After Mende we spent two more days wending our way through the quiet, green hills of the Cevennes. Then yesterday we stumbled into Tourist France. The first hint was the flotilla of multi-coloured kayaks floating down the Ardèche river. Then we reached Pont d'Arc, an incredible stone arch carved by the river over millennia. An awesome spectacle - and a destination of bus tours and helicopter charters... We stayed at a chambre d'hotes nearby, and had another brush with meteorological disaster. Minutes after we arrived at the house, the skies opened with a furious deluge. The thunderstorm lasted all night and into the morning. We were starting to wonder how we could avoid getting soaked on the day's ride when the storm ended (after 16 hours!) almost as abruptly as it started. A good thing, too,
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