October 5, 2015
Le Thoronet: A day of magic
Firstly to the people who think we have been swept away by floods we are absolutely fine. When we saw that the forecast predicted very heavy rain we headed to Aix and spent a couple of days there where they did have very heavy rain but nothing of course like the poor people in Cannes. Have been in touch with Claire Trefry who lives there and she says that good progress is being made cleaning things up. At the present rate of progress we should be there by about Wednesday or Thursday.
Well I think today was one of the best days we have had cycling. Karen gave us an amazing route and didn't slip up all day, we were on quiet roads, through fascinating little villages, bountiful countryside and with all this there had to be a lot of significant climbs. Our first little coffee stop was at Bras a hill top village only about 8 or 9 km from Maximim. We wondered what was happening after that because there was only a dotted line on the map. It turned out that we were being directed on to the old Chateauvert road which is being preserved. It was paved all the way and led us up and down and round about for around 10 km until we emerged at the bridge over the Agen at Chateauvert. The next 10km were magic with towering cliffs on either side, a sparkling river gurgling below us, lovely forest, a slight down hill and smooth road. It was national park and there were lots of cars parked and their occupants doing some of the walking tracks. We wanted to ride as slowly as possible as we just didn't want this magic to end.
Coming into the little town of Correns there was a strange site, walking down the road towards the hill were more than 200 men some were in black cassocks, some in white, others in ordinary clothes and one walking backwards. We concluded that they must be on some sort of spiritual mission walking towards a holy place. This was backed up by the fact that I saw 4 priests getting into a van in Maximim this morning. We had more coffee and spent time with Wes and Penny from Maine who were travelling around the area.
Lunch was at Carces and once more we were going through a hill top town. After that the climbing started in earnest and I didn't like looking at the arrows on the map. It was bountiful country with olives dripping in fruit, beautifully attended vineyards and fine looking wineries. I felt proud that I didn't have to get off and walk but it was a near thing. About 2 km before Le Thoronet we came to the astounding Thoronet Abbey, a Cistercian Abbey built in the 12th century, it is beautiful amongst the trees and we were really looking forward to visiting it, it is open every day of the year. That is except for today when there was an extraordinary closure. On to Le Thoronet where we had some trouble finding this place - the Tourist Information is shut on Mondays. The hotel has a very friendly cat.
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Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 3,225 km (2,003 miles)
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