Tuesday, 02 July 2019
David S writes: Seb's excellent account of his recent trip reminded me that I (with three others) recently completed a similar ride, but instead of taking 14 days, we took three years (elapsed time)! We did not climb Mont Ventoux and we took a short cut by finishing in Montpellier, rather than Nice.
We cycled a leisurely 30-40 miles a day for around 8-10 days cycling per summer (24-28 days cycling total). We (mainly) followed the excellent route in the guide book "France en Velo" and carried all our stuff in panniers. Highlights were gourmet picnic lunches with half a bottle of vin rouge each, quirky B&Bs and wonderfully quiet and scenic roads. In different weather, another highlight would have been the 25km descent from Le Blaymard in Provence (1,000m above sea level), but as we left Le Blaymard in snow and the entire descent was in rain (and we did not have winter clothing), "highlight" is not the right word!
We made an additional overnight stop in Marvejols as it is the twin town of Cockermouth, where I grew up. The local Cumbrian newspaper
reported our trip and the stopover, somewhat tongue-in-cheek!
I can highly recommend the guide book mentioned above. You don't have to take three years and there are accompanied as well as self-guided options, with various daily mileages.
David