Road ~ Ride Holiday 2017
Diary – Part 6
Diary – Part 6
Sunday October 8
Travel to Orange
Up reasonably earlier, breakfast from Paul's, chocolate croissant and coffee for Ken, yogurt and a plain bread roll for Paula. From here back to the hotel, pack and settle the account. Paula got a message from Susie to say Zoe was missing Mumma and Grandad which made her even more homesick. We then follow John to Obeon Metro to catch the tube to Gare de Lyon. Involved one change at Chatelet then onto Gare de Lyon. All easily handed, Paula lugging Ken's bag - 14kgs against her's at 19kgs. She is better able to manage it up and down the stairs. We should have organised this 6 weeks ago!
Arrived at Gare De Lyon with an hour to spare. John and Ken found a Costa!
Leaving Gare de Lyon from Hall 2 Platform 19 - all on time.
Arrived in Orange to be met by Herve our host. He collected us in an old covered in work van. Two in the front with him the other 4 in the back with the luggage - no way you could do this in Australia, no seats, no seatbelts, no safety but heaps of fun. Lovely location and great accommodation - a full house with everything we need, will be great staying here for 6 days.
Settled into the house then walked into a section of town to get things for dinner and breakfast for now. Herve will come and collect 2 of us tomorrow to collect our weeks supply of grocers by car.
Pizza or quiche, bread and a meringue Pie for dinner with bread, peanut and jam for breakfast.
After we returned the supplies we wandered into the main centre of Orange looking for a coffee shop (all closed as it was late after on a Sunday). No luck but Ken and John had a beer while the others explored some of the Roman ruins in Orange. The Roman Theatre looks really interesting and will be fun to explore later.
Back at the house Geri, Paul and Paula organised dinner, after which Paula and Beth cleaned up.
John and Ken checked and locked the bikes up for the night then we all discussed bike rides for the next few days. The bikes look they will be heavy to ride. We will find out tomorrow.
Monday October 9
Orange - Day 1
Up to the alarm at 7.00am - Paula showered and did our washing. Breakfast finished and just waiting for the others to decide times for morning shopping and to go in and do the final organisation for the bikes.
Herve arrived and collected Paul and Geri while the rest of us checked the bikes out and rode into town. The bikes are front heavy French 'wobbly' until you get use to them. They also have the right brake controlling the back wheel and the left hand the front wheel, reverse to home. This caused Ken to have a fall the first time he had to stop quickly as he grabbed a handful of the left brake (as he does at home which stops the back wheel) here it locked the front wheel which was at an angle which just tipped the whole bike over. He wasn't hurt just his pride dented.
John and Ken had a coffee while Beth and Paula found the tourist information. The site had a few pamphlets on bike rides in the area which they took back to the house.
Before Herve left he suggested a few things to do before we were due at the bike shop. One was to ride up the back of the hill that overlooks the Roman Theatre.
This was a spectacular view and added to by the view of Mont Ventoux. We also came across a group of school students using the hillside tracks above the Roman Theatre for a part of their decathlon.
At the bike shop we found that the man we were suppose to meet wasn't going to be available until tomorrow.
The lady who runs the shoe shop part of the sports store gave us a few maps and suggested an afternoon ride to Caderousse. We took her advice. Once out of Orange the road was good for riding. We enjoyed the exercise and covered 27kms for the afternoon. We took some time wandering through the village watching a few locals play boules and found a couple of outdoor table tennis tables, unfortunately no bats or balls for Paula to have a game. We got back with everyone enjoying a warm shower before dinner.
Geri made a great turkey and chicken casserole with a potato bake and salad.
After tea we looked at a ride for tomorrow, a loop of about 50kms through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Bedarrides and Jonquieres.
This is some of the finest wine areas of France, good enough to be called the Pope's vineyard.
Tuesday October 10
Orange - Day 2
Everyone was up early ready to ride. Ken went for a quick trip around to the bakery to get an extra bottle of water for Paula.
He was back just as Geri and John had finalised the ride for today, approximately 50kms. They had directions for the first part to Chateauneuf-du-Pape but it would be google maps and some 'guesstimating' to get to Bedarrides and Jonquieres before heading back to Orange.
The section into town and out to the first minor road was through some roadworks and a major roundabout.
We did this with a number of quick stops just to double-check our reading of the map.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape was an interesting destination. The vineyards particularly took our interest especially the use of the white rocks around all the vines. We found out later it helps retain water and more importantly provides night time heat to the vines.
The Château was interesting with a great view of Mont Ventoux. We made our banana baguettes and had them for an early dinner as with all of France, more so in the small villages, nothing is open from 12 noon until 3.00pm. We didn't want to take the chance in Bédarrides of trying to get food.
We managed to 'google map' our way to Bédarrides without incident and found that Bédarrides was 'closed', nothing was open. We had a quick look around the village then headed to Jonquieres along the 'river road' a supposed ride with a view of a river. Didn't eventuate as the river was basically dry.
We stayed on this road for a fair while but eventually decided to change course and head for Courthezon. It was a good decision as Courthezon was once a walled city. It still has the traditional buildings inside the wall with the newer buildings built outside without effecting the old appearance.
From here we rode to Jonquieres again this was a quaint French village. We had a look at the old main centre then headed to what we thought was a rail trail back to Orange. What we found was a half done rail trail, with the section back to Orange just a dirt track, we were disappointed.
Paul got talking to a few locals who volunteered to show us a way around the dirt trail and back on a minor road to the Orange civic centre.
They set off in a car and made us work as hard as we had all day to keep up with them. We left them just near the Air Force base and got to watch two French supersonic fighter planes takeoff - the noise when they took off was unbelievable. Our trip back to Orange wasn't without incident. We came across a car crash but because we were on bikes we were able to walk around the crash site.
Back in the civic centre we settled the account for the hire bikes. Paul and the three girls rode back to the house while John and Ken stayed in town for a beer.
After tea we had some discussion on possible rides for the next three days. We thought about taking the train to Pierrelatte and then riding around this area but the only trains available are at 8.00am or 1.00pm so the idea was shelved.
John is keen to visit the Rhine River and might be something we do on Friday. Tomorrow we are doing the 'food belt' ride, looking at the areas that grow the different crops to feed the French in this area.
Wednesday October 11
Orange - Day 3
We didn't get away until 10.00am today, Geri and Paula went to get baguettes to make lunch before we left today. We couldn't see that any of the towns we were going through today would be big enough to have shops to provide what we would need.
Our first stop after getting through the heavy morning traffic in Orange, the city seems much more alive today than the previous three days, was Piolenc. This was a newer town, just off the A7 a major road and servicing the N7. We travelled through the flatter river plain area here and saw a number of areas being prepared for their winter crops.
John and Ken had a coffee while the others explored the town. We also watched a young boy doing monos on his pushbike in the main square. There is no way in the world we could get the bikes we are riding to mono, it's tough enough just to lift the front over the gutters when you are wheeling them!
After we left Piolenc we headed for Uchaux. This was a quiet little village with the only bar open having most everyone in town having lunch there. We stopped in the square under some beautiful plain trees and had our baguettes.
From here we started to climb around the back of a large raise. It was here we also took a wrong turn and ended up being directed by the locals onto a dirt track to get us to back on the right path to Rochegude. It was a combination of dirt, sand, large rocks, low branches, narrow bush overgrown alleys and finally a good climb back up onto the tarred road. It was a bit of an adventure for 3 kms.
At Rochegude we had a look from the entrance of the Château, now a 5 Star Hotel, across the valley towards the mountain range in the distance. Every Château we have visited in France has had a magnificent view.
From Rochegude we had a great downhill glide to Lagarde-Paréol which again was a quiet little village with the major attraction being a church. Our next destination was Sérignan-du-Comtat again another downhill run, all the hard climbing from Uchaux to Rochegude, even on the dirt track had been worth it. Here we had planned to have afternoon tea but we couldn't find anything open that suit so after a quick look around the village we headed for Orange.
We came back in through the newer area of town with some really nice homes, good roads and marked cycle paths. Once back in the civic centre we had our afternoon tea. Some great cake and biscuit selections made between the 5 of us. Paula shared Ken's selection.
John and Ken enjoyed a beer at the 'local' then a coffee, as John's desired coffee shop was finally open. The others explored some of the shops then went home for dinner. This was a mixture of left over dinners from the previous few nights and steamed vegetables topped off with a slice that John had chosen from the bakery.
Early showers with most everyone in bed by 10.00pm.
Thursday October 12
Orange - Day 4
Paul has woken with a sore throat and head cold so Beth and he are having a rest day from riding. They will do the village markets and shopping while the other 4 do the organised ride for today.
Today we are heading back into vineyard country. We organised lunch the same as yesterday with baguettes and possibly some fruit if we could find some. Our first stop was the markets in the civic centre, they covered a rather large area but unfortunately we didn't really have time to have a good look.
In hindsight we could have stayed - it took us nearly 30 minutes to find the suggested route out of the city and it was straight down the street from the Markets!
Once out we made good time to Jonquières were John and Ken had a coffee. Still no bananas. From here we cycled on the rail trail to Sarrians, well actually a little bit further through as we missed the turn. It was a very good surface and fun to ride so it didn't matter that we did a few extra kms.
From here it was a gradual uphill climb to Vacqueyras were we had lunch and explored the old walled city. It also had a large number of 'caves', French wine cellars. The whole area we had cycled through was covered in vineyards.
Our next destination was Gigondas, a very steep climb with 13% gradients in some sections. The 'relive' app Ken has discovered gives a great overview of the whole ride and gives you the option to include photos taken on the day. Today's ride will look great.
It was well worth the effort to make the climb as it was a beautiful village built inside an old city wall. The view was spectacular as was the ride down. We left Gigondas at 3.40pm and after travelling through Violes then via Camaret-sur-Aigues we were back in Orange just after 5.00pm. We had just started our well deserved ice-creams when Paul & Beth arrived. We talked about their day and the shopping they had done before John and Ken went for their beers. Geri and Paula looked around the civic centre before they all rode back to the house together.
Geri had planned spaghetti for dinner and it was well appreciated. Sleep in the order for tomorrow with just a leisurely ride to finish our week. The bikes need to be returned by 7.00pm.
Friday October 13
Orange - Day 5
Everyone had a sleep in today as we were only doing a wind down ride before taking the bikes back.
After breakfast we set off for Rocquemaure which would take us over the Rhone River. We set a course along the D976 which was a minor road with more traffic than anticipated but still manageable. Our ride out of Orange was made a little difficult with some road closures but we navigated around these and set off. Again we have a great day, weather wise, great sunshine and little breeze. We have been very fortunate over the 5 days with almost perfect riding weather the whole time.
We reached the Rhone and took a few photo then proceeded into the village. At the village square we sat and had our lunch as it was already 12.30pm.
From here we decided to take a circular route back the would just deviate around Caderousse and pick up the EV17, part of the national cycle route for France.
This was a great track for 3kms and then turned into an even better road that looped us around behind Orange. The pace really got going for this 5km section as everyone found a good pace and settled into the groove.
Back into Orange is easier at 3.00pm without all the afternoon traffic.
When we were back in the city centre we decided to go back for showers, clean up put our regular clothes on then take the bikes back. This would save us needing to do two extra walks as we had also planned to come back into town for dinner.
Our 'wind down' ride turned out to be about 37 kms and our total for the week, for those that rode the full five days, was close to 230kms.
Tomorrow we pack and head for Montpellier.
Saturday October 14
Travel to Montpellier
Most everyone was up early had breakfast and packed. Geri and Paula cleaned up while the rest of us stayed out of the way.
Herve arrived just before 10.00am to shuttle us in two loads to catch the train station. We said our goodbyes, Herve had been an excellent host and his accommodation was ideal for our needs.
We had about an hour wait for the train which was the TGV to Avignon- took us 15 minutes! Our second train was a TER, the regional train system. It was ok but not as fast.
Our train arrived in Montpellier on time and after contacting Patricia, our welcome host we made our way to the unit. It was a little hard to find and as Patricia was running late we weren't sure we had the right address. In the end it was correct and we quickly settled in. It is a well appointed apartment on the third floor, very close to the main centre and the old town.
After a bite to eat, Geri had brought the leftover food from Orange, and a cup of tea/hot water we went exploring and shopping for items for dinner and breakfast.
John and Ken had a coffee and left the others to shop. When they returned from taking the grocery items back then a quick trip to the tourist information centre to find a local map in English and we set off to explore. We found the Opera House, Saint-Clement Roman Aqueduct, the Corum (a lookout over the city), Arc de Triomphe (not as spectacular as Paris nor as old as Orange), the Old Town (with a Catholic Church - Notre Dame Des Tables) and a 'real' coffee shop - Extra Shot.
After dinner, home cooked rissoles and vegetables, Geri's work again, Paula and Ken went for a night time walk and found a great number of restaurants, all noisy and crowded and a few interestingly decorated streets, one covered in pink umbrellas another with multicoloured pieces of cloth.
Trying to sleep was interesting, a rather noisy street party was happening just under the apartment windows. Beth especially found it difficult to sleep.
Tomorrow we find as many of the tourist attractions as we can.
Sunday October 15
Montpellier - Day 1
Paula and Ken were up first. Paula had fun fighting the hot water nozzle in the very small ensuite shower!
Breakfast was toast (with leftover cherry jam from the previous tenants if you were game), eggs and/or cereal tea/hot water or juice.
Maps were surveyed to decide what we could do for the day then e-mails and other social media sources answered or added to.
We explored a number of different areas today splitting the day in two, one area in the morning then back for lunch then heading a different direction in the afternoon. In the morning we did the St Pierre, the medical gardens with plants grown for their medicinal value, University Street (with no students) then back into the old part of town.
After lunch it was down to Antigone a really interesting Spanish design section, 1 kilometre long with symmetry of design, one side identical in design to the other. At the end was the river.
On the way back we had ice cream and look at some of the local art, which was half bikes in walls and a number of Space Invader mosaic tile design. Apparently these are found across Old Town and when marked on a map make a Space Invader alien - in the little time we had to look we found two.
We also discovered brass markers on the ground marking a trail through the city. The sign on each one was 'Camin Roumieu Montpellier'.
It means route of pilgrimage and is the 'French Way', a part of the Way of Saint James.
We also managed to get back to 'Extra Shot' and have a proper milk coffee before looking at something for dinner. In the end Geri and Paul collected a few extra groceries and Geri made fritters from what we had left over.
Everyone is weary today so no extra night walks - we pack in the morning to move onto Carcassonne, leaving at 11.30am travelling by train.
Monday October 16
Travel to Carcassonne
Everyone was up early, showered, had breakfast, packed and were ready to leave well before Patricia was to arrive for the exit visit and key return.
She messaged us at 9.45am to let us know she wouldn't be there and told us what to do with the rubbish and keys when letting ourselves out.
We followed her instructions and we were on our way to the station just before 10.00am.
At 11.20am we moved to Platform E to await our train. The trip was uneventful with the train being crowded you couldn't do much but watch the countryside go by. We followed the Mediterranean coastline for a while then along the Midi canal. This was a little more interesting as one of our first riding plans was to ride the Midi Canal from Sete to Carcassonne.
In Carcassonne we easily found the accommodation and started to settle in. Ken had selected something a little different but the place was even more different they he had anticipated. Two flights of spiral staircases to the apartment and another set of stairs to the other sleeping quarters which see John and Geri sleeping in a sitting room - no doors, and Beth and Paul needing to go through their room to get to theirs and both rooms having a sloping ceiling!
Once settled and getting an extra set of keys we strolled into the main square near us looking for lunch. All the kitchens for the cafes were closed so we bought baguettes, some ham, cheese and tomatoes with other supplies for the next three days and made our own lunch.
Around three o'clock we headed for the tourist centre to get maps and to find out a little more of what we could do. The markets and the Medieval Walled city on Tuesday and a bike ride along the Midi canal and a general look around the area on Wednesday was decided. We then went down and booked the bikes for Wednesday, walked along the canal - French canals are wider than England and Scotland and have motor launches rather than barges, very civilised approach! Almost all launches had pushbikes as well.
From here we wandered through the city streets until we got to the walled city on the Pont Neuf over the Aude River.
The view was absolutely spectacular, to see a medieval city as it would have been when first constructed was something special. Numerous photos were taken in the different light as we had arrived just before sunset. It will be very special to have the opportunity to walk through the actual city tomorrow.
From here it was back to another wonderful dinner cooked by Geri.
Even though we hadn't really done much today, other than walk the city streets, everyone was having an early night, all in bed by 10.00pm.
Tuesday October 17
Carcassonne - Day 1
Paula was up early, had a shower, did the washing and had 1st breakfast before anyone else was awake!
She then went up to the square to look at the markets but only found 4 or 5 fruit and vegetable stalls. It wasn't until later that we discovered the main stall area was a block away in an undercover building and by then it was too late to see!
After everyone was ready we walked up to the Medieval City and were thankful we took the photos yesterday as the city was shrouded in cloud. We stopped at Notre Dame de la Sante, the starting point for the Camino de Santiago. From here we crossed the old bridge over the River Aude and climbed the pedestrian passage into the medieval city. The whole city was something special, words and even pictures can't describe or show the enormity of the whole place. It literally takes you back in time. Walking the ramparts, viewing the old Roman and 12th century artefacts, strolling through the old cobbled streets, climbing and descending spiral stairs ways, pretending to be guards shooting arrows through the arrow slots... all added to the feeling of awe that you had about the place. To find that it is the second most visited tourist attraction after the Eiffel Tower was no surprise, it is just iconic and yet different to anything else you could experience. It is easier to look at and follow the map of the medieval city as we covered very street and to recount everything we saw would take ages.
It was so special that Paula and Ken, even when they said they were going, took another 1/2 hour to leave as they wandered out along the path between the inner and outer walls before actually heading back into the old town.
When back in the old town they explored the old bastion areas that were built when the religious wars were on. These were built to protect the old town. We saw the Centre de Congres arch and went into the Jardin du Calvarie, a garden depicting the Stations of the Cross and statues on the top of a hill in the garden of Crucifixion of Christ.
They also found and explored a number of other churches in the old town.
It is also interesting the number of Rugby shops in Carcassonne. We found out that Carcassonne is very much a sporting town with strong; Rugby Union, Rugby League and Football (Soccer) competitions in the city.
Back at the unit it was decision time as to where to go for dinner. Le Jardin en Ville is the final choice, reported to have great meat and salad meals.
Time will tell. And it did - it was closed, so we headed back into town and found Chef Fred. This turned out to be a very good choice as the meals and dessert where delicious.
Tomorrow we bike ride along the Canal de Midi collecting the bikes at 9.30am.
Wednesday October 18
Carcassonne - Day 2
Early shower and shopping again for Paula. She had the baguettes back ready for lunches to be made before any one was up!
Everyone was ready to leave just before 9.15pm and we were at the bike hire place just after 9.30pm. Our bikes were ready, we paid the account tried the bikes out with a few seat adjustments, collected a map, one pump and one can of filly leak g. As it turned out we should have had a full puncture repair kit as the puncture Paul got wasn't fixable with the filly leak. It was a leaking valve.
We started out on a main road as we had to bypass some work being done on the cycle path access. We found the towpath on the Canal du Midi heading towards Castelnaudary. It was narrow, rocky and with tree roots thrown in every so often to keep you on your toes. You had to concentrate the whole time and didn't really get to see much of what was around you until you stopped. Even the duck's didn't worry about us as we cycled past.
We stopped at a few locks on the way through and watched them being used. All are electrically and remotely operated. The young woman operating three locks at the section just had the control box around her waist. Push one button and closed and filled one lock while just standing there!
Beats the manual operation we had in Scotland hands down.
From here the cycle path changed a little and became very gravelly, again you had to concentrate to make sure you didn't fall over. You also had to peddle a little harder on the seven speed hire bikes. The bikes are very heavy and again have the brakes reversed, right stops the rear, left brake the front wheel.
We kept riding for about 15 kms across a few roads and past a few more locks until we came to a section of the track that had a deviation but the fence was down. We had a look at the map to see if we could see where the deviation went. John then decided to ride ahead to see if things were clear. When he was gone 5 minutes or so we figured things were clear and followed. We hadn't gone far when Paul called to say his back tyre was flat. John had the pump and filly leak can so Geri went ahead to bring him back.
When John was back we pumped the tyre up and Paul only got a little further down the towpath and it was flat again.
Next the filly leak which went everywhere except in the tube! Getting it off and the valve came off as well. Paul pumped the tyre again and we travelled to the next lock. Here John was able to get a pair of pliers from one of the boats and tightened the valve again.
It was decided that we would have lunch and head back. While we had lunch Paul called the hire bike people to see if they would bring a replacement bike or even just come and get him and the bike. They weren't going to help and suggested Paul get a taxi back and bring the bike back that way with him paying for the taxi. In the end we lightened Paul's bike and took the pump.
He managed 12 kms pumping 8 times before the tube finally gave out and wouldn't stay up.
The rest of us caught him with just on 8 kilometres to go. He walked the bike the rest of the way in with Beth walking with him and Ken sharing some of the pushing as well. Eventually, approximately 4.15pm, we arrived back at the hire bike facility. They refunded Paul's bike hire fee. Everyone was ready for a rest, a cuppa and a shower.
Geri cooked a great curry and pork dish with rice and steamed vegetables.
No one went for a night walk, the events of the day had worn everyone out.
Tomorrow we have an early train to catch to get our connection to Girona then private transport to Olot, the start of our Spanish bike riding section.
Travel to Orange
Up reasonably earlier, breakfast from Paul's, chocolate croissant and coffee for Ken, yogurt and a plain bread roll for Paula. From here back to the hotel, pack and settle the account. Paula got a message from Susie to say Zoe was missing Mumma and Grandad which made her even more homesick. We then follow John to Obeon Metro to catch the tube to Gare de Lyon. Involved one change at Chatelet then onto Gare de Lyon. All easily handed, Paula lugging Ken's bag - 14kgs against her's at 19kgs. She is better able to manage it up and down the stairs. We should have organised this 6 weeks ago!
Arrived at Gare De Lyon with an hour to spare. John and Ken found a Costa!
Leaving Gare de Lyon from Hall 2 Platform 19 - all on time.
Arrived in Orange to be met by Herve our host. He collected us in an old covered in work van. Two in the front with him the other 4 in the back with the luggage - no way you could do this in Australia, no seats, no seatbelts, no safety but heaps of fun. Lovely location and great accommodation - a full house with everything we need, will be great staying here for 6 days.
Settled into the house then walked into a section of town to get things for dinner and breakfast for now. Herve will come and collect 2 of us tomorrow to collect our weeks supply of grocers by car.
Pizza or quiche, bread and a meringue Pie for dinner with bread, peanut and jam for breakfast.
After we returned the supplies we wandered into the main centre of Orange looking for a coffee shop (all closed as it was late after on a Sunday). No luck but Ken and John had a beer while the others explored some of the Roman ruins in Orange. The Roman Theatre looks really interesting and will be fun to explore later.
Back at the house Geri, Paul and Paula organised dinner, after which Paula and Beth cleaned up.
John and Ken checked and locked the bikes up for the night then we all discussed bike rides for the next few days. The bikes look they will be heavy to ride. We will find out tomorrow.
Monday October 9
Orange - Day 1
Up to the alarm at 7.00am - Paula showered and did our washing. Breakfast finished and just waiting for the others to decide times for morning shopping and to go in and do the final organisation for the bikes.
Herve arrived and collected Paul and Geri while the rest of us checked the bikes out and rode into town. The bikes are front heavy French 'wobbly' until you get use to them. They also have the right brake controlling the back wheel and the left hand the front wheel, reverse to home. This caused Ken to have a fall the first time he had to stop quickly as he grabbed a handful of the left brake (as he does at home which stops the back wheel) here it locked the front wheel which was at an angle which just tipped the whole bike over. He wasn't hurt just his pride dented.
John and Ken had a coffee while Beth and Paula found the tourist information. The site had a few pamphlets on bike rides in the area which they took back to the house.
Before Herve left he suggested a few things to do before we were due at the bike shop. One was to ride up the back of the hill that overlooks the Roman Theatre.
This was a spectacular view and added to by the view of Mont Ventoux. We also came across a group of school students using the hillside tracks above the Roman Theatre for a part of their decathlon.
At the bike shop we found that the man we were suppose to meet wasn't going to be available until tomorrow.
The lady who runs the shoe shop part of the sports store gave us a few maps and suggested an afternoon ride to Caderousse. We took her advice. Once out of Orange the road was good for riding. We enjoyed the exercise and covered 27kms for the afternoon. We took some time wandering through the village watching a few locals play boules and found a couple of outdoor table tennis tables, unfortunately no bats or balls for Paula to have a game. We got back with everyone enjoying a warm shower before dinner.
Geri made a great turkey and chicken casserole with a potato bake and salad.
After tea we looked at a ride for tomorrow, a loop of about 50kms through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Bedarrides and Jonquieres.
This is some of the finest wine areas of France, good enough to be called the Pope's vineyard.
Tuesday October 10
Orange - Day 2
Everyone was up early ready to ride. Ken went for a quick trip around to the bakery to get an extra bottle of water for Paula.
He was back just as Geri and John had finalised the ride for today, approximately 50kms. They had directions for the first part to Chateauneuf-du-Pape but it would be google maps and some 'guesstimating' to get to Bedarrides and Jonquieres before heading back to Orange.
The section into town and out to the first minor road was through some roadworks and a major roundabout.
We did this with a number of quick stops just to double-check our reading of the map.
Chateauneuf-du-Pape was an interesting destination. The vineyards particularly took our interest especially the use of the white rocks around all the vines. We found out later it helps retain water and more importantly provides night time heat to the vines.
The Château was interesting with a great view of Mont Ventoux. We made our banana baguettes and had them for an early dinner as with all of France, more so in the small villages, nothing is open from 12 noon until 3.00pm. We didn't want to take the chance in Bédarrides of trying to get food.
We managed to 'google map' our way to Bédarrides without incident and found that Bédarrides was 'closed', nothing was open. We had a quick look around the village then headed to Jonquieres along the 'river road' a supposed ride with a view of a river. Didn't eventuate as the river was basically dry.
We stayed on this road for a fair while but eventually decided to change course and head for Courthezon. It was a good decision as Courthezon was once a walled city. It still has the traditional buildings inside the wall with the newer buildings built outside without effecting the old appearance.
From here we rode to Jonquieres again this was a quaint French village. We had a look at the old main centre then headed to what we thought was a rail trail back to Orange. What we found was a half done rail trail, with the section back to Orange just a dirt track, we were disappointed.
Paul got talking to a few locals who volunteered to show us a way around the dirt trail and back on a minor road to the Orange civic centre.
They set off in a car and made us work as hard as we had all day to keep up with them. We left them just near the Air Force base and got to watch two French supersonic fighter planes takeoff - the noise when they took off was unbelievable. Our trip back to Orange wasn't without incident. We came across a car crash but because we were on bikes we were able to walk around the crash site.
Back in the civic centre we settled the account for the hire bikes. Paul and the three girls rode back to the house while John and Ken stayed in town for a beer.
After tea we had some discussion on possible rides for the next three days. We thought about taking the train to Pierrelatte and then riding around this area but the only trains available are at 8.00am or 1.00pm so the idea was shelved.
John is keen to visit the Rhine River and might be something we do on Friday. Tomorrow we are doing the 'food belt' ride, looking at the areas that grow the different crops to feed the French in this area.
Wednesday October 11
Orange - Day 3
We didn't get away until 10.00am today, Geri and Paula went to get baguettes to make lunch before we left today. We couldn't see that any of the towns we were going through today would be big enough to have shops to provide what we would need.
Our first stop after getting through the heavy morning traffic in Orange, the city seems much more alive today than the previous three days, was Piolenc. This was a newer town, just off the A7 a major road and servicing the N7. We travelled through the flatter river plain area here and saw a number of areas being prepared for their winter crops.
John and Ken had a coffee while the others explored the town. We also watched a young boy doing monos on his pushbike in the main square. There is no way in the world we could get the bikes we are riding to mono, it's tough enough just to lift the front over the gutters when you are wheeling them!
After we left Piolenc we headed for Uchaux. This was a quiet little village with the only bar open having most everyone in town having lunch there. We stopped in the square under some beautiful plain trees and had our baguettes.
From here we started to climb around the back of a large raise. It was here we also took a wrong turn and ended up being directed by the locals onto a dirt track to get us to back on the right path to Rochegude. It was a combination of dirt, sand, large rocks, low branches, narrow bush overgrown alleys and finally a good climb back up onto the tarred road. It was a bit of an adventure for 3 kms.
At Rochegude we had a look from the entrance of the Château, now a 5 Star Hotel, across the valley towards the mountain range in the distance. Every Château we have visited in France has had a magnificent view.
From Rochegude we had a great downhill glide to Lagarde-Paréol which again was a quiet little village with the major attraction being a church. Our next destination was Sérignan-du-Comtat again another downhill run, all the hard climbing from Uchaux to Rochegude, even on the dirt track had been worth it. Here we had planned to have afternoon tea but we couldn't find anything open that suit so after a quick look around the village we headed for Orange.
We came back in through the newer area of town with some really nice homes, good roads and marked cycle paths. Once back in the civic centre we had our afternoon tea. Some great cake and biscuit selections made between the 5 of us. Paula shared Ken's selection.
John and Ken enjoyed a beer at the 'local' then a coffee, as John's desired coffee shop was finally open. The others explored some of the shops then went home for dinner. This was a mixture of left over dinners from the previous few nights and steamed vegetables topped off with a slice that John had chosen from the bakery.
Early showers with most everyone in bed by 10.00pm.
Thursday October 12
Orange - Day 4
Paul has woken with a sore throat and head cold so Beth and he are having a rest day from riding. They will do the village markets and shopping while the other 4 do the organised ride for today.
Today we are heading back into vineyard country. We organised lunch the same as yesterday with baguettes and possibly some fruit if we could find some. Our first stop was the markets in the civic centre, they covered a rather large area but unfortunately we didn't really have time to have a good look.
In hindsight we could have stayed - it took us nearly 30 minutes to find the suggested route out of the city and it was straight down the street from the Markets!
Once out we made good time to Jonquières were John and Ken had a coffee. Still no bananas. From here we cycled on the rail trail to Sarrians, well actually a little bit further through as we missed the turn. It was a very good surface and fun to ride so it didn't matter that we did a few extra kms.
From here it was a gradual uphill climb to Vacqueyras were we had lunch and explored the old walled city. It also had a large number of 'caves', French wine cellars. The whole area we had cycled through was covered in vineyards.
Our next destination was Gigondas, a very steep climb with 13% gradients in some sections. The 'relive' app Ken has discovered gives a great overview of the whole ride and gives you the option to include photos taken on the day. Today's ride will look great.
It was well worth the effort to make the climb as it was a beautiful village built inside an old city wall. The view was spectacular as was the ride down. We left Gigondas at 3.40pm and after travelling through Violes then via Camaret-sur-Aigues we were back in Orange just after 5.00pm. We had just started our well deserved ice-creams when Paul & Beth arrived. We talked about their day and the shopping they had done before John and Ken went for their beers. Geri and Paula looked around the civic centre before they all rode back to the house together.
Geri had planned spaghetti for dinner and it was well appreciated. Sleep in the order for tomorrow with just a leisurely ride to finish our week. The bikes need to be returned by 7.00pm.
Friday October 13
Orange - Day 5
Everyone had a sleep in today as we were only doing a wind down ride before taking the bikes back.
After breakfast we set off for Rocquemaure which would take us over the Rhone River. We set a course along the D976 which was a minor road with more traffic than anticipated but still manageable. Our ride out of Orange was made a little difficult with some road closures but we navigated around these and set off. Again we have a great day, weather wise, great sunshine and little breeze. We have been very fortunate over the 5 days with almost perfect riding weather the whole time.
We reached the Rhone and took a few photo then proceeded into the village. At the village square we sat and had our lunch as it was already 12.30pm.
From here we decided to take a circular route back the would just deviate around Caderousse and pick up the EV17, part of the national cycle route for France.
This was a great track for 3kms and then turned into an even better road that looped us around behind Orange. The pace really got going for this 5km section as everyone found a good pace and settled into the groove.
Back into Orange is easier at 3.00pm without all the afternoon traffic.
When we were back in the city centre we decided to go back for showers, clean up put our regular clothes on then take the bikes back. This would save us needing to do two extra walks as we had also planned to come back into town for dinner.
Our 'wind down' ride turned out to be about 37 kms and our total for the week, for those that rode the full five days, was close to 230kms.
Tomorrow we pack and head for Montpellier.
Saturday October 14
Travel to Montpellier
Most everyone was up early had breakfast and packed. Geri and Paula cleaned up while the rest of us stayed out of the way.
Herve arrived just before 10.00am to shuttle us in two loads to catch the train station. We said our goodbyes, Herve had been an excellent host and his accommodation was ideal for our needs.
We had about an hour wait for the train which was the TGV to Avignon- took us 15 minutes! Our second train was a TER, the regional train system. It was ok but not as fast.
Our train arrived in Montpellier on time and after contacting Patricia, our welcome host we made our way to the unit. It was a little hard to find and as Patricia was running late we weren't sure we had the right address. In the end it was correct and we quickly settled in. It is a well appointed apartment on the third floor, very close to the main centre and the old town.
After a bite to eat, Geri had brought the leftover food from Orange, and a cup of tea/hot water we went exploring and shopping for items for dinner and breakfast.
John and Ken had a coffee and left the others to shop. When they returned from taking the grocery items back then a quick trip to the tourist information centre to find a local map in English and we set off to explore. We found the Opera House, Saint-Clement Roman Aqueduct, the Corum (a lookout over the city), Arc de Triomphe (not as spectacular as Paris nor as old as Orange), the Old Town (with a Catholic Church - Notre Dame Des Tables) and a 'real' coffee shop - Extra Shot.
After dinner, home cooked rissoles and vegetables, Geri's work again, Paula and Ken went for a night time walk and found a great number of restaurants, all noisy and crowded and a few interestingly decorated streets, one covered in pink umbrellas another with multicoloured pieces of cloth.
Trying to sleep was interesting, a rather noisy street party was happening just under the apartment windows. Beth especially found it difficult to sleep.
Tomorrow we find as many of the tourist attractions as we can.
Sunday October 15
Montpellier - Day 1
Paula and Ken were up first. Paula had fun fighting the hot water nozzle in the very small ensuite shower!
Breakfast was toast (with leftover cherry jam from the previous tenants if you were game), eggs and/or cereal tea/hot water or juice.
Maps were surveyed to decide what we could do for the day then e-mails and other social media sources answered or added to.
We explored a number of different areas today splitting the day in two, one area in the morning then back for lunch then heading a different direction in the afternoon. In the morning we did the St Pierre, the medical gardens with plants grown for their medicinal value, University Street (with no students) then back into the old part of town.
After lunch it was down to Antigone a really interesting Spanish design section, 1 kilometre long with symmetry of design, one side identical in design to the other. At the end was the river.
On the way back we had ice cream and look at some of the local art, which was half bikes in walls and a number of Space Invader mosaic tile design. Apparently these are found across Old Town and when marked on a map make a Space Invader alien - in the little time we had to look we found two.
We also discovered brass markers on the ground marking a trail through the city. The sign on each one was 'Camin Roumieu Montpellier'.
It means route of pilgrimage and is the 'French Way', a part of the Way of Saint James.
We also managed to get back to 'Extra Shot' and have a proper milk coffee before looking at something for dinner. In the end Geri and Paul collected a few extra groceries and Geri made fritters from what we had left over.
Everyone is weary today so no extra night walks - we pack in the morning to move onto Carcassonne, leaving at 11.30am travelling by train.
Monday October 16
Travel to Carcassonne
Everyone was up early, showered, had breakfast, packed and were ready to leave well before Patricia was to arrive for the exit visit and key return.
She messaged us at 9.45am to let us know she wouldn't be there and told us what to do with the rubbish and keys when letting ourselves out.
We followed her instructions and we were on our way to the station just before 10.00am.
At 11.20am we moved to Platform E to await our train. The trip was uneventful with the train being crowded you couldn't do much but watch the countryside go by. We followed the Mediterranean coastline for a while then along the Midi canal. This was a little more interesting as one of our first riding plans was to ride the Midi Canal from Sete to Carcassonne.
In Carcassonne we easily found the accommodation and started to settle in. Ken had selected something a little different but the place was even more different they he had anticipated. Two flights of spiral staircases to the apartment and another set of stairs to the other sleeping quarters which see John and Geri sleeping in a sitting room - no doors, and Beth and Paul needing to go through their room to get to theirs and both rooms having a sloping ceiling!
Once settled and getting an extra set of keys we strolled into the main square near us looking for lunch. All the kitchens for the cafes were closed so we bought baguettes, some ham, cheese and tomatoes with other supplies for the next three days and made our own lunch.
Around three o'clock we headed for the tourist centre to get maps and to find out a little more of what we could do. The markets and the Medieval Walled city on Tuesday and a bike ride along the Midi canal and a general look around the area on Wednesday was decided. We then went down and booked the bikes for Wednesday, walked along the canal - French canals are wider than England and Scotland and have motor launches rather than barges, very civilised approach! Almost all launches had pushbikes as well.
From here we wandered through the city streets until we got to the walled city on the Pont Neuf over the Aude River.
The view was absolutely spectacular, to see a medieval city as it would have been when first constructed was something special. Numerous photos were taken in the different light as we had arrived just before sunset. It will be very special to have the opportunity to walk through the actual city tomorrow.
From here it was back to another wonderful dinner cooked by Geri.
Even though we hadn't really done much today, other than walk the city streets, everyone was having an early night, all in bed by 10.00pm.
Tuesday October 17
Carcassonne - Day 1
Paula was up early, had a shower, did the washing and had 1st breakfast before anyone else was awake!
She then went up to the square to look at the markets but only found 4 or 5 fruit and vegetable stalls. It wasn't until later that we discovered the main stall area was a block away in an undercover building and by then it was too late to see!
After everyone was ready we walked up to the Medieval City and were thankful we took the photos yesterday as the city was shrouded in cloud. We stopped at Notre Dame de la Sante, the starting point for the Camino de Santiago. From here we crossed the old bridge over the River Aude and climbed the pedestrian passage into the medieval city. The whole city was something special, words and even pictures can't describe or show the enormity of the whole place. It literally takes you back in time. Walking the ramparts, viewing the old Roman and 12th century artefacts, strolling through the old cobbled streets, climbing and descending spiral stairs ways, pretending to be guards shooting arrows through the arrow slots... all added to the feeling of awe that you had about the place. To find that it is the second most visited tourist attraction after the Eiffel Tower was no surprise, it is just iconic and yet different to anything else you could experience. It is easier to look at and follow the map of the medieval city as we covered very street and to recount everything we saw would take ages.
It was so special that Paula and Ken, even when they said they were going, took another 1/2 hour to leave as they wandered out along the path between the inner and outer walls before actually heading back into the old town.
When back in the old town they explored the old bastion areas that were built when the religious wars were on. These were built to protect the old town. We saw the Centre de Congres arch and went into the Jardin du Calvarie, a garden depicting the Stations of the Cross and statues on the top of a hill in the garden of Crucifixion of Christ.
They also found and explored a number of other churches in the old town.
It is also interesting the number of Rugby shops in Carcassonne. We found out that Carcassonne is very much a sporting town with strong; Rugby Union, Rugby League and Football (Soccer) competitions in the city.
Back at the unit it was decision time as to where to go for dinner. Le Jardin en Ville is the final choice, reported to have great meat and salad meals.
Time will tell. And it did - it was closed, so we headed back into town and found Chef Fred. This turned out to be a very good choice as the meals and dessert where delicious.
Tomorrow we bike ride along the Canal de Midi collecting the bikes at 9.30am.
Wednesday October 18
Carcassonne - Day 2
Early shower and shopping again for Paula. She had the baguettes back ready for lunches to be made before any one was up!
Everyone was ready to leave just before 9.15pm and we were at the bike hire place just after 9.30pm. Our bikes were ready, we paid the account tried the bikes out with a few seat adjustments, collected a map, one pump and one can of filly leak g. As it turned out we should have had a full puncture repair kit as the puncture Paul got wasn't fixable with the filly leak. It was a leaking valve.
We started out on a main road as we had to bypass some work being done on the cycle path access. We found the towpath on the Canal du Midi heading towards Castelnaudary. It was narrow, rocky and with tree roots thrown in every so often to keep you on your toes. You had to concentrate the whole time and didn't really get to see much of what was around you until you stopped. Even the duck's didn't worry about us as we cycled past.
We stopped at a few locks on the way through and watched them being used. All are electrically and remotely operated. The young woman operating three locks at the section just had the control box around her waist. Push one button and closed and filled one lock while just standing there!
Beats the manual operation we had in Scotland hands down.
From here the cycle path changed a little and became very gravelly, again you had to concentrate to make sure you didn't fall over. You also had to peddle a little harder on the seven speed hire bikes. The bikes are very heavy and again have the brakes reversed, right stops the rear, left brake the front wheel.
We kept riding for about 15 kms across a few roads and past a few more locks until we came to a section of the track that had a deviation but the fence was down. We had a look at the map to see if we could see where the deviation went. John then decided to ride ahead to see if things were clear. When he was gone 5 minutes or so we figured things were clear and followed. We hadn't gone far when Paul called to say his back tyre was flat. John had the pump and filly leak can so Geri went ahead to bring him back.
When John was back we pumped the tyre up and Paul only got a little further down the towpath and it was flat again.
Next the filly leak which went everywhere except in the tube! Getting it off and the valve came off as well. Paul pumped the tyre again and we travelled to the next lock. Here John was able to get a pair of pliers from one of the boats and tightened the valve again.
It was decided that we would have lunch and head back. While we had lunch Paul called the hire bike people to see if they would bring a replacement bike or even just come and get him and the bike. They weren't going to help and suggested Paul get a taxi back and bring the bike back that way with him paying for the taxi. In the end we lightened Paul's bike and took the pump.
He managed 12 kms pumping 8 times before the tube finally gave out and wouldn't stay up.
The rest of us caught him with just on 8 kilometres to go. He walked the bike the rest of the way in with Beth walking with him and Ken sharing some of the pushing as well. Eventually, approximately 4.15pm, we arrived back at the hire bike facility. They refunded Paul's bike hire fee. Everyone was ready for a rest, a cuppa and a shower.
Geri cooked a great curry and pork dish with rice and steamed vegetables.
No one went for a night walk, the events of the day had worn everyone out.
Tomorrow we have an early train to catch to get our connection to Girona then private transport to Olot, the start of our Spanish bike riding section.