To Moustiers Ste Marie: Across the Valensole Plateau

June 5, 2015

I seem to be getting behind a bit, and we need to get an early start this morning because afternoon thunderstorms are forecast. So, here's just a quick rundown of the day's highs and lows.

We really enjoyed looking around Forcalquier a bit this morning - it's amazing how much different it feels in the cool of the morning - and the ride down from there to the Durance was a lovely piece of road (here's a video clip). At the bottom we had a somewhat unpleasant few miles along the river on busy D4096 - busy, 2 lane, no shoulder, not really a cycling route; we were relieved to arrive at the bridge across the Durance and turn off.

This was a pretty easy cycle by this tour's standard - and the first one without a named summit or pass to overcome. It did have one super steep short stretch of road - perhaps 20% - at Martignac; I'm sure it was the steepest gradient of the tour so far.

We got a bit disoriented in Martignac also (amazing to get lost in a village with a population of about 10, but we were distracted by our 20% climb) and landed on a rough, unpaved road for a spell. We decided to just go forward and reroute rather than go back to the village with its cliff-like slopes and start over.

We were delighted to see how far-progressed the lavender crop is in the fields around Valensole. It is really surprising how fast they are acquiring color, but maybe it is just earlier in this area. We knew when we planned this trip that we would miss the season and we're pleasantly surprised. Actually, it's a beautiful time to be here (big surprise - I'm sure it's always a beautiful time to be here), and different plants and crops are in their prime now, in particular the red poppies which are seemingly everywhere.

Moustiers Ste Marie has an amazing situation, plastered into a narrow ravine beneath towering golden cliffs. It's a pretty touristy place, with good reason, but is surprisingly quiet in the evening - we were the only diners at our hotel table overlooking the waterfall. Maybe it attracts mostly day trippers?

The approach to Moustiers from our direction includes a very steep (labeled at 16% by the roadway sign at the top) 500' drop from the plateau. Views down to the village and at the surrounding cliffs are spectacular, but it's too steep to really enjoy. What surprises us most though is that we don't recall how bad this climb must have been in 2003 when we were going the other direction. Rachael keeps saying that she would never forget a climb like that, but obviously she's wrong.

Today's ride wasn't as hot as we expected. There was a helpful, cooling breeze, and some cloud cover. Toward the end of the day a formation was massing over the mountains ahead. After having exceptional weather for the past two weeks, change is coming as we approach the high alps - the forecast for the coming days is for late afternoon thunderstorms on most days.

When leaving our hotel this evening, we bumped into each other on the stairwell and Rachael dropped her glasses - and then stepped on them. Not bad enough to break them, but they're bent and unusable. Hopefully they can be repaired when we find a shop. Amazingly though, this was her backup pair; pretty much the same accident happened earlier in the trip to her primary set. She took them to a shop in the Vercors at the time, and they were semi straightened but not really usable. This wasn't good - Rachael really needs them for distant vision, so we got out the first pair again, and over the next several hours kept tweaking them a bit so that now they're nearly normal.

And, finally, I can report with some conviction that having a waterfall outside ones window is vastly preferable to a kletzmer band. We both had a great night's sleep and awoke up this morning refreshed and anxious to go see the Grand Canyon of the Verdun.

We have no idea what this crop is, but we like it.

On the Valensole Plateau. It's pretty remarkable - we're seeing noticeably more color each day. We can't be more than a week away from the full bloom.

Bike guardian, Valensole. Looks a bit like the Ent King.

We lost our way for a brief spell and were rewarded by this nice patch of gravel.

Arriving at our hotel, in Moustiers Ste Marie.

Examining the damage. We can't believe that we need to start carrying two sets of spare eyeglasses.

Fork reflection, at our dinner table in Moustiers Ste Marie.

Today's ride: 51 miles (82 km)
Total: 595 miles (958 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	1
Comment on this entry	Comment	0