Le Pouzin to Pont-Saint-Esprit

October 15, 2021

Today felt like a training ride. We got our shopping out of the way quickly, then we rode until lunch. Rode again until our afternoon break. Then again until we reached our destination. Bridge crossings always spice things up, especially today's unusual varieties. Other than that, we had smooth tarmac, good weather, and just a little breeze in our direction. Perfect conditions.

The first interesting bridge was a recent replacement for what was previously a stream one had to ford. It was a footbridge, but we rode across it slowly as it wobbled underneath our wheels.

Little did we know that this was just the warmup for a much, much longer bridge that was even wobblier. We walked across that one.

This was just past the town of Rochemaure, which was fun to ride through:

We missed out on the Château de Rochemaure. We weren't in the mood to climb up to it, but it sure looks intriguing from a distance.

The only town we actually stopped in was Bourg-Saint-Andéol. We enjoyed a beer right in front of the plaza:

No rest for the credit card tourist, gotta book our room for the night

Most places were either too tiny, or were located on the other side of the river.

We decided to make it a shorter day tomorrow so we can be proper tourists in Avignon. In the meantime, we took a sunset stroll around our destination of Pont-Saint-Esprit (which has its own awesome, historic bridge that it's named after). The main drag is a little run down, but once we found the labyrinth of back streets, things got a lot more interesting:

Our hotel room is on the 4th floor, and the elevator is out of service, so we're getting even more exercise than usual. The weekly market will be just outside the hotel tomorrow morning. Should be fun to check out before we set course for Avignon.

So many cool bridges. It's getting to be impossible to keep track of them all.

Not surprised that the Rhône has a nuclear plant, too. This cooling tower got a mural.

An unknown winged statue sits atop this rock formatiom

Today's ride: 76 km (47 miles)
Total: 2,341 km (1,454 miles)

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