Day 11 – Wednesday 25 June

Montelimar to Avignon

Hotel

Ibis Avignon Centre Gare

Notes

The ViaRhôna website as yet doesn’t describe sections any further south than Pont-Saint-Esprit but on Open Street Maps (OSM) the route is identified, and that is what we had traced on our satnavs. It describes this section as coming gently out of the Rhône-Alps Region into Provence and having a mediterranean feel. We rode along small farm roads, narrow but busy roads and some off-road sections; pretty much flat but some of the surfaces were a bit lumpy.

It was very warm and on off-road sections people swapped cycle helmets for caps that absorbed the sweat better. Around eleven o'clock the route left the bank of the river and came up to the village of Lapalud on the other side of a main road, so we bumped across the central reservation and rode into the centre where we found a bar with tables under shady plane trees with a boulangerie next door. Perfect!

The ancient bridge over the river at Pont-Saint-Esprit was especially impressive and shortly after that at Saint-Étienne-des-Sorts we came across some houseboats moored by the side of a playground. We stopped for lunch by the riverside eating the things we had bought in Lapalud, and Jon decided that an unoccupied houseboat looked particularly inviting and crossed the gangplank to sit under its awning. I went to sit further along the bank on a comfortable rock, only to be asked by an occupant of another houseboat not to drop litter. I hate to think what would have happened if Jon's boat owner had returned.

Shortly after Saint-Étienne there was a stretch of rocky track alongside the road that I ventured onto while the others very sensibly stayed on the road. I bounced along this for a mile or so thinking that it would have been great if only it had been a bit smoother. The road veered off to the right and the smoother legitimate cycle route kept to the river bank around Site Nucléaire de Mercule just north of Codolet.

From there the route followed quite busy roads swapping from one side of the river to the other along which we put on some speed. There are moments when a flat wide road invites you to push ahead and this was one of those. Not to be outdone Jon was close behind and as we came close to the outskirts of Avignon we eased up to allow the pack to regroup. Crossing the main road bridge into Avignon we saw the incomplete Le Pont D’Avignon further upstream and I stopped to take a picture timing my shot between passing traffic, only to catch another cyclist on the other side of the road.

We followed the twisting satnav trace through the back streets of Avignon, eventually emerging from under a railway bridge opposite the city walls and pulled up where the satnav said we had reached out destination. From our previous experience we knew it was probably right and just looked around for the Ibis hotel. Eventually we spotted it above our heads, straddling the road! There was a steep flight of steps up to the main entrance and a side street winding round the back that some of us found. The main entrance though was actually a lift up to the hotel lobby, and that meant unloading bikes and getting things up piecemeal; but we were there, and there was a bar in the lobby.

After cleaning up and festooning our washing from various anchor points in the room we walked into the centre of Avignon and found a street with restaurants on both sides but all the seating was under umbrellas in the middle. Depending on which restaurant's umbrella you were under waiters came out to take your order, a bit like a supermarket food court but quite a bit classier. The entertainment was provided by cars squeezing up the narrow bit of street left unoccupied by tables to stop opposite a tobacconist, while the driver left the engine running and popped in for cigarettes and a chat. All were quite unconcerned that the street was completely blocked while they made their purchases, but no-one was complaining so pas de problème?