2022 ViaRhôna with Luciana

15 days mostly in France over 17 or so days - 1500 km / 7000m altitude

We started the French adventure in rain and 12°C. I would have happily stayed another day with friends, but L. decided it was time to go, so off we went. It rained or drizzled for most of the day, but eventually the weather cleared and we were rewarded with beautiful nature. I was incredibly impressed that L. managed 60+ km, with plenty of climbing, without any preparation and in pretty miserable weather.

And France! Beautiful nature, amazing bakeries, wonderful cycling paths and calm, courteous drivers. So happy to be back.

The weather remained changeable for the next few days — drizzle, showers, then sunshine — but the scenery kept getting better. We passed a massive nuclear station, had an incredible sandwich and artisan IPA, and eventually ended up spending the night in a rather strange family holiday resort because there was nowhere else to stay.

Lyon was another wet-weather day. We arrived on the outskirts in the rain, hid from it in a ramen restaurant, and then entered a beautiful but insanely crowded city. After three days of barely seeing anyone, the crowds felt almost claustrophobic. Luckily the weather improved, so we continued. L. once again surprised me by managing a long ride and actually enjoying the achievement.

Then suddenly summer returned: 25°C, shorts and jersey time. We cycled through beautiful vegetable fields around Vienne, with people everywhere enjoying the sunny Sunday. A few days later came one of the highlights of the trip: we were invited to stay with Michel, a virtual Strava friend, and his wife Dina in Montélimar. Michel met us on the road and cycled with us home. Beers, wine, fantastic dinner, laundry — and, most importantly, wonderful hospitality. I really felt like I had gained a family in Montélimar.

Michel is an incredibly strong cyclist. I joked that when I'm older I want to be at least half as fit as him. We had another wonderful ride together, and L. completed her longest ride yet.

Avignon was magic. ViaRhôna itself was a bit disappointing — too monotonous and not enough cute villages — so I went back to planning my own routes. Much better. We found lovely roads, Frigolet Abbey and villages I had visited on my winter tour ten months earlier, even stopping at the same sandwich place in Tarascon. Arles turned out to be beautiful, cosy and fascinating enough that we decided to stay an extra day.

From Arles we headed into the Camargue. Aigues-Mortes was absolutely packed because of a festival, but what a festival! Bull running through the streets surrounded by horses, a procession of motorbikes, bicycles, trucks and old cars, and a very intense local atmosphere. Later we cycled through the Camargue towards Sète, surrounded by flamingos and water.

I had originally planned to follow the Canal du Midi, but it was too boring for my taste. After the monotony of ViaRhôna I wanted variety and beauty, so I spent half the night searching for an alternative route. It paid off. We found a fantastic old railway cycling path, with countless tunnels, bridges and beautiful views, mostly on thin gravel.

The only recurring problem with cycling in France was food. Restaurants — and sometimes supermarkets — love closing for the afternoon. More than once we ended up improvising with whatever we could find.

We passed through Revel and Mazamet, followed beautiful paths beside streams and the Canal du Midi, and eventually reached Toulouse, which I was visiting for the third time. It felt strangely familiar, especially since I had been in the area only ten months earlier.

The weather became almost ridiculous: 27°C in the middle of October. I would have preferred 15°C, but at least it wasn't raining. We continued through canals, vineyards and little towns, stopping at boulangeries and even visiting a surprisingly good local art exhibition in La Réole. There were castles for sale, water mills and beautiful evening rides through the vineyards.

Eventually came the last day of proper cycling — a short but wonderfully beautiful ride along the Roger Lapébie trail. And then the countryside disappeared and the traffic began.

Paris was a shock after all those quiet roads. Insane traffic, crappy cycling infrastructure, bad drivers, pedestrians and cyclists coming from every direction. There were still some cool things to see among the chaos and hordes of tourists, but after so much beautiful, peaceful France, Paris was a pretty brutal ending.