Running a bit late tonight. It was a long day of cycling (although not the longest) but thoroughly enjoyable. I hesitate before I say this (as I would need to think more carefully about all the others) but today was up there with one of the best days so far; not just on the Via Rhรดna but on the entire cycle so far. Another celebration of bridges as you will discover if you choose to watch the video. I hold back on the Hans Zimmer score but todayโs video merited itโฆ
I donโt like Mondaysโฆ Someone has beaten me to the song. I really donโt like Mondays in France as most places are closed. There is a special corner in hell for bank holidays that happen to be on a Monday in France. Today was one of the latter. Nothing open whatsoever this morning. We are celebrating the โAssumption of Maryโ. Not being a man of religion I donโt know what Mary was assuming but perhaps it was that there might be something, somewhere that was open to buy lunch on a Monday bank holiday in France. There isnโt. Even the French are exasperated; one couple who were cycling in the opposite direction stopped me in desperation at around midday asking if Iโd passed an รฉpicerie that was open. I hadnโt. They broke down and sobbed beside the cycle path in desperation. I told them my plan was to survive on my box of peanuts until I could cook something in the evening. I scarpered as quickly as I could lest they use force in getting hold of the cacahuรจtes. When I did I turn to look, I could see them chasing after me using surprisingly fluent Chaucerian language vowing to prise the peanuts from my hands. The entente cordiale only goes so farโฆ They were my peanuts. I digress.
Caught the train to Lyon this morning. After all the heat itโs perhaps not surprising that when the rain decided to fall it put on quite an impressive thunder and lightening show. The downpour was, at times, torrential but as I stand here looking over the Rhรดne in the centre of Lyon, the rain has stopped, the clouds are breaking and perhaps we are in for a better afternoon.
Ten bridges today. Ten. That means that I went from Drรดme (to the east of the Rhรดne) to the Ardรจche (to the west of the Rhรดne) five times in each direction. In the new reality of Brexit, that probably invalidates my stay in the Schengen zone. There were plenty of other bridges that I didnโt cross. If you have a thing for bridges, come to the Rhรดne Valley!
Today has seen some of the best cycling of the trip so far. I had, in my mind, relegated the Via Rhรดna to a fill-the-gap route that I would have to endure in order to get me from the Mediterranean to the Alps. If todayโs cycling is anything to go by, itโs no fill-the-gap route. Far from itโฆ There is real geographical drama in the Rhรดne valley and I can only see that increasing. I (almost) feel sorry for the hoards of touring cyclists passing me heading south to that roundabout in Sรจte which has about as much geographical drama as your grannyโs pond. Iโm heading to the Alps and the drama can only intensify the further north and east I travel. After the relative disappointment of the Canal du Midi, I have embraced – and am loving – the Via Rhรดna after just two days. Montรฉlimar? Mmmโฆ Keep reading.
Day 39 existed. I didnโt just time-warp myself from day 38 to day 40 but having met up with friends Basil and Liz in Pรฉzenas yesterday lunchtime after having done my pit-stop tasks (washing, post office, podcast editingโฆ) we had a very enjoyable afternoon and early evening of drinking, eating, wandering, drinking, eating and drinking. I took one pictureโฆ
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his โGrand Tourโ of Europe. He has now arrived in Bordeaux at the start of the โTwo Seasโ cycle route – La Vรฉloroute Des Deux Mers – that will take him along the Canal de la Garonne to Toulouse and then the famous Canal du Midi to Sรจte on the Mediterranean coast. As he cycles he takes time to speak to the people he meets and explore the places he visits. And what will he make of the notorious Canal du Midi towpath that he encounters?
Iโโm glad to have finished the Canal du Midi section of the Canal des Deux Mers cycle route. Now in Pรฉzenas – Iโll explain in a moment – the highlight of yesterday was cycling along the excellent voies vertes that brought me inland from Sรจte yesterday evening. Cycling at the end of the day is something that doesnโt often happen (the way I tend to organise my days) but the advantages of cycling at that end of the day are similar to those of early morning cycling; quieter roads, cooler temperatures and the โgolden hourโ sunlight that washes a beautiful soft tint over the landscape. Itโs also worth noting (and remembering) that the winds tend to die down in the evening. Mmmโฆ Perhaps I should do night shifts on the bike.
