STAGE 8 (Day 10): Tournon-sur-Rhône to Avignon

Sur le pont d'Avignon

Distance:    108 miles

Climb:        1060 feet  

 

Another 100 miles ahead of us as we make a beeline for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Avignon via Montélimar. Twinned with Rhondda Cynon Taf in south-east Wales, Montélimar is the gateway to Provence, heralding the first lavender fields and is famously the nougat capital.

Avignon, like its Essex twin of Colchester, is steeped in Roman history. Yet Avignon can trace its roots even further back in time to the Greeks.

FUN FACT: "Sur le pont d'Avignon" is a traditional 15th-century French folk song about a dance performed on the Pont d'Avignon (officially Pont Saint-Bénézet). The dance actually took place under the bridge and not on it (sous le Pont d'Avignon, not sur).

Daily debrief: Pont to Pont

What better way to follow two, one-hundred mile, rides than with another one?

After a splendid dinner at Richard and Teresa’s hotel, which also stored his bike in the restaurant, the two end-to-enders met early on a crisp morning for another day in the saddle.

Due to a slight misunderstanding at Intersport, Paul needed to borrow some of Richard’s chamois cream. The cream was not the problem: Paul was given the third degree by the hotel owner when he tried to use their toilet to apply the aforementioned unguent.

Crossing the old wooden bridge out of Tournon we were soon advancing rapidly thanks to a strong tail wind - the Mistral.

We moved from the Rhône to the Drôme river and encountered touring cyclists, many of whom were struggling uphill into the wind with significant luggage on board. We thanked our lucky stars again for the support crew.

One of the other cyclists that we rode up to had calves that looked like bags of walnuts. We looked on awe struck as he seemed to be constantly pedalling in the toughest gear of all. It was only when we got a bit closer that Paul identified that he had a motor hidden on the bike - our damaged pride restored.

One of the other cyclists we encountered was a younger woman with lots of luggage, accompanied by a dog called Bagel. From the amount of luggage she was carrying it appears that Bagel was likely to set some sort of record for the longest dog walk.

After a very agreeable midmorning coffee stop at a café, which appeared to be populated predominantly by blokes who would see each other when back at work tomorrow, we moved into open countryside. Soon we found ourselves cycling through waving fields of lavender, the scent like 1000 grannies on a night out.

Today’s journey included some famous names. First we arrived at the settlement of Les Tourettes (insert your own comment here). Later in the ride we would honour this location as the pain in our feet intensified.

Next was the nougat capital of the world Montelimar. As athletes, we would not have purchased any of this popular confectionery even if the shops have been open (today was one of the many French public holidays).

Our lunch stop was again in a location of wondrous beauty. Car parks do not get much better than this one. Admiring the remnants where stolen cars had recently been burnt out we took on fuel for the second half of the perambulation.

Now today’s nature news. Tom Batten’s favourite animal the Fouine (pronounced Fween) bounded across the path in front of us. Having spoken about not yet seeing any snakes, Paul managed to not only manifest one but also to make an emergency jump over it.

Our afternoon ride took us through what looked like a glacial valley with sheer rock walls on either side. Dotted along our route were the many hydroelectric stations, solar fields and wind turbines which power much of the region.

With holiday closures and settlements few and far between, our usual afternoon routine of coffee and Coca Cola was disrupted. We had to make do with replenished water supplies in the small walled village of Caderousse.

Despite assiduous cleaning and oiling, our bicycles increasingly sound like a bag of knives and a six-year-old’s first violin lesson respectively. Eschewing the opportunity to climb up to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, we pushed our clanking steeds on into the Cote d Azur.

Spotting an increasing number of castles, we knew that we were nearly at Avignon. With both of us experiencing sore feet, we were glad that the wind was still predominantly at our backs.

As we ticked over the 108 mile mark our campsite and, more importantly, support crew came into sight.

So here we are eight stages done, 10 days of riding - 2 more stages and just over 200 miles, including a little bit of Pyrenean action, to go.

A reminder of why we're doing this

Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care provides FREE services and support to ensure patients and families living with an advanced or terminal illness can make the most of their lives…because every day is precious!

Each penny or cent pledged is donated to the hospice to help fund the very best in end-of-life care. See our JustGiving page.