In Pernes: the Venasque loop

October 7, 2024

The best weather of the day looks to be from midday in the afternoon on, so we decide to make dinner the main meal of the day and leave the best hours open for our ride and walk. Rachael gets started around noon, and I’m out a half hour later. I’m about five blocks from the hotel when I’m surprised to find it lightly sprinkling, and just then the phone rings - it’s Rachael calling from up in the hills to let me know it’s started showering and I might want to hold off on my ride.

I consider just going back to the room for a bit, but when I turn around I see I’m in front of a different gate into Pernes I haven’t seen yet and decide to bike through a different part of the village to stall for time and wait to see how the weather develops.

Port St. Gilles, one of several well preserved historical gates that ring the city.

It’s the right plan. I rack up several more fountains, another gate, and more besides; and a half hour later the weather seems stable enough that I decide to continue with the ride. The loop I have planned never gets all that far from town, so if things don’t go my way I can always hide out somewhere and cut it short.

We’ll come back and show you what I found in this second pass through town later, but for now let’s just ride.

Looking across the vineyards to a gloomy Mont Ventoux. Not the right day to tackle the big mountain, even if I were in the market for it.

My ride is a loop through three nearby villages - St Didier comes first, and then a climb up to the perched village of Venasque; then a drop back into the gorge I just climbed up through followed by another ascent to La-Roque-sur-Pernes (the rock above Pernes), and finally a descent back to town by way of St. Didier again. An up and down sort of day.

On the way to St. Didier I pass this small unmarked, unnamed chapel or hermitage I can’t find listed on the map.

It still receives attention though. The photo and words suggest the place honors Saint Barthélemy.

St. Didier is a pretty little village, a place that would make an excellent spot for a mid-ride break, as suggested by a few cafes I pass with bikes leaning against nearby walls. There are enough attractions to slow me and the Lumix down for a few minutes, but I’m not tempted by the cafes today. It’s too late for elevens and too early for a beer so I just take my shots and continue on.

In St. Didier. I’m not surprised to see it’s non-potable, but no worries. I brought my own supply.

It does make me thirsty just looking at it though.

I’m not far past St. Didier when Venasque first comes into view - a dramatic sight, the village draped across the top of cliffs about five hundred feet above. Just then the ClimbPro page on the Garmin announces that there’s a climb ahead, but I’d already figured that out on my own. I’m pretty good at reading the lay of the land by now.

First view of Venasque. And I agree with the Garmin, there’s a climb coming up.

The climb isn’t bad, though it does steepen to around 10% here and there. I have no trouble with it though, stopping here and there to appreciate the dramatic scene and clearly benefitting from my second round of antibiotics. I really don’t feel far off normal again.

And I’m lucky with my timing today. I’ve got the road to myself all the way to the top because it’s barricaded off for a minor construction project that just waves me through beneath their excavator when I come to it.

On the climb to Venasque. When I leave the village I’ll drop back into this gorge again and climb up the opposite side beneath those cliffs.

Venasque will prove to be the highlight of the day, and I take my time exploring its alleys, its church, its castle, and its impressive views. I’m mindful of conditions though - it’s grey, windy, coolish and feels like it could rain. The few other people wandering around look well bundled up and prepared for some weather.

Another Ventoux view, from the balcony beside the castle.

The view north to the Dentilles is gloomier yet. I’m thinking it’s time to drop off this crag.

I drop back through the same gorge I climbed up from, but by a different route. This one is definitely sketchier - much steeper, with spots hitting 20% and a rough, broken asphalt surface with potholes and patches of gravel that force me to take it slow. And it makes me glad that I made a last minute change to the route by reversing it and asking Rocky to load it for me. I’ve definitely come the right direction.

Cropping from Venasque, on one of the tamer spots of the descent.

The final climb of the day up to La Roque is more rugged and dramatic than the one to Venasque, although it’s hard to get a good look at the cliffs above because it’s wooded and they rise too steeply above.

Suddenly though I break into the open and get a clear view of the small village, still another hundred feet or so above me. After that though I enter the woods again and won’t see the village until I’ve rounded a hairpin bend and drop steeply into it from above.

Entering La-Roque-sur-Pernes. I think in the distance is our town far below, Pernes-des-la-Fontaines.

It’s a small village. There only only a single, narrow one lane street ahat passes through it and doubles back, and then a few short stubs off of it. And there are a few stone staircases that climb up toward the crown, which in my experimentation anyway come to dead ends. I think if I were here on a hiking route I’d probably find a way to the summit and the best views, but it’s scenic enough from where I am.

In La-Roque-sur-Pernes. This is the climb to the church, but the path ends at its locked front door so there’s nothing to do but turn back and climb down the stairs again.

In La-Roque-sur-Pernes. Here’s another tempting staircase, but this one’s a dead-ender too, ending at the driveway of a personal residence.

So that’s the ride. It’s mostly downhill back to town, and mostly a backtrack once I drop through St. Didier again. As I drop I keep an eye on Rachael’s position on the Garmin. It looks like we’re due to get back at the hotel at just about the same time.

A better view north to Dentilles than the gloomy one from behind Venasque’s castle. If you could see through the range we’d be looking at Vaison-la-Romaine just on the other side.

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I’m right, and Rachael’s just been back at the room for about twenty minutes by the time I arrive. Her hike today was an out and back into the hills south of town, just below La Roque that I just coasted down from. It’s one half of a loop she found on Kormoot, and we’ve split it into two out and backs. She’s taken the western half of the loop today, on the leeward side of the ridge so she won’t see as much wind.

The hike was a big success, taking her high up where she gets views across the Rhone Valley. It turned a bit muddy in spots, but nothing she couldn’t hop or skirt around.

A nice view north, but what’s that whitish block in the middle out there?

In a big surprise, it turns out to be an Aztec tower.

For dinner tonight we walk over to the bistro in the former train station, about a twelve minute walk away. We’re a little worried about it because thunderstorms and heavy rain are predicted to start fairly soon. We hope to get there and back dry, but the bigger concern is the bikes. As nice as our hotel is in other aspects, it’s not really a bike-friendly establishment. There’s a small bike rack out by the street that’s visible and a temptation to any bad actors who might be passing by; and worse, it’s totally uncovered so the bikes are going to get drenched tonight.

Before we leave for dinner I go down to discuss the situation with the hotel staff, sitting around the bar waiting for the dinner hour to begin. There’s some discussion - they definitely cannot come inside the building, and they don’t have any other solution to offer until one mentions their little utility room they use for themselves. It’s a big relief when they unlock the door and the bikes get safely tucked in for the night.

Our timing is good, our dinner is pretty good. Rachael picked this bistro partly because it was one of the few places in town open on Monday night, but also because she liked the look of its fish offerings. The waiter though when he brings the menus around apologizes and says that there is no fish at all tonight. So she makes do with a heaping and satisfying Caesar salad with grilled chicken while I enjoy the duck breast again.

And our timing is perfect. We’re one of the first to be served and one of the first out the door afterwards. And it’s just starting to sprinkle when we make it back to the hotel, just before all hell breaks loose.

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Today's ride: 24 miles (39 km)
Total: 4,037 miles (6,497 km)

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Jacquie GaudetFor the tour I’d originally cooked up for this fall and had to postpone, I was thinking of Venasque as a base for a few nights, to explore a bit of the area. I had also considered Pernes-les-Fontaines. I’ve seen neither and you’ve seen both. Thoughts?
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetI wouldn’t use Venasque as a base because it’s too remote and isolated by its geography. It made an attractive destination for a day ride, but I’m not sure I’d even want to overnight there. Pernes is terrific though, with many ride possibilities around.
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2 months ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonThanks, Scott! Seeing the weather you, the Classens, and the Grampies are experiencing, I'm not too terribly sad about having to postpone. Portugal in November should make up for it.
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Jacquie GaudetActually, we’re getting excellent weather - now. We should have just bagged the north and come to Provence a month ago.
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2 months ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Scott AndersonMy original plan was mid-September to mid-October--so I'd have been returning home next week. I'm thinking October-November for next year, perhaps.
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2 months ago