Saturday was the first day not on the bike for 14 days, and a chance to reflect on the journey across France. This was a very different trip to LEJOG, which I think is very much about doing an iconic ride across our own country: almost a right of passage as a road cyclist. Crossing…
Day 14: Castellane to Nice. The last day
The final day was due to be a fairly short easier day, but France had one last sting in the tail for this journey. We woke in Castellane to find it raining and low cloud. Castellene is still up in the mountains, and it was cold, wet and dull. Time for the cold weather cycling gear…
Day 13: Moustier St Marie to Castellane: the Gorges du Verdon
Today was back to stunning riding. Overnight a storm had blown through with much wind and rain. Thank goodness that happened at night not when we were on the road. I was so tired last night I slept right through it. It did clear the air though removing the recent haze, leaving a much brighter…
Day 12: Sault to Moustier
After the Mont Ventoux day, today was always going to be a bit of an anticlimax. And it was. We rode from Sault to Moustier which is on the edge of the Gorge de Verdon. The route took us through many lavender fields, which seem to have replaced the vineyards as the crop of choice…
Day 11: Mont Ventoux
Today was all about climbing Mont Ventoux. This iconic mountain in cycling terms, has three routes up it, from Malaucene, Bedoin, and Sault. We rode 10 miles from the over night stop at Vaison to Malaucene and climbed from there. The route is 21km long and rises about 1550m from the surrounding area to top…
Day 10: Vallon Pont D’Arc to Vaison-laRomaine
A slightly shorter ride today, as we have a big one coming up tomorrow, but still stunning scenery. The first climb of the morning saw us climb a rather sharp climb out of the Ardeche Gorge up onto the top plateau, where the road then snaked its way around the edge of the gorge with…
Day 9: Mende to Vallon Pont D’Arc
Well, what a day! Back to stunning riding and beautiful views. The sun was out from the start as we left Mende on a steady gradual climb of about 32 km, with about 400 metre of climbing, lovely and gradual. At the top of the Col de Tribes, there is a sign which shows that…
Day 8: St Flour to Mende
Last night I discovered what the music was at the monastery; there was a small church next door and there was a rehearsal for a concert going on, so no ghosts at the monastery! Today was bit of a none day for cycling, lots of climbs and descent again but the scenery was not as…
Day 7:Mont Dore to St Flour
Nigel our tour lead keeps saying every day gets better on this route. He is right, yet another stunning days riding with some of the best roads I’ve ridden on for a very long time. The sun came back out today but not too hot for the many long climbs. We set out of Mont…
Day 6: Aubusson to Le Mont Dore
You know you are in for a hilly day when the start brief says, we are staying at a ski resort tonight. We are certainly in the mountains now. Today was very different sort of day to yesterday. The climbs were much more steady and long, not up/down/up/down. We have climbed onto much higher ground…
Day 5: Crozant to Aubusson
Yet another wonderful if a bit hard work, day of cycling. We followed La Creuse river from Crozant to Aubusson for a 56mile section, but it was full of lots of climbs in and out of the valley all day. This made it the hilliest day so far, but with lots of quiet sweeping descents…
Day 4: Loches to Crozant
Today was what cycling is all about. A cracking ride, flat and fast in the morning then some beautiful climbs after lunch with fast sweeping descents in and out of the Creuse river valley in the Limousin area. Lots of scenic views and the sun was out again. The ride seemed to fly by, and…
Steph's Journey from Caen to Nice 