May 16: Day 19, Nimes-Montélimar
I've been complaining about headwinds so much it's getting boring, since they're basically uphill climbs I'm going to call them that.
The breakfast in Nimes was everything I like: cereal, fruit, yoghurt, pastry, croissant, and enough coffee to get messed up. So I was well set when I got on the road - slightly late, it was about 920. Got further delayed because I kept stopping to take photos of things, including the Arènes de Nîmes - a Roman amphitheatre from 100AD in such good shape that looks like it's still in use.
The route out was a mix of lanes for cycle and bus, which worked well except for the time it swapped to the other side of the road without me noticing. The road out of the city had a very shiny hearse parked in the middle of the road, presumably waiting for the right time to make an entrance.
From left to right: Arènes de Nîmes, I guess the bullfighter statue was added later. Fountain in the central square. Combination bus+cycle lane, and no bus.
Then I got into the countryside, headed north, and noticed that there was a nasty Northerly uphill. When cycling I try to put in a consistent energy that I can keep up all day. On flat ground in calm air I'll quickly get into one of the top gears: the path was really good, but today I couldn't get above the middle gears, because of the ... slope. The only option was to be pragmatic about it: the estimate was 7h, I had 12h before the sun set, so unless I was going half speed I'd get there before dark.
There was even a bit of rail trail! Except for the Northerly slope I'd expect to have got there ahead of the estimated 7h.
But it was definitely not to be. At about 12, I'd been going for nearly 3 hours, and according to Komoot I'd made two hours of progress. Unless the weather changes it's going to be a long day.
There was one actual topological climb today, and this was on a two-lane road, with not much space for cycles. But with trucks. I rode as far to the side as I could; fortunately the slope wasn't bad, and the wind wasn't too blustery. Shortly after 12 I passed through a small village called Valliguieres: I had a look for lunch places but couldn't see anything. More uphill; the next village is Pouzilhac: I checked Google Maps but there were no restaurants at all, the nearest one was O64 which was on the road out of town, on my way. So I hung out until I got there, to find it was shut.
By now it was 1pm and I was a bit disappointed. I could arrange lunch with what I had with me, but this is France; surely something was available? Larger towns called Gaujac and Connaux are up next; larger means more chance of a place to get lunch! As you could guess there was nothing open; a promising looking cafe closed at 1330 (!) which was in about 15 minutes so I didn't even try. Bagnols-sur-Ceze is next and it's even bigger ... and Google Maps showed a cluster of restaurants and cafes. Onwards.
The route went directly there, and took some creative choices. At one point the path took a plunge down into a wild ravine: I didn't even bother checking it out, but went for another route instead; it was a sandy track down the edge of a field which was only slightly more formal than nothing at all.
From left to right: Pouzilhac, no lunch but nice turret. Connaux, no lunch but nice tower. The recommended path; the guideline picture=map check applies here. Finally, a successful lunch!
Once in Bagnols I checked Google Maps to find open restaurants. It showed a cluster so I went there - and along the way I went past a few options I recognized, but all were completely closed. Not what they showed on Google...
The place I ended up was the town square; I parked myself up at a place that looked good and found a seat, tried to order lunch - and learned that the kitchen had just closed! It was 2pm, which was fair enough; but I don't think I could have been here significantly earlier, even if I'd known.
I checked the other restaurants in the square - same story. Google Maps had some more suggestions, but I didn’t trust it any more; I chose a way out of town that passed some options. It was a shopping street, but almost everything was closed, which didn't bode well. No food places were open. At the end were some bars, I half-heartedly tried asking for a menu but no, there's a restaurant curfew here and it's taken seriously.
I was just saddling up to move on to the next town when a guy at a nearby table asked if I was looking for lunch. Turned out he spoke fairly good English, was a Gospel singer, knew a friend in Christchurch - and suggested there might be a Vietnamese place down the road. There wasn't, but there was an open boulangerie! I went in half-expecting that despite the open door they were actually closed, but there were open and had food, including pastries and sandwiches. I ate on a nearby bench which was so modern it had a spot for recharging your phone. By now it was nearly 3, but that sandwich was so good it was worth the wait.
At this point, Komoot thinks there's 3.5 hours to the destination, but I'd been riding for 5 hours. So it looks like I'm taking 50% again as long. 7pm is still looking likely. Hope there's no more delays.
Once out of town there was a hill so steep I checked that I was on the right road - I thought I'd done the climb for the day. All good, the elevation graph says it's just a small hill. (It didn't feel small.)
Got to Pont-Saint-Esprit, where there's a very stylish, stone arched bridge ("Pont du Saint-Esprit".) It is so ancient that it's not clear when it was built; Symon Semeonis gave it a 5 star rating back in 1323 ("Its arches are greatly admired by all who cross over it") so it's at least 700 years old.
I'm not so happy with it. There were two narrow and busy road lanes, and a very thin pavement which I used. There was no space, and there were strong and very unhelpful wind gusts from the side. So it was a white-knuckle crossing, I had a tight grip so when the wind blew the bike would not veer far.
Well, I was keeping closer to the wall than traffic for obvious reasons, the wind hit hard, and despite my precautions I scraped the stones. It felt superficial but it ripped the pocket of my pannier! So it gets one star from me, “Pavement too narrow for my velocipede. Parapet stones rent my bags. Pilgrims avoid!”
From left to right: Pont du Saint-Esprit, those arches are indeed admirable. The bike in its natural habitat. The damage; note the tiny sidewalk in the background.
On the next section there was a 1.5m deep storm drain right beside the road. I gave it more space than usual. Sorry cars.
Forgot about the Northerly? It hadn't lessened at all. I'm still being pragmatic. And it's still looking like a 7pm arrival once I scale up Komoot's time estimates by 50%.
From left to right: selfie, about two hours to go. The wind was so strong here I had to hold the bike to stop it being blown over. Mountains; very nice to look at but I hope the route avoids them.
Farmland. Riverside. This route would be excellent if it was calm... cross the Rhône into Bourg-Saint-Andéol and turn onto an excellent cyclepath running beside to the Rhône. There's often trees, I notice I can go faster and change up. It's the final section now, it crosses the Rhône three more times (!) so it may not be the most direct route but I'm happy on the cyclepath.
One of the bridges has only one lane, with traffic lights to manage it. There's a button for cyclists.
From left to right: Flood control. Stone bridge, matching the cliff behind it! Rhône hydroelectric company. That button for cyclists. And the bridge it’s for.
The route into Montélimar is on a nice scenic cyclepath, away from roads; the route then crosses into narrow streets, so it's an easy ride.
The Northerly hasn't eased at all. Feels like I've been climbing all day; and it feels like I should be at the top of an Alp with the effort I've had to put in...
Appart'City Hotel has a nice big room, with a big shower, a microwave and stove! And this was the cheapest hotel in town. I'm tempted to take the rest day here instead of Valence, which is much smaller and won't be quite so nice.
Also, it gives the wind a chance to die down.
What I’m listening to: “Encom Part 2” from the Tron Legacy soundtrack, by Daft Punk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06MHAIZALjw
Orchestral techno! Why can’t we have more of this?
This is an excellent album with a spectacular 200 million dollar music video directed by Joseph Kosinski. Unfortunately this music video has been unwisely marketed as a movie, which is clearly a mistake. It’s not a very good movie. If you can find an edit which has no dialog, soundtrack only, that is the recommended way to experience it.
