From Provence to Carcassonne

The ride this morning started in Joucas and ended in Eygueres after a spirited ride of about 65 km through more beautiful Provençal countryside and numerous French villages, each one more charming than the last. About a dozen riders started, but by the end we were about eight, plus one of the guides, Eric, who led us through the countryside. We stopped just a couple of times for quick rests, once at a roadside produce market that had the most beautiful-looking fruits and vegetable on display, including mountains of locally grown garlic.

Finally we found ourselves on a major highway, and had to concentrate a bit more on the road since the traffic was going by quite fast. Still, the views off to the distance were fabulous, and we were all enjoying our second real day on the road. For my part, I was happy to be back on my own bike after its adventure with Air France, which ended so happily yesterday. Eventually, we stopped in the little town of Eygueres where our big bus had gone ahead and was waiting. We all changed inside the bus into dry clothes and walked into the Centre-Ville to find lunch at yet another delightful cafe, where we enjoyed huge salads (mine was of locally made goat cheese) and then finished it all off with ice cream.

A 4-hour bus ride later, we arrived in the incredibly medieval walled city of Carcassonne. During the ride, we were able to watch the last hour of today's stage, with Vinokourov's win, on televisions in the bus. I don't know how it all worked, satellite or something, I guess, but it was pretty cool. Our home here, the Hotel de la Cité, is in the old city, across from a beautiful Romanesque church and surrounded by narrow, winding cobbled streets filled with interesting shops, cafes and LOTS of tourists. The hotel, however, is like an oasis of quiet, with views from the rear garden over the ancient city walls and into the far distance. Tomorrow we finally will encounter the Tour de France, and another serious day of riding. We are to ride out of the city at 8:15 on a 65-mile ride that will end at our viewing location about 6 km from the summit of the Port de Pailheres, which is the big HC climb of the day. Since most of our ride will be along the stage route, we'll ride through all of the crowds and excitement that makes these rides so interesting. If we arrive on the Port de Pailheres in time, we'll be able to ride to the summit before coming back down to the tents and vans to watch the race. The publicity caravan is due at our spot around 2:15; the riders should be along about 30 minutes later. After passing us, the riders will descend down to Ax-Les-Thermes before the final climb of the stage, which is called, interestingly, "Ax 3 Domaines." We are all attempting not to think too much about the ride profile, which consists of 52 miles (out of 52 miles) uphill. The grade starts out relatively gently, but gradually increases in pitch until we are basically on another climb like Mt.Ventoux for the last 10 km or so. Still, I've gamely put my name down for the "full ride" instead opting for the shorter alternative. At least I'll be wearing normal cycling shoes instead of sneakers!