Avignon to Graveson: Pont du Gard

June 4, 2017

I left Avignon this morning about 8:30 and headed west across the Rhône toward Nîmes. After spending 2 weeks on the east, left bank I crossed the Rhône for a day to the west, right bank of the river. In doing so I actually left Provence but by the end of the day I was back there. The main reason for going west was to take in the Pont du Gard a famous Roman aqueduct. It was built shortly before the Christian era to allow the aqueduct of Nîmes (which is almost 50 km long) to cross the Gard river. The Roman architects and hydraulic engineers designed this bridge, which stands almost 50 m high and is on three levels – the longest measuring 275 m – created a technical as well as an artistic masterpiece. It was registered as a World heritage site by UNESCO in 1985. As I mentioned yesterday this tour is old school with cue sheets vice a GPS. The cue sheets are excellent but I still managed to have some WAA time (wandering around aimlessly). It is also a good thing I started on Sunday since the traffic was quiet making it easier to course correct. When travelling alone it is easy to miss a cue or not realize there are several in very short succession. Even in these small towns you have to pay close attention because they guide you down roads with no name that are very small and don't look like real roads, but they are. The good part of riding these tiny roads is reduced traffic. I arrived at my lovely hotel in the country just after 2PM. A shower and a cold beer hit the spot because it was a hot day. Thankfully there was a strong breeze to help keep me comfortable. Today's stats 76km with 2200ft of climbing and this was apparently the toughest day of my tour.

I was still in the Côte du Rhône wine region even though I wa on the other side of the river. Still rocky soil for old vines that have low but intense yield.

One advantage to missing a turn is that you may come across something interesting. This fellow was open pit barbecuing some sort of small bird but I could not quite understand what it was, perhaps pigeon which is common on the menu here.

The river Gard downstream from the bridge

Proof I was there. Note the arch coming out of my head.

My bike (mon vélo) ready to do what it was made for, light touring.

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 690 km (428 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0