May 27, 2023
Addendum - The Cevennes Tandem Rally Day 1
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 1 | Link |
This event is held every 2 years in the Cevennes. This year it was held in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, based in the campground "Les Sources". Since we don't camp, we rented a "chalet". Hmm, not much different than camping except you have your own toilet and shower. Glamping, this is not.
We arrived on Friday afternoon, still wearing our bike clothes from Friday's ride. The chalet was pretty spartan, and not furnished with much in the way of supplies. So our first job was a run to the grocery store to buy toilet paper, dish soap, and something to make for dinner.
Once we had the necessaries for survival, we met up with the group. There are 21 tandem teams here. The majority of the riders are French, and the majority of them are on e-bikes. There are 2 teams of Americans, and 2 Franco-American teams (one spouse American, one spouse French).
As always, the event began with a Friday evening "apero". This is a French tradition, which is intended to be an introduction to dinner. The idea is that the host doesn't have to make a full dinner for you. Less pressure.
However, for Robin and I, "apero" really translates into "dinner". And often "slightly tipsy". The quantity of food and drink presented defies our ability to consume. I don't know how people ate dinner after consuming all that apero food. It's truly impressive.
The next morning, we were up at the equally impressive (for us) hour of 900 for the start of the Saturday ride. Gerard, the photographer, immortalized the occasion.
We left the campground and cycled all of 1 kilometer to the first stop: The local boulangerie. Here we observed the French in their natural habitat. After several minutes of hunting and gathering, they were prepared to venture off for the day's adventure. We followed along, feeling sheepish about our meager lunch provisions.
After a "regroupement" stop, we attacked the principal difficulty of the day, the Col de l'Asclier. This was a 12k climb on a really narrow road. We passed through some beautiful villages, all built out of the local schist. And we had great views out over the valley below to compensate for our suffering.
We weren't the fastest, but we weren't the slowest either. Every so often, the whirr of an electric motor announced that we were about to be overtaken by another e-tandem. But we didn't lose heart, and eventually rode triumphantly through the strange tunnel at the top of the col.
After a hair-raising descent, we broke for lunch at Les Plantiers. We noted that some people accessed the nearby cafe for a post-lunch coffee. We did our best to hide our minuscule cheese and ham lunch. Not even a sandwich!
Properly recharged (?), we then attacked the second difficulty of the day. This one did not have a name or a col sign, much to Robin's dismay. We reached the top in slightly less fresh condition than the first col.
The remainder of the ride was a fast transit down a beautiful valley, followed by a nasty little hill that led us back to the campground.
This is probably the biggest vertical we've ever ridden on our tandem in a day. We were properly fried at the end of it.
Nonetheless, there was a group dinner planned. So promptly at 2000 (yes, 8PM), we assembled in the campground restaurant for more "aperos", followed by a sit-down 3 course dinner featuring "cuisse de canard", 2 deserts, and all the wine you could drink. Is this how the pros eat? I don't think so...
We stumbled into bed at around 2300. Now we were truly shattered.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 208 km (129 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 5 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |
1 year ago