May 17, 2023
Roussillon Menerbes Lacoste
Another perfect day of cycling in Provence!
The big story is the navigation. Ann has talked about learning to run the Ride with GPS for the previous two trips and never amounted to much. But this time is different and she is showing remarkable skills. The past three days Ann has researched and plotted phenomenal routes, mostly on bike paths with a few climbs up to beautiful villages to keep us from getting lazy, fearlessly leading, almost never making a wrong turn and, best of all, almost always with the wind at our backs. She most certainly has graduated from assistant to full fledged navigator and if she keeps at it, Steve will hand over the chief navigator title.
Today's ride took us to Roussillon, another plus beaux village, high on a hill and known for its ochre mines. The hillsides are orange and red and red stone is the building material of choice. Back into the valley and onto the bike trail, across the Pont Julien again and way up the hill into Menerbes. If it is not officially designated so, it could easily be one to the prettiest towns with its beautifully restored and kept houses, shops, restaurants, parks and laneways. Back down and then up again (did she have to pick such steep climbs?) to Lacoste. Although we saw no evidence of the preppy polo shirts, this Lacoste is home to a number of haute couture ateliers and shops incongruously located through tiny stone entryways along very narrow and steep cobblestone lanes. The designers and models must wear hiking shoes to get to the shops before putting on their high heels. Bonnieux was next on the itinerary but we couldn't face the prospect of another climb and, besides, the rainclouds were threatening, so we got back on the bike trail and made a bee-line back to camp. In the end, the rain started only half way through supper so we ate dessert sheltered in the tent. A fabulous day!
We have heard the term The Golden Triangle, used for this part of Provence, presumably because of the concentration of money and chic villages. Despite my sometimes railing how rich people are ruining the world, I must admit that the infusion of cash into Provence must be a big help in keeping villages alive. Not only the main places such as Gordes and Roussillon that are positively dripping wealth, but after riding through so many places in France, Spain and Portugal with crumbling, empty houses, no shops and no one under 50, it is delightful to see well-kept hamlets with people about, an artisan boulanger and a few cafes around the central square. Obviously the farming here is prosperous, but people are also making a living installing pools, replacing wiring and plumbing, interior decorating, looking after horses etc for the haciendas out of town. My gosh, that almost sounded like me making an argument for trickle down economics, except that France has a reasonable civic and social structure so the workers have a decent living too.
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Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 999 km (620 miles)
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