September 19, 2022
Day 19: Chateauneuf du Pape to Sault
I’ve noticed that it feels like slow going after a rest day. Our usual system seems to sputter and it seems we move slower. Oh well … back on the bike and we’re looking forward to whatever we discover along our route today.
By the way … the Mistral is as strong as ever as we set off this morning. Sometimes it was a side wind and sometimes it was a headwind. Ugh!!!
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The first half of today’s route is a bit too busy for our liking. If we had to do it over, we’d reroute and stay away from these towns. Just too much traffic.
We didn’t take any photos as we passed through Carpentras - it was too congested and we hustled out.
This is a town where the road circles around … maybe we’d been better off going through it. Oh well!
That’s tomorrow’s project, wind permitting.
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It is said that the locals take care of pruning the oaks along this route.
There was very little car traffic. However, we suspect we saw over 100 cyclists today while we were climbing the the Gorges de la Nesque. Even a helicopter flew over - (the photos didn’t turn out very good).
The beauty of this area is the rock formations and how the road now flows through it.
These rock formations are so cool!
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While we munched on a chicken and Brie with pesto sauce sandwich, and chocolate cookies two cars drove by and over 30 cyclists flew by (downhill) while several groups continued uphill. One uphill group that caught my attention consisted of 4 riders: 3 were on road bikes and were dressed in typical cycling kits, and the 4th person wore regular summer clothes, didn’t have the ‘cycling physique’ of the others, and was riding an electric bike - and they were all together as a unit having a great time riding together. Very cool!!
By the way, it seems we’ve left the Mistral behind finally!
After we descended from the end of the Gorge into the lavender fields, we were confronted by a strong headwind. Well, Chuck said it was a headwind. I think he just quit pedaling. We pushed through it for 4 km before finishing the 1.5 km up into the village of Sault. And I have to say, the climb up to Sault felt easier than the headwind coming in! Enough wind!!
Our accommodations are at Le Louvre in the center of the historic Centre Ville. Definitely not the luxurious accommodations we had the last time we were in Sault (2007) on an Erickson tour. We found the laundromat and got a ‘good’ wash done before walking up to the bike shop. At the bike shop we encountered a couple from Salt Lake City who had been riding in the Pyrenees before coming over here to ride Mont Ventoux. As we shared our story of moving to France, they asked for our contact information so they could contact us later to discuss the idea of moving. I handed them our calling card … and you’ll never guess what!! They are tandem riders, too. Needless to say, the conversation continued for quite a bit longer. Hope we hear from them again. Small world!
Stats: 69.2 kilometers 987 meters elevation
Today's ride: 69 km (43 miles)
Total: 1,599 km (993 miles)
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