Getting to the start

April 1, 2015

The train is late getting to Avignon, and I really need to find a toilet. One of the problems one has after reaching a certain age, I suppose, but in this case it wasn't helped by the SNCF at all since the facilities on the train were locked for the entire trip from Lyon to here. Increasingly desperate passengers had roamed the aisles hoping for relief, and there was a mad dash for the doors when the train pulled in. I could have continued to my planned starting point, but that train left two minutes after our arrival in Avignon Centre, and there was no time to purchase a ticket. The trains in France are generally very good. On the local ones, you can bring your bike free of charge, and there are specially arranged places to hang it up. The problem is that the local trains are financed and run by the regions, not the state, and each region is jealous of its prerogatives refusing to issue tickets for other region's trains. Thus, the train from Lyon was run by the region Rhone-Alps, and the train from Avignon by Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur, and I would have had to descend two flights of stairs, remount two more fligghts, find the ticket machine and go throught the mechanics of getting a ticket, all before retracing my steps to the platform and boarding my train. Two minutes is simply not enough time for that, so I made the decision to find a place to spend the night in Avignon before getting a train in the morning to Salon de Provence, where the tour would "officially" begin.

I booked myself into a nice, small hotel not far from the station, and went out to find supper and beer and to see some of the sights (not necessarily in that order). At least the sun was shining, which it hadn't been in Dijon when I left. I had passed one of my neighbors this morning and he told me to bring back some good weather on my return. These clear skies are a start in that effort, but I am unsure of my ability to deliver on his wishes. We shall see.

Marianne, the symbol of the French republic, topping a monument to the dead of the First World War. One of the more bellicose representations I have seen of her.

Avignon has retained its city walls. This is on the river side of the city. The famous bridge, most of which fell into the Rhone long ago, is in the background.

When the popes lived in Avignon, the lived here. Not as impressive as St. Peter's in Rome, but it wasn't used as long, either.

Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 36 km (22 miles)

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