Life Has Its Ups and Downs (126km)

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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 Bollene. Then it was across the Rhone into the Languedoc, where some dodgy roads ultimately gave way (after a bit of climbing up the Gorges de la Ceze) to a glorious descent through Laval-Saint-Roman, where I found a place to get out of the heat and enjoy my sandwich.

Then it was on past Aigueze and across the bridge at Saint-Martin-d'Ardeche to start the 34km ascent through (really up and down) the Gorges de l'Ardeche. The pavement was quite rough initially, then improved past the Grand Belvedere (there are 13 maintained lookouts on the route and I didn't stop at them all; certainly not the one where the tour bus was disgorging its passengers) before reverting to mostly rough chip-and-seal, which is typical of many French roads. The road is a constant series of low-speed climbs and corresponding high-speed descents, one of which got interesting as the microbumps in the pavement moved me further and further off my line as I leaned in through a corner. The river itself is host to many kayak tour operators and boats abound.

At long last I exited the gorge, and in what may be turning into a tradition, encountered Tim, Carole, and Steve in a cafe. I stopped long enough to fill my water bottles (so grateful!), engage in some banter, and snap a few photos before heading off past the famous Pont d'Arc (photo available on request) and on to our lodging just outside (i.e. up another hill from) Ruoms, where the roundabout encapsulates what the region is all about.

The climbs may not have been as long or as steep as last week's, but in the heat they are plenty tough enough. Looks like more of same tomorrow. Yay.

Post Script: dinner tonight was a buffet, but not quite like chez nous. We knew we were only allowed a single trip up for each course (we had tickets to submit), but whereas we could load our own plates as much as we wanted for the entree (appetizer) and the servers seemed willing to pile things up for our plats garnis, apparently we were supposed to limit helping ourselves to only a single dessert. Oopsie!

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