October 29, 2011
Carpentras to Bedoin and back: loop ride, no weight on the bikes
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WEATHER: sunny, warm, beautiful!
We were happy to see broken clouds with some blue sky in the morning. After another good breakfast we started off for a loop ride north to Bedoin, at the foot of Mt. Ventoux. Bedoin is one of the two jumping off points for the yearly Tour de France as well as for the many thousands of cyclists who see the route to the peak as a personal challenge, all 22 km and 1617 metres (~5000 feet) of it.
It's always a treat to ride with no weight on the bikes, and we cruised through some attractive residential areas of Carpentras on the way out of town. Our route to the northeast followed quiet secondary roads through vineyards and orchards, with only very gentle hills. We passed through several small villages, but there was almost no traffic, surprising for a holiday weekend.
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The sky cleared more and more as we made our way toward Mt. Ventoux, and before we reached Bedoin, we could see it looming ahead with its bald white top and the communications tower perched at the summit. Bedoin was a pleasant small town with a holiday atmosphere and lots of bicycles around. It was the sunny Saturday of a long weekend, and there were serious cyclists on racing bikes kitted out in lycra as well as families with children pedaling between Mum and Dad. It was a perfect day to go up the mountain--sunny but not hot and no wind. If we hadn't already cycled more than 20 kilometres from Carpentras, we would have been tempted.
Lunch was galettes with chèvre, spinach and mushrooms at a small creperie with doors wide open to the warm air. We indulged in dessert crepes--apple for Al, chocolate for Eva--and then changed into our shorts! After lunch we cycled uphill in the very warm sunshine towards Malaucène, the other major point of departure for the mountain top, and then went back through Bedoin and up towards the summit for a few kilometres, just to see what the terrain was like. The weather was so perfect that we didn't really want to turn around. The ride back to Carpentras by a different route was quiet and varied with a few short hills.
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That night in Carpentras we had dinner at La Fraiserie (the Strawberry Farm), highly recommended by our hotel receptionist. We were concerned about turning up on a Saturday night with no reservation, but the place was completely empty--once again we were the only diners---Carpentras must have totally emptied out for Toussaint. The restaurant had two rooms, one with oilcloth covered tables, and one with white tablecloths and fancy china. You could have the same menu in both rooms, but for 10 euros less in the oilcloth room, where we sat down to a good dinner of salad with bits of cheese in puff pastry followed by lamb stew. A very satisfying day, but we wouldn't be sorry to leave Carpentras in the morning.
Today's ride: 51 km (32 miles)
Total: 573 km (356 miles)
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