May 13, 2019
Grenoble to Auberives en Royans
Gorges de la Bourne
We left Grenoble this morning and I felt a bit puzzled by it. The city had an amazing bike route in and out of town, beautiful architecture, but to me it felt just a bit shabby. Maybe this is because we arrived on a Sunday and everything was closed and the pedestrian area, when we went out looking for dinner, was dead. We did find a few open restaurants but it was unbelievably quiet. Maybe it was because my expectations were too high. Maybe it was because some clowns had painted graffiti over every sign on the bike route and every information sign we came across making them completely unreadable. As the GTW (Go This Way) device, to supplement the chief navigator’s GPS , I do like my signs. I think we need to give Grenoble another try.
One of the things we passed on our way out of town was a tent city beside the bike path, for lack of a better term. It was a sad sight and really made us reflect on our own good health and how incredibly fortunate we are in every way. My heart went out to those people.
Then it was up. A manageable grade, and we knew to expect it, thanks to the Andersons and to Jacquie Gaudet’s elevation profile. The cars were very courteous and so were the trucks, but there were too many of them for our liking. A busy weekday. We aren’t nervous in traffic, but it is hard to appreciate the stunning scenery when we have to be so focused on riding the white line. Our least favourite are the trucks with pups. You think the great beast of a machine has passed you, but oh no, it is towing a trailer. We kept expecting the traffic to lighten up, but it really didn’t until the last turn to Pont en Royans.
We stopped for lunch at the side of the road (D531) almost half way up the climb, and while it wasn’t the most gorgeous spot we have picnicked it was so sunny, warm and comfortable Keith had to drag me out. I could have had a jolly good nap.
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The most hilarious moment of this part of the ride was when a truck went by with a sign and flashing lights that I loosely translated as extraordinary load. I glanced in my mirror and sure enough there was a house bearing down on me. I am not making that up. Two houses actually, one behind the other. A very wide load, hence the pilot car. Luckily we had a good bail out at hand and we took it. I am sure the truck with houses on the deck wouldn’t have run us down but we were happy to get out of the way.
When we took the final turn to Gorges de la Bourne we suddenly had the road to ourselves. It was an amazing ride and experience, just indescribably beautiful. There are so many pictures it is impossible to choose.
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The scenery was over the top. The balcony road is a masterpiece of engineering. The ride was perfect.
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What an amazing spot we are staying in. A small Chambre d’hôte called Le Mas de Servant. We want to come back in July and stay a week and just explore the area. By the time we were joining our hosts for dinner we had decided we at least wanted to stay another night. Fully booked!! But our lovely French speaking hosts recommended a spot and then called to ensure we can drop our panniers there in the morning and explore this magnificent area. We are happy.
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We find the Relive app really gives us an overview of where we have been.
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles)
Total: 714 km (443 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 9 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 7 |
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