 or 6 others who had gone to the wrong station. We leapt off the bus in Avignon and ran for about 250 metres to the station, by this time it was 4.20. We then had to go through a security check so we were boarding the train at 4.25, five minutes to go. This was the only direct train to London per week, so if I had missed this, I would have had to buy another ticket and travel via Paris. So lucky!

Once on the train, I calmed down, and settled in for the 6 hour journey direct to London. My bike bag stowed in the racks at the end of the carriage. On arrival at St Pancras station at 9.25pm, I put my bike back together and cycled across London to Charing Cross station. This was all of 3.5kms and I cycled all the way through London's Theatre district (St.Martin's Lane), through to Trafalgar Square. This was fun.

I then caught a train from Charing Cross station to Hildenborough in Kent, and had my final cycle of the day, 8 kms to my night's lodging at Penshurst. It was pitch black, but I knew the road well, and I was amazed how I climbed the hills so well, and it showed how I had improved my cycling fitness since the last time I cycled these roads before I left the UK in 2011.

So a great few days in Provence. I shall return next year, maybe to cycle Mont Ventoux three times by the three different routes, not just the one.