Day 25; Forcalquier

Today I head out in clean clothes which feels stupidly luxurious and extravagant. The route out of Sault involves long stretches of gradual uphill that look like they might be flat but your legs and gear selection tell you it's uphill. I spend the morning playing leapfrog with an English group who are doing a Caen to Nice route over 2 weeks which means 6 hours in the saddle each day as even with a reasonably direct route that is 100 km a day. As I lost touch with all the earlier British cyclists it feels stupidly reassuring to know there are people on the road to talk to. I get genuine praise for my bike and general setup (the rig as he calls it as if I was driving an 18-wheeler truck) and as this is stupid day I of course feel stupidly proud. The company they are using is Peak Tours and as a tour group they have a cycling guide on the road and a support vehicle. Given they are making about the same progress as me this morning I think their strategy is plenty of short stops, keep fed and watered and have a bed ready at the end of day; I am just not used to long days riding.  After Ventoux and a rest day I am feeling good and enjoy a fantastic ride past the lavender fields. 

I don't stop much today but manage to look back and say goodbye to Ventoux while on a banana break. Zooming in it does look like a snow topped peak.

I stop at the famous bookshop in Banon for a photo though sadly there is no one at the ice cream shop next door to serve me.

Some great views today and excellent smooth roads though few opportunities for photos. 

Despite today being hot with wall to wall sunshine (hurray!) my main break is for campstove coffee with supermarket choc-chip brioche dunked in the coffee. As much as I beat myself up for carrying so much food it is nice having choice on when to stop and having some choice over what to eat. 

I have just arrived in Forcalquier and it is only 12:45 which is a record arrival time for me.

My demonstration of slow climbing ability on Ventoux got me thinking that the Tour de France allocates categories to the various big climbs so everyone has an idea of how hard the day will be. The categories are 4 for easiest through to 1 for hard and then the confusing HC meaning beyond categorisation or very very hard. Of the three listed routes up Ventoux the Bedoin and Malaucene routes are HC and the easier route up from Sault is category 1. In my planning I had naively read easier as meaning easy, I hadn't looked up Ventoux's climb categories. You live and learn and as a wise person once said to me 'experience is the best teacher'. 

I am now one day into two easy days rolling along Provence where I pass through   Provence: Pays du Ventoux to arrive at the entrance to Provence: Alpes-Maritimes. The Alpes bit is a clue that I then hit the mountains though the days are short and there isn't too much climbing overall. 

Today's campsite is excellent, reception is open, the pool is open and set at 27 degrees, the pitch is flat with firm earth and grass but sometimes things just don't work out. Luckily I had pitched the tent and cooked lunch just in time to retreat into the dry and take a photo of the hailstones that preceded the persistent rain.

I am learning about the spring weather in the south of France and not in a theoretical manner. It comprises sunny mornings and afternoon thunder and lightning which may result in a few spots of rain or something more substantial. Despite the good ground my camp-craft fails me and the howling gale rips a tent peg out. Luckily my feet are big enough to act as a tent pole until the rain eases. Sadly this provides you with a scale to how small the two-person tent is and explains why they are sometimes called coffin tents.

I am trapped in my tent for an hour but I have Le Nougat de Montségur to keep me company.