Wednesday, October 27th
Valence, France to Avignon, France 147km
We got a bit of a late start this morning, after a sleep in and usual long breakfast we ran into some bike troubles. We thought our pump was broken (its been on the fritz for a few weeks now), but upon going to a nearby bike shop and getting our tires filled by an air compressor pump, we realized Amie just had a flat tire (which she promptly changed in the amount of time it took me, Erin, to get my tires filled by the air compressor). By 11am we were on the road, following the Rhone river south. The sun was out and we had a nice tail wind, we cruised through the first 50km in under two hours.
We stopped outside Montalier to eat lunch at a playground where we made a new friend, Valentin. He was about 6 years old and we learned he was on "fete" from school (they have a two week school vacation right now). He likes basketball (more than biking) and his dad drives a tractor. It was a bit depressing realizing we could barely hold a conversation in French with a six year old.
We navigated te rest of the to Avignon like old pros. I felt really strong, I was worried that two weeks without any serious bike touring would take its toll, but instead it left my biking muscles well rested. It was a good day for a 150km (90 mile) ride, the longest yet of our tour (and my farthest day ride by 10 miles). However, we thought the ride was going to be shorter (we didn't really look at the map scale too closely) so it was getting dark as we approached our hostel. Seeing the sun set across the Rhone was beautiful and seeing the chateaus of Avignon all lit up was a wonderful way to end the day. Plus, exercising at dusk, especially when tired, gave me intense nostalgic feelings of fall ski practice. At school we are always fighting the sunset, trying to get in another 10 minutes of rollerskiing before dark. However, at school we also always go to Thorne dining hall for dinner right after practice. We were quite hungry upon our arrival (hence Amie's ecstatic exclamation to hearing we would get breakfast included in the morning). We whipped up a delicious chili to top off the day, we're getting pretty good at this...
Thursday, October 28th
Avignon layover ride 50km
Another beautiful, sunny morning. Unfortunately McKayla woke up feeling very sick (we've all been battling little colds for the past few days). We attempted to get her on a train to Sommieres,where we intended on biking for the day. However, due to the strikes there was absolutely no way for her to get to Sommieres (or Nimes, or Montpellier, or Marseille) with her bike today. Too ill to even bike back to the hostel where we stayed last night, we found a cheap hotel right next to the train station and checked in so McKayla could go back to sleep. Amie and I did a loop along the Rhone again, it was warm enough to ride in a t-shirt today for the first time in 3 weeks! Although I woke up this morning amped to bike tour again (I wasn't even sore from yesterday, not even my sit bones!!), it was probably a good thing we didn't ride all the way to Sommieres. I didn't realize how tired I was until we got going, so Amie and I just leisurely enjoyed our 50km ride.
When we rode back into town there was a strike occuring in the city; at first I was nervous it would be unsafe. However, the strike was very civil and reminded me more of a parade than the riot I was expecting. There was music and marching and lots of police supervision. Afterwards we explored Avignon. The downtown area is surrounded completely by a large fortress, anyone know the history?! It's very unique and has a charming feel. We cooked up some vegie soup for dinner and then enjoyed fresh pastries for dessert. I got a chocolate mousse thing dipped in more chocolate with bits of chocolate cake, it was scrumptious. We were looking for a Religiouse, a favorite of my friend Grace, but we were unsuccessful in finding one... we'll have to try again, darn.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring us, we'll have to see how McKayla is feeling and if the trains are running again!
Ladies - nice to hear your stories now that you're back as a team even if McKayla now is a under the weather. Erin - in answer to your question about Avignon, there is an amazing history of when the Papal residency was based there for almost three quarters of a century in exile from Rome. For a cursory overview, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avignon_Papacy but there's lots more rich history. It's why the architecture and so much else is so fantastic and why the city is surrounded by a fortress-like wall. Also why there's a great local wine Chateauneuf De Pape (House of The Pope). We miss knowing you won't be returning here (at least not on this trip) but enjoy the rest!
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