2018 Bike Trip - Day 1

This year’s bike trip was going to be different.  For the first time, our route did not follow a river or a canal.  We were going to do a circuit of Luberon, a hilly part of Provence just east of Avignon. 

 

The area is extremely photogenic and renowned for its ‘Perched Villages’. The so-called 'villages-perchés' are found in various parts of Provence, especially in the Luberon region but also in several other regions / departments, and are instantly recognisable because of the distinguishing features of these villages:

- they are located high up on a rocky crag. As a result the perched villages in Provence all have very impressive views across the surrounding countryside

- they are usually in a historically important defensive position e.g. on the edge of a steep valley or high an a hilltop. Most of the villages were originally built around castles and surrounded by fortifications, although these are often no longer apparent.

- the entrance to the town was through a narrow, easily defended, doorway in the defences. In many villages you will still see these original entrances.

- they have narrow steep streets winding steeply up through medieval houses

- they often have arcaded narrow passageways

- they have traditional Provencal architecture, with the houses (often tall) built of the local rock, and having stone or canal tile rooves

- there are frequently decorative features on the houses e.g. carvings, decorated lintels


Perched Village of Gordes - photo by Jean-Marc Rosier

Roger and Gérard developed our itinerary based on an established bike route around the area.  This route, unlike in the past, was almost exclusively on roads in the area; there were very few stretches of dedicated bike paths. Roger and Gérard, much more accomplished cyclists than either Tom or I, had done some portions of the route in the past. 

Roger had given me some pamphlets about the trip so I could develop some information about the area, what to see, what some of the towns had to offer, potential problems on the route, etc.  While researching, I noticed that this is a very hilly area, with a lot of ups-and-downs.  So, I decided I had better put in a bit of extra practice before we left Lyon.  I went out several times a week and rode around Parc Tete d’Or near our apartment, trying to push myself as much as practicable.  After a few weeks of this, plus a few trips of 30-60 km with a group that Roger and Gérard lead, I felt I was in reasonable shape for the trip.

What I did not factor in was my proclivity to avoid the short naps the others would take after a day of riding, when I would run around the towns we would stop in so I could see as much of the sights as possible during our visit.  After a few days of this, I came down with a bit of a respiratory problem, and was unable to complete the last 50km of the trip.  Roger and Gérard finished the trip, picked up the car, and returned to pick me up, along with Tom who had generously volunteered to remain with me.

The odd thing was that I had actually done pretty well at coping with the hills and the traffic of our route.  I did a minimal amount of pushing the bike on foot up the hills, as I have tended to do in the past.

Our plan was to leave Lyon on Wednesday morning, May 23, and drive to the town of Cavaillon, just east of Avignon.  We would spend the night there and set out the next morning on our adventure.  As we often do, we met at Gérard’s apartment building and loaded our bikes and equipment onto his car.  The three of us shared a set amount for the use of the car so we could minimize any out-of-pocket cost Gérard might have.  We then returned to Lyon on Tuesday May 29.

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs have been taken by the four of us.

Happy Bikers about to Leave Lyon
David, Gérard, Roger,Tom

We were able to leave Lyon at about 9:30, stopped for coffee on the A7 Autoroute, and arrived at Cavaillon in time for lunch.  We ate at a café across from our hotel; I had fish à la Provencal, with a nice rosé.

Lunch in Cavaillon

The weather was pleasant, about 23-25 degrees [72-77F], so beer or white or rosé wine seemed like the appropriate drinks for most of this trip.

We checked into our hotel, locked our bikes in a garage, and did a bit of sight-seeing around Cavaillon.  The entire area was once a Roman province, so there is lots of history.  Currently, Cavaillon is famous for melons, which are not my favorite fruit, so this did not interest me very much.  Otherwise, we checked in at the tourist office, where a very helpful lady provided us with a map of the town along with information about two restored Roman-era arches nearby. 

Square in Cavaillon

David and Roger in the hotel bar before dinner

We had dinner at the Fin-de-Siècle café, which appeared to have authentic décor, as you can see from the photo.  Tom and Gérard had pizza, Roger a big salad; I had hamburger steak with frites and sauce béarnaise.  We then headed back to our hotel to get ready for the start of our adventure the next day.

Fin-de-Siècle café