May 29, 2017
Nyons to Sainte Colombe: Home of Le Geant de Province, Mont Ventoux
Another sunny day greeted us as we awoke in Nyons. We enjoyed the petit déjeuner at our hotel and then set out along the Eygues river en route to Bedoin.
The terrain here is gorgeous for cycling. The big hills of the massifs drop away as you head east and south into the fertile flanks of the Rhone Valley. It seems the entire valley is cultivated, making for a big green patchwork as far as we could see. Among the primary crops are olives and apricots, and this is where they cultivate the grapes for the Côtes du Rhone red wines.
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We wanted to visit Sablet as it was a place that our friends, Dave and Lesley, had lived for a few months. It is a small picturesque hilltop town surrounded by vineyards that produce some very fine wines. The bell tower was chiming 12 noon as we approached it. The temperatures were rising and we were ready for our morning orangina so we blasted up the hill in time to purchase our drinks before the boulangerie closed for the mid-day break. We took a break in the central square before resuming our ride, past the shaded sidewalk cafes that were now bursting at the seams with customers.
As tempting as it was to stop, we rode slowly past the wine outlet where you could taste fine wines from the region to your heart's content. It was a hot afternoon and wine is unfortunately not compatible with cycling in the mid-day sun.
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As we neared Bedouin, the peak of Mont Ventoux came into our view. It was a clear day and there were just a few puffs of cloud above the white capped mountain, an ideal day for summiting her. Mont Ventoux holds a special significance for us because it was our ride to the summit in 2014 that ignited our love for riding the high mountains. We have other big fish to fry this year, so we chose to bypass the summit this year.
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As you approach Bedoin, the point-rond pays homage to Ventoux which is visible for many miles in all directions in this part of France. We hopped off the bikes to take our photos next to the iron cyclist's sculpture and soaked up the feelings of returning to a place that taught us both that we could indeed get high on riding the big cols. From here it was only a couple of km's in to Bedouin where the bike reigns supreme. We stopped at the boulangerie at the entrance to town, which we remember as one of the best you'll find anywhere. It didn't disappoint.
We sat outside on a bench noshing treats and sucking back our Orangina's and struck up a conversation with a couple who were intrigued by our little bikes. They were a couple of free spirits about the same age as us, who were enjoying their time in the 'camping nature' campsites (where you leave your clothing in the car as you won't need it). They were looking forward to finding a newspaper to read the results of the Tour de France two days back. It didn't matter that it would be three day old news by the time they found out! How on earth they avoided seeing the results was beyond me. It reminded me of the days when we DID find out the Tour dr France results in the Cycling News magazine, published quarterly! My, how times have changed.
Our chambre d'hote was located in a petit village en route to the summit, so we headed out of Bedoin and rode up the hill to Sainte Colombe. It's just a speck of a village, but it had everything we needed. Eric and CoCo had renovated the farm buildings and had been operating their Chambre d'hote for a number of years. It was a beautiful spot on the lower slopes of Ventoux, overlooking the Rhone Valley. Our large room had a deck opened onto the garden and there was a small pool for cooling off on a warm afternoon. Coco made reservations for us at her cousin's restauant, located across the road. We had a lovely meal in the courtyard as the sun set over the hills below us.
Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 430 km (267 miles)
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