On ya bike

We were up early and eager to get our first ride underway. After breakfast we made up our lunch, and then we all geared up and went out onto the dock to get acquainted with our bikes, lock, paneer and helmet. It was quite a process and I thought it would be a good idea for the company to create a few small instructional videos to save some time.

Once we had our bikes we had to adjust the seat and familiarise ourselves with the bike, gears and brakes. We finally left about 9.30am and headed out on a bike path across the river to Île De La Barthelasse (Europe’s largest river island) to get a look back across the Rhône to Avignon and also practice some of the protocols required when cycling in a group situation. It was all pretty straightforward, the biggest challenge for me was riding on the right side of the road and remembering the various hand signals, i.e. slowing, stopping, turning etc.

After a few photo opportunities we headed off for real and the first thing we encountered was a fun run on the roads we were using. Micky had a quick chat with the officials and then we were off. It was a little unnerving as we had officials yelling at us in French, we had bystanders yelling at us and even the runners were having a crack. But we made it through without anyone - rider or runner - coming to grief.

We then headed off to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the most famous wine region in the Southern Rhône area, characterised by large white pebbles covering the ground around the vines. Once we made it into town we locked up our bikes and made the climb up to the ruins of the ruined castle which gives the region its name and which had been bombed by the Germans in WWII.

On the way down we met Katie at a nice little spot for a picnic lunch and then made our way back into town to seek out a coffee and use a toilet. We returned to our bikes and slowly made our way out of town, retracing our steps.

When we were nearly back to Avignon we detoured to cross over the other branch of the Rhône to Villeneuve-lès-Avignon for our next stop. This area became a holiday destination for the dignitaries of the papal court and in the middle of the 14th century, 12 cardinals had residences there with gardens and orchards.

On our way up to the centre of this town, I nearly had a collision with a car (riding very slowly). I managed to avoid the car but was heading towards a group of people walking on the road who didn’t get out of my way, and so the bike and I went over. I scraped my knee but was fine and continued up to the centre of town to meet up with the rest of the group. Micky attended to my knee and then a few of us headed up to Fort Saint-André for a bit of a look. Others in the group went to the Abbey and some just found a café and stayed put.

Fort Saint-André was constructed in the 1360’s. This was done to compete with Avignon. It was built during a time of insecurity caused by the Hundred Year Wars. The fort lost its strategic role when Provence once again became part of France in 1481, and even more so once the Rhône riverbed moved 900 metres away from the mountain in about 1770. The fort was maintained by the military authorities until 1792 and it was listed as an historical monument in 1906.

We then made our way back to the barge where a delicious afternoon tea awaited us as did a cold beer or wine. We had a free night, so we went into town with Eric, Cathy, Linda and Jane and after a few false starts secured a table at Mama Corsica, a delightful restaurant that had been recommended to me by the guy who ran Mon Bar. It was a lovely evening which allowed us to get to know one another a bit more and have a few laughs.Read more