Aka, "Hilary and Stan's Tour de France, 2011" !!
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| Hilary, Stan and Madeline |
At last, today was the start of our cycling tour through France. It's not
quite the Tour de France, but if what we've seen of the Drome region is any indication, our tour, which will take us through Drome and into Provence will be a very picturesque ride!
We met Madeline at 8:30 AM for a lovely breakfast with a bowl (not a cup!) of rich cafe au lait, with creamery milk, homemade preserves and hearty bread. About an hour later, our tour guide arrived, a bustling, efficient woman, who brought with her two bikes, a bike pump, a map and detailed turn-by-turn instructions for us to follow. This was to be a self-guided tour, meaning we were basically off on a treasure hunt... with the treasure a bed and a good night's sleep at our next destination. Luggage would be carried forward for us. Dinner would be provided at several locations, however, in others reservations would be made a local restaraunt. With final instructions, and some last minute packing, we said goodbye to our gracious hosts, Madeline and her daughter Elizabeth.
Hilary started down the road, with me following. She stopped less than 1 kilometer down the road, next to some of the most magnificent sunflower fields we had ever seen."I'm in heaven!!", she said. We were off to a great start.
The countryside here is truly beautiful. Vast, well-tended fields of grains, sunflowers, and corn, were dotted with ancient farm homes along quiet country roads. What was particularly striking, especially when riding a bicycle, was the utter silence surrounding us. The only sounds heard were birds, singing in the summer sunshine. This was unusual for us -the only time I usually hear birds singing there is in the early morning - not all day, as it is here.
Another striking feature were the numbers of butterflies fluttering between wild flowers. I wondered whether this might be because much of the the region has been turned into organic farms. Less pesticides... more butterflies? The warm California-like weather must surely help as well.
Following our map and instruction sheets proved to be more of a challenge than we thought. Hilary did a great job of navigating, but inevitably we found ourselves on "Le Grande Adventure"... meaning, we were lost. So far it has not been catastrophic, as sooner or later intersections that 'should have been there', don't appear, and we stop, bewildered... then retrace our path back to the last landmark, usually only a kilometer or two. And then, almost always, the reason why we went wrong becomes crystal clear and we head off in the right direction again. It's been kind of fun... so far!
The ride itself was pretty easy. Total distance: about 50 km. Of course, Hilary is riding a bike that could have doubled as a Sherman Tank in the second world War. I had what the folks at Cyclomundo (the self-guide tour operator) called a "racing bike". What a great sense of humor. With gears that rattled and and clanged every time I tried shifting, and weight that would only be an advantage when going downhill, 50 km is plenty. And this, from a guy that just averaged 120 km a day for six days over the Colorado Rockies a couple of weeks ago!
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| The hotel we stayed the night. |
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To be honest, however, this is supposed to be a nice quiet stroll through the French countryside. Not an attempt to conquor Mont Ventoux. With this bike, I'd die trying, so no use even thinking about it! And so, for this, the bike and the route we're doing seems perfect so far.
Still, by the tine we made it to Grane, the weather was getting pretty hot. We were glad to find our way to the pool at the B&B we stayed at. Dinner that night, at a fine restaurant just around the corner from where we stayed, was lovely. Day One of our "Tour de France" was a success!
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| Grane |
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