Today was more of the same from yesterday, as you’d expect. There wouldn’t be many landscape changes until after Avignon. That said, it was interesting and nice the whole way.
Muesli and coffee got me going for what was expected to be a 93km day of flat riding near the Rhone. It turned out to be a little more interesting and longer than that.
At one point, I was heading down a dirt trail on the western side of the river (off the via Rhona) when I was stopped by some guys in a van and told to turn around and immediately go back. Behind the was an official looking bloke, manning an official looking barrier. I went back, crossed the river and rejoined the official looking route. The dirt road was a shortcut and it meant I had to do a few extra kilometres today.
I had villages, bridges, some canals and the ever present Rhone to keep me occupied. Towards the end of the ride in Montélimar, I passed a couple of bikepackers going the other way. A few minutes later, they caught up yo me, going in my direction. It was good timing, I used one of them in the foreground of the image at the top of this post. It’s one of my favourites.
After that, I let them go, so I could enjoy the afternoon colours by the river. Camping options were slim, so I opted for the Ibis Budget hotel on the outskirts of town. Google said there wete no restaurants around here, so I rode a few kms to a supermarket and got a microwave meal and salad then went back to the hotel to eat it.
I sat down in what I thought was an under cover common area where I’d seen other people doing the same as me. It turns out that it was a restaurant of sorts. That explains the dirty looks I got. No harm done, after the misunderstanding, I finished the meal in my room – which was more like a Formula 1 room than an Ibis one.
It didn’t matter. I was tired after today’s 110kms.
