There was the usual drive to the airport, except this year it didn't pour, traffic in Montreal wasn't bad, and our flight wasn't delayed. In fact there's little to say. So I will say little.... read more

And so our journey draws to a close. In my remaining hours (I spent a good bit of time catching up on this blog) I will go wander the city, as it seems checking out Cite de l'Espace would take a full day (which I no longer have), and the Airbus tours require booking 48 hours in advance. With luck, tomorrow's forecasted thunderstorms will hold off until I get myself to the airport. Meanwhile, here's a start on explaining the routine I got into over the past 2 weeks. ... read more

Today was our last day of riding hills, and not to be outdone, I ended up adding some extra. Not on purpose. Leaving Millau proved dirt simple, and involved neither hill climbing nor traffic - in fact we descended again into another beautiful morning. Having decided to do the alternate route - even though it added a mere 5km to the nominal distance - I once again set out on my own, and promptly did some extra climbing by misinterpreting what 'continue straight at the roundabout' meant. We had been alerted we would travel under the famous (except to me) viaduc de Millau, and I chose to take the optional side trip to its related Information Centre. I hadn't appreciated that would involve several kilometres of very steep climbing, though, but once started felt compelled to ... read more

There may yet be something to the notion that I might be getting wiser as I age: this morning I chose to forego the optional 14% climb (although I did elect to ride the remainder of the alternate route). Leaving Mende was also uncharacteristic - there wasn't a lot of traffic to battle, and our route out of town involved a 5km descent to Balsieges rather than the traditional diesel-choked climb. Of course there then followed an unrelenting 5km ascent to earn back all the elevation we had given up (and perhaps more), which culminated in an unanticipated plateau that then gently rose for a further 10km, at which point the road pitched down at 6% for 6km of joy before the floor dropped out and we hurtled to the valley floor at 8%. Then it ... read more

It could've been the road conditions (mostly pretty rough). It might have been the heat (~30 degrees). Or maybe there really is something to the notion that when you take a break from prolonged intense activity your body thinks "thank god that's over" and shuts down (which is purportedly why Tour de France competitors still ride on their rest days). More likely it was all of the above plus the 1530m of climbing that made today's ride seem somewhat arduous. Things started off fairly well, with some glorious riding in the (relative) cool of the morning, as I rolled through the valleys/vineyards of Provence. In fact the only negative thing of note (and it lasted only a few minutes) was riding into swarms of gnats so small as to have been invisible (although not tasteless) near ... read more