A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.
My third year of cycling through France, this trip started in Orléans, followed the Loire to Nevers, then switched rivers to follow the Allier, went through the Massif Central, down to the Med and then back inland before going over the Pyrenees and to Roses (pronounced RosAs by the way). 1121km not including 50 or 60 not counted along the way.
The second part of the trip, from the Massif to Spain was largely the route I'd done two years ago and had enjoyed so much. I'd started in Orléans largely because the dates that European Bike Express offered allowed me to arrive in Allègre to coincide with the Human Powered Vehicle Festival (VPH) held there every year.
Date of event: 7/8/2011
Weather better and the road here is very pleasant, some up and down but through pine woods so perfumed and shady.
Wonderful downhills after the climb out of Les Vans. Through woods, twisty, shady, dappled, horses, streams, rocks with water cascading over, and are they sheep or were they goats, flashing by.
If you rollover this image you'll see a glimpse of the river to my right.
At some point the vegetation and feel of my surroundings had become much more mediterranean in feel.
You'll have seen my foot peeking in from the bottom of photos before, it's one of those things about taking a photo from a recumbent bike, in this one the photo is jazzed up by a tantalising glimpse of my knee.
Not sure where I am exactly, such a pity that the gps in the phone seems so erratic, damn Samsung Wave, I was really looking forwards to being able to pinpoint exactly where the photos were taken. I do know that I'm probably on my way to St Ambroix, don't think I'm passed there yet.