Day 4 - Cucuron to Chateaurenard

Sunny and 27. Wow. We are not really ready for this. It was a mix of climbing and descending today, which helped our average speed, and allowed for more mileage. 

Breakfast this morning at our campsite, we found a table by the "basin", which holds water for the trees and vines. Quite beautiful really. 

And the old farm house with it's deep windows, let in the sun and the sky. 

We said good bye to Cucuron and headed into the Luberon valley to finish the route from village to village.  

Poppy fields and chateaus, and picnic lunch at an olive oil maker. 

And then we said goodbye to the mountain range and took a lovely old rail trail bike path to Chateaurenard to camp. 

Settled in for the night, enjoying the camp ground and our new neighbors (mostly German, lots of Dutch), who kindly shared a hammer to help us get the tent pegs into the parched ground.  

We had a picnic dinner of fresh veggies. We really needed some fresh veggies. I mean we also had a baguette, of course, but we needed some veggies. 

Stats for today. 

Hot!

And mostly downhill, but still some good climbs. 

Day 3 - Manosque to Cucuron (May 5 2023)

We didn't take the Euro velo route, we took the local Luberon route. So glad we did. 

Breakfast of champions in one of the many little villages en route. 

And as we left this cafe, we were stopped by a local couple who wanted us to know that there was a detour. So kind of them as we may not have known what to do, "gauche, gauche, and down le montagne..". Kindness of strangers. 

The Luberon mountains were to the north of us, giving us beautiful views, and the rich soil of the valley is home to vineyards and olive tree groves. 

The Luberon route takes you through all the lovely little villages. And decided to stop in Cucuron for the night. A medieval village dating to the 11th century. The trees are absolutely incredible, and the town square is a rectangular pond surrounded by massive trees.  Cafes line the square, and also, ice cream!!

The city has walls and gorgeous views and tiny tiny little "roads". A bit of a labrinth, but we found a little cafe for a delicious dinner. 

View from the city wall (taken in the shade of an olive tree).

Another night of camping. There is an ancient farmhouse where the reception and laundry and bathrooms are. The walls are at least a foot thick, and the windows are simply holes in the thick walls. We are pitched in a field next to an olive grove. The sounds tonight are quite impressive - frogs and birds and various other insects. 

Another good climbing day. Short, but we stopped early to do laundry! 

Today's stats

Day 2 - Aix to Manosque (May 4 2023)

We woke up to blue skies. 

In fact, we could see the blue sky from our sleeping bags 😳. Tiny holes in the tent, clustered on one side, about the size of a pin head. Embers from a fire? We are not sure, but it certainly started our day differently. 

Macgyver, step aside. 

From the kitchen stuff - the cutting board, 

From the stationery bag - the sharpee, 

From the toiletrie kit - the nail scissors, and the small mirror 

From the laundry kit - the tent repair tape (not sure why but that's where we carry it)  

And from the tool kit - the case cutter... 

We searched and circled and patched 26 small holes... 

Thankfully it was warm, not hot. It was dry, not raining, and we had eaten and had coffee. So conditions were good. 

An 11 am start as it turned out, but first stop, of course, the well-deserved croissant and pain au chocolat.

And then we left Aix on the beautiful tree lined streets, and climbed.

A surprise stop for lunch along a road, a pop up restaurant with chairs and tables under the pine trees. 

And 60 kms of hills, hills, hills, some hairpin turns, and some vineyards and but mostly hills. 

Not many little towns. And it was hot, and we needed more water. We came to a small town, Beaumont de Pertius, to find a store. Our first stop told us nothing was open in the town, and there was no water tap ☹️

But then we came across an older man sunning on his lawn chair and asked him for water. He got up slowly and disappeared into his house and came out with a 2 liter bottle of cold water and a lovely smile. We asked what we could pay him and he refused. Bon Voyage he said. A water angel. 

A serious climbing day today, 900+ meters. And some steep grades. But we finally arrived at Provence Vallee camping ground to find cold beer and a flat, grassy, shaded place to pitch our tent. 

We are in Manosque and tomorrow we will cycle the Luberon valley.

Cheers!

Today's stats 

Day 1 - Marseille to Aix (May 3 2023)

Sea level

When you start your journey at sea level (literally at the place in Marseille where they determine sea level), you are bound to do some climbing. 

We said goodbye to Pierre and his warm welcome and warm shower, and we climbed out of Marseille. 

It is never the most beautiful thing to ride out of a city, but we stopped for croissant and pain au chocolate and cafe au lait. How bad could it be??

We did find DECATHLON VILLAGE 😁 and got our cooking fuel

And we also stopped and smelled the roses, and the poppies. 

Aix was beautiful, as described. Amazing tree lined lanes and fountains. We found the town square and paid for the public washroom 🙃

It is always a bit scary when Google maps shows you the way to your campground and notes "Very steep hill"... And, yes the hills are steep. Not too long, but definitely steep. Very happy for the new gears, using that small ring at the front A LOT.

Tonight we are happy to camp. Perfect weather and a lovely quiet campsite, complete with bunnies. And now we make the plan for tomorrow. 

Day one 

43.48 km 

508 m elevation 

May 1&2 - Toronto to Marseille

 And we are off...

Thanks for the help getting to the airport Bruno and Jackson!  

As much as we read and plan and take measurements and weigh...  Something along the way will be a hiccup. 

We searched for the perfect bike boxes, and the best luggage box, we packed our bikes in boxes, we packed our bags in a box...

We booked the flights, paid for our bikes and bags. 

We booked the train, paid for our bikes and bags. 

But when we went through the doors to the train platform we were greeted with a negative head shaking frown. No boxes in the train 😳

So we juggled the panniers, squishing the front ones in the back ones, and had 2 each, and we just crossed our fingers, put on our smiles and carried those bike boxes into the train 😜

To be fair. There really isn't room for our bikes on that train. They were on the floor, in front of the luggage racks, blocking everyone's luggage. So Marc sat with the bike boxes, on the floor from Paris to Marseille. And I sat, surrounded by panniers, and considerate fellow passengers who allowed my personal space to expand into theirs. 

We are here. In France. 

The fields are alive with mustard and the vines are already a deep green, looking heavy with early fruit. And the trees are bent in the wind (hoping that will be at our backs!)

The train literally stops at Marseille. And turns back from the ocean, north. 

So we dragged our bike boxes out to the station entrance and built our bikes with the sun shining in the windows and the backdrop of Marseille and it's churches.

As we left the station, we headed to meet Pierre. Our first night and our first Warm Showers!  

We got a tour of the beautiful streets, old port, palace, and the south side. 

And ended up at Pierre's place, with a view of La Mer looking south, 

and a view of the Virgin Mary looking north, and a lovely meal with his daughters and... Of course. A Warm Shower 

We are tired 

Tour de France (TDF)

 

Getting ready for our May 1 departure for 6 weeks . Around 2,000kms and 14,000 metres of elevation. That is roughly the same distance as New York City to Omaha. Flying to Paris and immediately training to Marseille where it should be warmer, to start in Provence for a week while spring arrives. We will ride as far west as Montpelier and then roll onto a local train toward the Pyrenees. Pickup the foothills in Tarbes and follow the mountains to Atlantic where France meets Spain Biarritz/San Sebastian. 

Pickup a second train in the southwest corner to Bordeaux where we start biking the Atlantic Coast northward, turning east toward Nantes and the famed Loire Valley. Toodling along the Loire and its castles and then southeast toward Burgundy. Choosing a difficult mountainous route adjacent to Burgundy through a national park heading toward a finish in Lyon.  No paris, no Normandy or Brittany or Alsace etc. , tough choices. 

But first, packing bikes into boxes and prepping - the most terrifying part!