Sisteron to Digne-les-Bains

September 10, 2024

The morning begins with a wonderful breakfast spread. The other two guests are a couple from Denmark who are driving the Napoleonic Route. When they name the towns, it turns out we're inadvertently on it! They invite us to visit Denmark and enjoy its cycling, and stay with them as they have four daughters who've all flown the coop. We exchange contact information and carefully note that May-October would be the best time to visit.

We roll to the nearest bike shop, where Tamara gets her tubeless installation redone, and I buy two valve cores and the little tightener tool to add to my toolkit. Then, we continue onto Digne-les-Bains. It's a thermal spa town. Actually, any town with a les-Bains or les-Thermes suffix promises to treat various ailments.

I am starting to feel the effects of the heat. I'm really bad at handling heat, in general. My bike computer is showing 28, 29. We stop at a restaurant for a shaded lunch. There's a group of work colleagues all in F1 Alpine clothes (does the team have an outpost here?), and us. We take the menu du jour, a lunchtime formula that lets you have three courses at a reduced price. For me, courgette soup, lamb chops, and grilled cantaloupe. It was good but not great.

Our WarmShowers homestay today is a young couple in their 20s, Lyse and Lucas. They spent last fall riding EuroVelo6, and they camped most of the way. Because their home is a little outside of Digne, we're asked to bring some bread for the morning. We pick some up on the way, and I strap it fetchingly to my saddlebag.

We pass some nice scenery and an EDF (the government utility company) dam.

It's a chill evening with Lyse and Lucas, and we head into town for a beer. We end up talking about forestry, journalism, and scuba diving in Alaska. It's cold and misty in the evening, so I hope our bibs dry out by morning.

Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 278 km (173 miles)

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