The alpine feel of this part of the Massif Central was further highlighted when I went for a short walk from the gite and noticed the change in flora.
Today started with a bowl of coffee, a serviette and table full of bread, toast, butter and jam. Yes, a bowl for the coffee and no plate in the normal French manner. The bowls are wide and you need to find your own technique to handling it without having to use both hands.
I am climbing out of Villefort to the next Col and pause just to admire the scenery; I am feeling good.
In total I will pass through 19 departments though some like Gard are fleeting but fun on the winding, cliff hugging mountain pass.
A good climb and I am really enjoying the low gear easy ascents. Col du Mas de l'Ayre is the only climb today.
Climbing and descending through the forest doesn't always present you with open views so I was grateful to have noticed this opening.
Though I wasn't in Gard long it did supply a memorable experience. You know that sensation when everything goes into slow motion? White porche, fast, towards me, my side of the road, ?!?!?, 50m away, errrrm, whoosh, gone. I find a safe place, a happy place, and make some coffee. There are plenty of bikers out but also a steady stream of classic cars and the white porche was one of many and just happened to be cutting a corner ahead of me. Did I say the Gard was fun earlier?
As I sit and compose myself a number of cyclists pass on their way up. I suspect it is an organised ride. It isn't until one woman says the French equivalent of "Oooh, having a nice little rest are we deary?" that I am provoked into moving on.
It isn't long before I have left Gard and add another department to my tally.
The ride down is good with more mountain scenery. Spot the hang glider, that small smudge on the white cloud?
Rolling into Les Vans at noon I realise I am feeling a bit weak and dissorientated so I stop for food; maybe the concentration of the descent got to me though from the speed notice on entering town I never went over 25mph. After some bakery goods are consumed on a bench in the main square I realise that I had dressed for the mountains but having descended I was now bathing in Mediterranean warmth. I peeled off some layers and this time it was the smell of motorbike fumes that drove me onwards.
On the outskirts of Les Vans I stop to survey the changing landscape. The mountains are still in view though I am now leaving them behind. I glance down the hill and see people around a glistening swimming pool sunbathing. Yesterday the sensible cyclists had their long winter cycling tights on and today it is pool weather. It feels like today's Col was some sort of demilitarised zone for the weather; cold staying north and heat south.
My entry to Ruoms as I get close to Pont d'Arc.
I hit a backlog of traffic queued up on the right all trying to turn left into the car park for the local tourist attraction; the natural stone arch that spans the Ardèche river. I can see why my cycle route comes here, and I understand why the tourists come for the ideal canoe experience but I can't help feeling a bit grumpy stuck in traffic after so much time on quiet open roads. For 12 euros I get to camp on the shoreline of the Ardèche with no paperwork required. My conspiratorial receptionist (I think the French government now has an extra 25 cents added to its deficit) has the air and voice of an 80-a-day gauloises smoker. In a truely British manner I comment on the change on weather and she politely agrees. The view from my tent is the Ardèche and its rocky cliffs.
Here is the Pont d'Arc which photos seem to shrink but it really is impressive. There is a yellow rectangle just left of centre and that is one of the many canoe trailers. People hire canoes, paddle downstream under the arch and then the canoes are transported back up stream. It is unclear how the canoes' live cargo get re-united with their parents, cars and motorhomes.
In the olden days, before bridges were invented, the arch was used as a river crossing and Loius XIII even had it partially destroyed to prevent the enemy using it.
This view is from the other side. Scale is provided by the people in the foreground and the canoe under the arch to the right. There is only one other natural arch in the world that spans a river in this way.
How to sum up today? It started with an alpine feel and finished with a very south of France vibe. A real day of stunning contrasts.
