Great light for photography, open roads and with the colours of autumn developing almost before my eyes. So an inspiring background for a bike ride in classic Provence in the Lubéron and around Ventoux.
Roads I’ve ridden many times since the GLME Summercamp of 1998 enthralled me with riding in Provence. Some villages remain much as they were despite nearly thirty years of “progress”. The road through the Combe de Lourmarin road remains “unimproved” but Apt in the Lubéron is now served by a highway and the railway is now a cycle track.
Up to the plateau of Saint-Christol d’Albion, bitter in winter but pleasant in the mild October sunshine. Plenty of temptingly good roads on which to open up.
Picnic under horse chestnuts dropping conkers with every breath of wind. A last sight of Mont Ventoux, that had been on the horizon since leaving the Lubéron valley. Is this a Faustian moment, a crossroads with an opportunity to make a deal with the devil to give up everything to keep riding like this for ever?
A lengthy diversion on the route back to the Durance valley because a bridge is out over the River Lay, brought me back from metaphysical dreaming, but which showed me some route opportunities for another day. Though the delay meant I got back to Kamikaze Scooter City (Marseille) to enjoy the full wrath of the evening peak traffic.
