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Day 1: Maastricht - Liège - Esneux - Complaines 72 km
Maastricht, the last week of April. Bert, Elke, Inge, Marco, Willem and I: together
we will cycle from maastricht through the Ardennes. Bert, Elke and Inge will cycle two days
and Marco six days with us before Willem and I will continue to eventually reach
Orpierre in Southern France. Two weeks later we will meet again in Orpierre with
Bert and Inge and lots of other friends. We will stay in Orpierre for a week to do
some rock climbing and cycling or just having good holiday times.
But we start with the six of us. Along the Meuse we reach Liège, where we
continue to follow the course of the Meuse. Without any significant climbing we
reach Complaines, surrounded by high Ardennes hills.
Day 2: Complaines - Harnoir - Barvaux - La Roche en Ardenne 57 km
We stand up a little bit late. We are just in time to buy some bread in the local bakery before
it closes at 12 o'clock. After eating our breakfast, drinking coffee and tea, drinking
more coffee and more tea, we are finally on our way. The hills are painted in many
colours. It is blossom time for many trees. The beautifully coloured landscapes
are a lust for the eye. The weather is splendid like yesterday. With a temperature
of 25 degrees in april we have all the luck. We could not expect such a pleasant weather
in this time of the year. We enjoy, knowing that we must be happy with every
minute of sunshine. The weather is in a better shape than we are. We follow an unpaved
road for fifteen kilometers, which takes lots of time and energy. After two hours
we join the main road again, where we need lunch already. The lunch does not take
less time than breakfast did and it is already three o'clock as we continue. Hill up,
hill down, we ride another 40 kilometers before the evening falls. We sleep on the camping
in La Roche en Ardenne.
Day 3: La Roche en Ardenne - Neufchâteau - Rossignol - Bellefontaine - Virton 99 km
This time we stand up much earlier. After breakfast we say goodbye to Bert and Elke,
who are returning home. Inge will cycle one more day with us, before she will return.
Inge shows a surprisingly good condition. She never does any cycling at home, but she
manages to climb one hill after the other without getting tired. We have one more day of
exceptionally good weather. "Good day Sunshine". The laidback, careless
Beatles song relates well with the slow passing of time, the slow passing of the
landscapes, the slow passing of careless thoughts in careless times. This is true
holiday cycling in a relaxed pace, but nonetheless we ride nearly hundred kilometer
uphill and downhill, over and over again.
Day 4: Virton - Marville - Damvillers - Verdun - Neuville en Argonne 95 km
We bring Inge to the bus station of Virton. After saying farewell we go on with three.
Marco, Willem and I are once again blessed with an incredibly good weather day.
Clear blue skies with twentyfive degrees, we could not wish for more. After twenty kilometers
we cross the French border. The French Ardennes are incredible in the soft morning light.
We pass through green valleys and yellow flowered hills. We ride over nice backroads and
through charming little villages.
Every new valley has its own little charm. After lunch we cycle out of the Ardennes. We
go in the direction of Verdun. The landscape remains hilly. After Verdun, the weather
is finally changing. Grey clouds are rolling in from the west. Soon there is a grey
carpet of clouds above our heads. We are hurrying now to reach a camping before it
starts raining. We reach the camping of Neuville en Argonne right in time before it
starts to get really dark. It fails to rain, surprisingly. After enjoying a good
meal and a good wine we go to sleep, awaiting what tomorrow will bring.
Day 5: Neuville en Argonne - Les Islettes - Traucourt en Argonne - Ancerville - Wassy 99 km
As we stand up, the landscape is covered in a thick mist. While we are having breakfast,
we see the sun is slowly removing the fog. As we leave, it is perfectly sunny
weather again. It seems impossible that the weather could change for the bad. A nice
ascent brings us over the Argonne hill range. We descend into the friendly Argonne
Valley. With a calm breeze in our backs, we gain distance at a good pace. It is only three
o'clock as we reach Wassy after 100 kilometers. We could go on for a few hours, because
none of us is tired. We decide to go for a nice beer on the terrace however. Tomorrow
will bring another day...
Day 6: Wassy - Longchamp-s-Aube - Cunfin - Châtillon-s-Seine 104 km
Of course the sun is shining brightly again today. Unfortunately, the bicycle of
Marco is not in the same good shape as the weather gods. One spoke after the other
is breaking. There is never no lament however these days. Between the repairs
we have a nice day of cycling through the hills of Champagne. The flanks of the hills
are filled with vineyards as we may expect here. Late in the afternoon we reach
Bourgogne. We finish the day in Châtillon-s-Seine, where the cycling trip ends for
Marco. Tomorrow Marco will return to Holland. We eat a celebration meal in a nice
restaurant. Tomorrow Willem and I will continue on our own.
Day 7: Châtillon-s-Seine - Montbard - St. Agnan - Les Settons 119 km
We get up very early to bring Marco away to the station. Again we have to say goodbye.
After Marco takes off with a bus, we ride back to Châtillon for a breakfast.
The bakery has just opened. Half an hour later we are on the way, it is still very early.
It is a misty morning. The hazy shades lay delicate colour contrasts over the
fields. The landscape looks more like a poem than it looks like a landscape.
After an hour the mist begins to vanish. This time the vanishing mist does not make way
for clear blue skies. An intense dark blanket of clouds lay over us. From the west
ever darker clouds come rolling in. Soon we feel that a strong wind is coming up. Not much
later it begins to drizzle. We ride in the direction of the Morvan, an old mountain range
with peaks of over 800 meter high, famous for its dark woods of pine trees and for its
bad weather. We get both. It is not drizzling any more but it is raining with high intensity.
The wind blows heavily. Yesterday we could hardly imagine that there would ever be
any bad weather. Still we push on untill we are in the heart of the Morvan. Once
again the weather changes for the worse. A storm is sweeping all over us and we need
to find a place to stay for the night. In a camping in Les Settons we can stay in the
activity room of the empty camping. We are lucky not to stay in our tent tonight. The
storm is still growing in intensity. A night in the tent would have been highly
incomfortable.
Day 8: Les Settons - Autun - Mesvres - Toulon-s-Arroux 89 km
The last clouds of the depression are chasing over us as we walk to the pavilion at the
lakeside. It is raining still but the storm is over. We see that the layer of clouds
is broken and gives way for small patches of blue sky in the distance. Once we are on the way
the weather has definitely come to rest. A half clouded day promises more bad weather for
the coming days but for now it is quiet. It is a windy day again and again the wind is
coming from the wrong direction. Nonetheless, today is a far better day to appreciate the
nicely mysterious Morvan landscapes than yesterday. We leave the Morvan in the
beautiful Burgundy city of Autun. We move on in the direction of the Massif Central.
We see the first range of high hills looming in the distance. We will not get there today.
We stay in Toulon-s-Arroux tonight.
Day 9: Toulon-s-Arroux - Digoin - Roanne - Cordelles 113 km
Today we ride along the Loire most of the day. The mediaevil town of Roanne with
its nice Roman church is the highlight of this grey and windy day. After Roanne
we are more and more surrounded by high hill ranges. Tomorrow will be the first
mountain stage.
Day 10: Cordelles - St. Anthème - Viverols 103 km
In a straight line we ride to the hill range of the Monts du Forez. We have to climb
nearly 1.000 vertical meters to reach the pass. It is yet another rainy day. The
backroad leads us through a small valley with steep slopes and dense woods. The
road is surprisingly steep on occasions. Halfway we climb out of the small valley
up to the ridge that is leading to the pass. Soon we have nice balcony views down
the Loire Valley. It starts to rain harder and the temperature is close to freezing
point, now we are gaining altitude. I am happy as we reach the pass. Unfortunately
we are not blessed with a long descent. After a few minutes we are down on a wide
plateau. We want to find a camping but there are few villages on these sparsely
populated highlands and these few villages seem to be abandoned. Every hotel, camping
and shop is closed. It is getting dark as we find a camping that is still closed.
We pitch our tent here. Here we are, we have water and only a little bit of food. The rain
has stopped; a cold, starry night covers us. We go to sleep early because it is
already freezing.
Day 11: Viverols - Le Puy en Vélay 64 km
It is still freezing as we stand up after a long, cold night. A fierce sun is shining.
A crystal clear sky is revealed as we open our tent. We pack our things and take our
rubbage with us. Our first project is to find a bakery. Surprisingly, we soon find one. The sun
has warmed us effectively. After an uncomfortably cold and wet day it feels like
heaven to feel the sun burning softly on our skin. A soft breeze is gently playing with
the grass. We ride through fields that are filled with flowers. We climb on small hill ridges,
see the landscapes slowly changing with every curve. When we arrive at the edge of the plateau
we have a long descent back into the Loire Valley. When we are down in the valley,
the temperature has risen to nearly thirty degrees. Early in the afternoon we reach
the inspiring city of Le Puy, one of the starting points of the pigrimage route to
Santiago de Compostela. We sleep in the camping of Le Puy.
Day 12: Le Puy en Vélay - Gerbier de Jonc - Le Cheylard - St. Sauveur 106 km
It is raining cats and dogs as we are riding out of Le Puy. A long climb of 1.000
meter altitude difference brings us through lovely landscapes. The higher we go, the
colder it gets. And the wetter it gets too. We take shelter for some time in a
local cafe. The weather is hopeless today. We know that it will not get dry.
We step into the rain and after a cold, wet hour we are at the pass of the Gerbier de Jonc.
A very long descent brings us in the nice Eyrieux Valley. The slopes are cultivated
with terraces which is a lovely sight, but not in this weather. Everything is wet.
We, our bicycles, our bags, the insides of our bags, our clothes, our sleeping bag.
The last gives ourselves the opportunity to claim a hotel credit. We install ourselves
and within a few minute the whole space is filled with wet and leaking things,
including ourselves.
Day 13: St. Sauveur - Chabeuil - St. Nazaire en Royans 100 km
One long, dull, grey, cold day with severe head winds and lots, lots, lots of rain on
ugly, busy roads in the Rhône Valley. Everywhere in Europe the bad weather
in Southern France is shown in the newspapers and we are right there at the spot and in
the middle of it. After eight hours in hell we reach our destination, St. Nazaire.
There is no question about it: a hotel credit.
Day 14: St. Nazaire en Royans - St. Jean en Royans - Vercors - Die 90 km
The weather was terrible yesterday and so are the weather forecasts for today. There
is only one difference. Today we have to cross the Alps. The Vercors is a region
with a lot of rainfall usually; how could it be today? The mountains are completely
dissolved in the clouds but it is dry at this moment. We decide to try to cross the
Vercors and take the risk of bad weather. On the way up to the 1.300 meter Col de la
Machine, we find ourselves cycling in the clouds soon. We pass the cliffs of the
Combe Laval which are spectacular even in these thick clouds. We cycle somewhere halfway
of the vertical wall. We cannot see the bottom of the cliff below, nor can we see
the top of the cliff above us.
Above the Combe Laval we see more and more snow around us and soon we find ourselves
in a snow landscape. The thick fog and the snow and the absence of cars
make this a completely silent world. After the Col de la Machine we are on a plateau.
We keep going on at more or less the same altitude. Fifty kilometers we pass through
clouds and snow landscapes, hopefully expecting nice weather on the Mediterranean
side of the mountains. A long tunnel brings us to the long descent to Die.
How wrong could we be. As soon as we leave the tunnel, we find ourselves in a gigantic
blizzard. Heavy snowfall and tremendous whirlwinds were awaiting us. With all our
outdoor equipment we are still freezing to death, especially when we reach somewhat lower
elevations and the snow is replaced by very icy rain. The brakes do not work properly
because of all the cold water and we have to help our brakes with our feet. After every
curve we have the wind against us and all our soakingly wet and intensely cold clothes are blown against
our skins. It takes ages before we are thousand meters lower in Die. The temperature
in Die is somewhat better and it is raining with slightly lower intensity. Although circumstances
are still far from pleasant, we are happy that we have overcome the most grim
weather that I have experienced on any cycle trip.
Day 15: Die - Col de Carabes - Serres - Orpierre 100 km
The weather has finally come to rest. A beautiful trip over the Col de Carabes brings us
at our destination, Orpierre. We are welcomed by our friends warmly. So now the real
holidays can begin. We stay here for seven days, in which I shall make some fine
daytrips, including a trip to the Mont Ventoux.
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