Last fall, I went cycling in Provence. It is, as others have said, a superb place to ride. The French road network is very good, with many secondary roads. Both the Michelin and IGN maps cover every area and navigation is easy. We organized the trip in a sort of unusual way. After a conference in Paris, three of us met up rented a car and drove to Avignon (after an unscheduled stop in Auxerre, on a Sunday, due to a broken down Citroen. That was an adventure in itself, given my french is far from fluent). I was the only cyclist in our group, so my friends drove and we met up every few days. It worked great.

In Paris itself, I only cycled once, when we joined an evening bike tour combined with a boat trip on the Seine. That really was lots of fun, particularly cycling into the courtyard of the Louvre, just as the sun was setting and the lights coming up. No picture unfortunately (I think I simply forgot, the setting was so magical!).

So, to start: a few mandatory tourist shots from the City of Light (which is probably my favourite city on the planet)

1) L'Opera from the roof of the Printemps department store
2) Notre Dame de Paris from the back
3) Bike tour in the early evening (near Notre Dame)
4) Tour Eiffel, a different view
5) Cimentiere du Pere Lachaise

We arrived in Avignon, where I put the bike together. This involved a fair bit of red wine and some "encouragement" from my friends.The next day I cycled to the Pont du Gard where we met for a picnic (yes, more red wine, which became sort of a theme). It was stinking hot but the aqueduct was more than worth the ride.

After a couple of days doing the tourist thing in Avignon, I cycled to Arles through the back roads, including St Remy de Provence and Les Baux des Provence. I really liked Arles. Its main site is probably the well-preserved Arena. From there it was off to Aix-en-Provence and its lovely old town for a couple of days before riding north into the Luberon.

The photos:

1) Pont du Gard
2) Les Baux
3) Les Arenes d'Arles
4) Old Aix
5) Lonely church by the road

I cycled across the spine of the Luberon ridge to Apt, where I spent the night. Not a photogenic place, but at least I was there for Market day. The next day I rode part of the Luberon bike route towards Gordes. The route is a roughly 200 km loop with Cavaillon at the western end and Forcalquier on the east. Apt is sort of halfway between Forcalquier and Cavaillon on the north side of the loop. This was one of the best days I have EVER spent on a bike. The route is along tertiary roads, many no more than a few meters wide, with essentially no traffic. The signs are small, mind you, and sometimes lurk behind bushes. I managed to get lost a couple of times, but found my way back to the route fairly easily. I was there just as the grapes were ripening and the vines were thick with fruit.

This stretch is famous for its "perched villages", I stopped in several of them. There was no need to carry food, since each village is no more than 10 km from the next one. The people I met were uniformly friendly and always interested in where I was from, where I was going and how I was enjoying myself. The drivers were very respectful of cyclists. If there was no room to pass, they just carried along behind you, waiting patiently. The weather was perfect as well. I ended up in a little town called Coustellet, about 8 or 10 km south of Gordes. Gordes itself is too expensive.

The photos:

1) Bonnieux
2) Lacoste (the Chateau once was owned by the Marquis de Sade)
3) Oppede-le-vieux
4) Menerbes (I think, my notes aren't clear)
5) Vineyards below Lacoste

I spent three nights in and around Gordes. My friends joined me on the second night (they had been in Carcasonne). I cycled up to Gordes, which is amazing. I had a brilliant dinner in the shadow of the Castle then rode back down the twisting mountain road to my motel. Small technical issue: my light burnt out and I did not have a spare bulb (oops). My little blinkies did not exactly light up the road. Needless to say, I was very, very careful, but I would not care to repeat that ride any time soon.

The photos:

1) Gordes, from the south, with my bike in the foreground
2) Gordes, wide shot
3) Nearing the village
4) A patio in Gordes
5) Abbaye de Senanque (11th century)

After my adventure of the previous night, I set out the next day for a day ride. I decided to go to Fontaine de Vaucluse which is the site of a famous spring. When I was there the spring was little more than murky water in a limestone hollow. In the spring, it gushes out. I then cycled to Rousillon, which used to be an ochre mining centre. The colours are unforgettable, but the dust will stain everything. I do not recommend white. My shoes are still stained.

After spending a day with my friends in the area (yes, more picnics, more red wine), I headed off to Bedoin, for the main cycling goal of the trip: Mt Ventoux.

The photos:

1) Stream below the spring at Fontaine de Vaucluse
2) Village of Rousillon
3) Ochre cliffs
4) Col de Murs, north of Gordes on way to Bedoin
5) Mt Ventoux in the distance: mocking a wayward cyclotourist

I got into Bedoin in glorious sunshine with perfect temperatures and was looking forward to good weather for my climb the next day. Then, it rained, no it poured! A deluge of biblical proportions. Thunder, lightning and general nastiness. I feared that the ride would be washed out. It rained all night, but the next day dawned dryish but cloudy. With some trepidation, and an eye on the worsening forecast, I decided to do the climb. I was quite sure the top was up there somewhere, I just could not exactly make it out from town.

I took everything I could off the touring bike in some vain effort to lighten the load (too bad I could not just as easily take off 15 or 20 lbs off my midsection!). The plan was for me to ride up and my friends to take Betsy (as we had named the Citroen wagon, which if truth be told, climbed hills at about the same rate as me) and take a few photos. So, off I went.

The road climbs gently for about 8 km, but there was, naturally, a vicious headwind. I thought to myself: yikes, if this bit is so hard, what happens when the climb actually starts? And start it does, then it keeps going....and going. 8 or 9 km through the forest with grades never less than 8.5% and going up to about 11 or 12% every now and again. It emerges at Chalet Renaud and the trees disappear. The last stretch to the top is slightly less steep, but is wide open. The winds were howling, the clouds descending and it got cold. And damp. And then colder, windier, damper and foggier. Betsy chugged by about 3 or 4 km from the top. As I neared the summit, I saw my friend standing on the rocks taking a picture, barely managing to prevent being blown off the cliffside.

I made it, got a photo then leapt into the car. It was 4 degrees. I wolfed down the bread cheese and water (no red wine this time) and tried to warm up. After some time it sort of cleared up, so I put on every stitch of clothing I had and headed back down. For the first part, I thought there was something wrong with the bike it was shaking so much. I figure it was a combination of the wind and my semi-frozen fingers. It got much better once I hit the trees. Then it became fun. One switchback after another and as little braking as I could get away with. The 24 km back to the hotel took all of 30 minutes (the climb up, uh....rather longer).

Despite the weather, a fabulous ride and one I would highly recommend. All and all, a terrific trip.

The last photos (apologies for the lack of detail - the visibility was, well, low):

1) Me nearing the top
2) Almost there
3) the tower up close
4) looking down
5) looking back up

You went some really great places. I've said it here too many times to count, Provence is my favorite place in France. I leave for France later this month but sadly won't make it Provence this year. Nice report, thanks for sharing

Excellent!

And thank you for posting that close-up of the tower. I knew there had to be at least one ugly building in France, and there it is. :D

Great shots. Keeping posting your travel journals.

Have you ever see the movies "Jean de Floret" and "Manon of the Spring"? They are both set in Provence, and I've always wanted to go there after seeing the beautiful scenery in the movies. They are also two of my favorite all-time movies (Manon is actually a sequel to JdF).

You could publish a nice travel memoir kind of coffee table book....

Well done.

And yes, they were quite good. In both I thought that the scenes of the Provence countryside outshone everything else. My recollection (dim, I grant you) is that there were lots of summer scenes, with the fields full of lavender and sunflowers and that fabulous provencal light. In the fall, there are fewer flowers and the light is somewhat watery, but the lower temperatures and quieter roads make it a better time to cycle.

Toured Provence in Fall of 2005 and lucked out with warm weather. Of course Ventoux was a must and only met four people on the climb in early October, temps in the 60's! Thats me in the middle with my friends from Pau.
In Provence its really about the food!

Excellent pics. I love France and I've been to many of the places you photographed. Including Ventoux. Cept I drove up the thing. :o

This brings back a lot of great memories.

Provencal cooking is truly memorable. I spent countless hours in outdoor cafes, drinking pichet after pichet of red wine with my friends. Amongst many outstanding meals, three stand out. One was a little cafe in Arles just off the main square - cassolet to die for. Another was in a bistro in Aix, a steak with a foie gras butter, and and third in Gordes, just below the Castille. Can't remember what I ate (duck confit, maybe?) but the ambience, the red wine (cheaper than water) and good company - unforgettable. I ate my way straight across Provence and rarely was disappointed.

Provencal cooking is truly memorable. I spent countless hours in outdoor cafes, drinking pichet after pichet of red wine with my friends. Amongst many outstanding meals, three stand out. One was a little cafe in Arles just off the main square - cassolet to die for. Another was in a bistro in Aix, a steak with a foie gras butter, and and third in Gordes, just below the Castille. Can't remember what I ate (duck confit, maybe?) but the ambience, the red wine (cheaper than water) and good company - unforgettable. I ate my way straight across Provence and rarely was disappointed.

Oarsman,

In Gordes, was the resturant on the main road through the center of town (just below Castille), or was the restuarant off the road nestled amongst the buildings on the piazza? Both are just below the castille.

Link one is the first restaurant, Link two is a photo of the Piazza

http://www.slowtrav.com/uploads/rest/1838/Le_Provencal_in_Gordes.jpg

http://www.tandem.demon.co.uk/family/France2001/gordes5.jpg

Oarsman,

In Gordes, was the resturant on the main road through the center of town (just below Castille), or was the restuarant off the road nestled amongst the buildings on the piazza? Both are just below the castille.

Link one is the first restaurant, Link two is a photo of the Piazza

http://www.slowtrav.com/uploads/rest/1838/Le_Provencal_in_Gordes.jpg

http://www.tandem.demon.co.uk/family/France2001/gordes5.jpg

Actually, it was neither. The restaurant we went to is just across the square from the one in the second photo. The one in the photo was quite expensive. We had a drink there, but much preferred the other restaurant. For the life of me I cannot remember its name. Looking at a guidebook I still have, it might have been Le Teston.

I did have a beer, as I recall, in the first restaurant on the main road.

Actually, it was neither. The restaurant we went to is just across the square from the one in the second photo. The one in the photo was quite expensive. We had a drink there, but much preferred the other restaurant. For the life of me I cannot remember its name. Looking at a guidebook I still have, it might have been Le Teston.

I did have a beer, as I recall, in the first restaurant on the main road.


Thanks for looking. I have been to Gordes several times and reckon I'll go back. It's sad that prices are the way they are. I spent 5-6 days in Gordes in 2002 and recall that I paid around $12 U.S. for Prix Fixe menu of lavender honey roasted chicken, green salad and ice cream for dessert at that restuarant (first pic). It was very good but I wan't 100% blown away so I'd like to know of other recommended spots.

In the spirit of exchange of info there is a great little Thai Resturant in Gordes. It is a 100 meters or so downhill from the first pic on the same side of the road. It is hidden from the road down a narrow passage way and was excellent. They were pretty new then, and the locals filled the place nightly as it was small. In summer 2006 it was still there.

Name is Le Jardin Du Levant

That looks like a great trip! Thanks for all the pictures and stories and congratulations on your king of the mountain ride.

I did the Avignon - Arles - Les Baux part of your trip in 1990. Much more touristic than you describe and no 200 k loops or Mt. Ventoux (the female company barely made it over Les Baux.)

But what a great trip. Good to see your report.

Thank you for another wonderful report. Are you in Europe or are you shipping that beautiful bike all over the world?
I've always wanted to go France not for the beaches but for Provence and Paris. It looks like a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing your travels with us.

Thank you for another wonderful report. Are you in Europe or are you shipping that beautiful bike all over the world?
I've always wanted to go France not for the beaches but for Provence and Paris. It looks like a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing your travels with us.

from my home in Vancouver to as many places as I can get to. I put the bike in a box, load it on the plane and off I go (or, just throw my leg over the bike and ride to wherever I can reach in a long summer's weekend). I have just recently had S&S couplings retro-fitted on the Atlantis (and it has been repainted a superb olive green) to make it easier to fly with the bike. The goal is to ride on every continent (well, except Antartica). This year was Morocco. Next year maybe Mongolia or Peru. Or Croatia, or...somewhere else. 2009 will be Australia for sure because I am racing (rowing, not cycling) at the World Masters games there.

I have been lots of places, but France is my favourite (with the mountains of BC a close second). I just love the place. Paris is so beautiful it hurts. I could wander its streets forever. Memories flood back whenever I think about the City of Light: eating at some little bistro on a narrow side street, getting lost in the Marais, finding Maria Callas' grave in the Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, or having a picnic on a bridge over the Seine: crusty bread, stinky cheese and a jug of wine as the sun goes down, all while in the midst of a wild affair with a person I will never see again (and we both knew it). Perfect.

And Provence is superb. Wonderful food, wonderful people, wonderful roads to ride on. I still dream about the cycling I did through Provence. There were times on that trip when I thought to myself, well, I have now experienced paradise in my life - who needs anything else.

I am fortunate that I get five weeks of holidays a year, and I use every second. I decided years ago that I have no need to live in a big house or drive a fancy car. Whatever money I have, I spend on my bicycles and my trips (which tend to be much the same thing, now that I think about it).

Anyway, I guess this is my way of saying: go to Paris, cycle in Provence, climb Mt Ventoux. Life is far too short not to experience as much of the world as you can manage.

You are my hero, and a guide in reaffirming my dreams.

This summer saw my 40th birthday. As 'un petit cadeau' to myself, I have been living in Chambéry, at the base of the Savoie Alpes, studying French and riding. Next weekend, the stable section of my trip ends, and I venture forth to practice some French out among the people.

I will have six days in Provence, six days in Belgium drinking beer and meeting some obligations, then back to Chambéry to pick up my bike before heading to northern Italy for another eight days.

I will use your trip report as a template. All that I have on my calendrier is Aix-en-Provence and Mt. Ventoux. I want cheap lodging, good gastronomie, and epic rides.

Thanks for taking the time to prepare this ride report. I hope it inspires many more people for follow suit.

Any similar recommendations for Italy and the Dolomites?

I will have six days in Provence, six days in Belgium drinking beer and meeting some obligations, then back to Chambéry to pick up my bike before heading to northern Italy for another eight days.

I will use your trip report as a template. All that I have on my calendrier is Aix-en-Provence and Mt. Ventoux. I want cheap lodging, good gastronomie, and epic rides.

Thanks for taking the time to prepare this ride report. I hope it inspires many more people for follow suit.

Any similar recommendations for Italy and the Dolomites?

I am afraid I can't give recommendations for Italy, since I haven't been there (yet). There are a couple of threads about. If I were to go, I think I would go to Alleghe and Bormio and do rides from there. For ideas, you can check out any number of commercial tour operators then sort of figure out what you want. This is one of the ways I researched prospective routes for Provence. For Italy, the one I have been looking at (for next fall, maybe?) is Cinghiale tours (run by Andy Hampsten, actually). They have a stupendous looking trip in the Dolomites, which I think you could use for ideas.

The site is www.cinghiale.com , I think (but a search will find it quick enough)

I get the sense that you aren't planning on lugging about a ton of luggage, so having a base and doing circuits will work best.

For Provence: I would find a spot near Gordes. I stayed at "Les Oliviers" in Coustellet. From there, you can easily do long loops through the hills, getting in 100 km or so on quiet road. If you are really keen and riding unloaded, you could do the whole Luberon bike route in a day (that is about 200 km, give or take). You could do a 100 km route through the villages to Apt, then ride across the ridge and pick up the other leg of the loop. Again, there is a web site (just search Luberon Bicycle Route).

For Mt. Ventoux, I stayed at Hotel des Pins in Bedoin. You can do a bunch of different approaches to the mountain from there. You should try to get in the Gorges des Nasques (I couldn't fit it into my schedule). I did not do much riding out of Aix, but if you are there, you might want to ride to Les Baux de Provence. I would say that is a good 150 km return trip on some great back roads (some of which have no towns - bring food!). East of Aix is Mt Victoire, and there might be some cycling around it (not sure, though).

There is a Lonely Planet guide book on Cycling France. It is a bit out of date, but the routes are laid out reasonably well.