How can I explain this? Well, hmm... Put simply, I am going to cycle from my sisters house in France, through my dad's place, to Neil's house in Portugal. This will be a simple ride, where I will ride a casual 120km a day on average or otherwise known as 5 or 6 hours of bike time, nearly every day, for 3 weeks. Now just as a point of reference, I should point out that this is about 1000KM less than the tour de France riders, so it should not be that much of a challenge really.
However, there are a number of constraints that Tour de France riders don't have to face. For starters, I am on a very limited budget so will be staying in the cheapest accommodation I can find every night, eating as basically as I can whilst still enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of being a tourist. Secondly there will be no support vehicles or soigneurs, or bike mechanics to help me along the way. Thirdly, I will be doing this alone, so no team mates and fellow riders to protect me from the wind, no one to chat to, and no one to help me when I am feeling poo.
Oh yeah, and I forgot to add that I am seriously unfit, setting off in a couple of days and still desperately short of essential kit such as paniers, spare inner tubes and most importantly sunglasses! In short, I reckon I have no chance of doing this but I might as well try. This will be my modern day version of the Grand Tours, where I hope to pack in as much culture and sightseeing as my weary legs will allow.
Stage 1: St Bonnet de Mure - Valence
Now this should be an easy start to the ride. It is after all a measly 111km, so well under the daily average (lol). On top of this I will be leaving my sister's house well fed and full of energy. But only if my nieces are nice and don't tire me out with their fun!
The early route will take me through St Pierre de Chandieu, the lovely French village in which I grew up, through the old Roman town of Vienne before stopping for a spot of lunch at Chateauneuf-de-Galaure at around the 70 KM mark.
As you can see from the elevation guide, this looks like an up and down day, with no major difficult climbs just one longish one starting at around the 28Km mark lasting around 8 Km. Straight after lunch, I will be starting the final short climb of the afternoon before a long and mostly downhill ride down into Valence. Valence looks like an interesting town with the Maison des Tetes supposedly a must see.
Stage 2: Valence - Orange 115 KM
Now this is the day I am not really looking forward to.
For starters, I bet my bum will hurt like hell today.
Secondly, I will face 2 minor major climbs on this leg with a couple of what look like being steep gradients.
Thirdly by the time I get to Orange, (if I make it) I will be dead tired I can feel it already. Now this is a bad thing, as Orange is one of those places I have always wanted to go, but have never been. This is supposed to be a lovely old Roman town, with an amazing Roman theatre and some nice sights.
Guess I am going to have to dig deep for this one!
Stage 3: Orange - Montpellier 125 Km
This is the first long stage of the trip. It is 5Km over the average. This is going to hurt!. Luckily, with the exception of 1 short climb, this is mostly a flat day, if anything mostly downhill. I will finally be crossing the Rhone River and starting my track West after having headed mainly South for the previous 2 days. I will be heading close to Nimes but trying to avoid going through it.
I was tempted for more than just half a second to take a little detour from my trip and stop in Avignon for the evening after riding over the top of Mont Ventoux. Luckily, this would have seriously slowed me down in terms of my journey, but as a cycling fan, that mountain is iconic to the sport and I would have loved to climb it.
Montpellier is a fun student town, and I am looking forward to exploring it. It has the oldest Medical school in Western Europe and the Anatomy Museum is supposed to be delightfully gruesome. I think I may have earned a few beers by now, so this could be a great place to unwind.
Stage 4: Montpellier - Narbone 100Km
Not really sure about today. I will not be doing any real climbing, riding just inland from the sea and quite a bit shorter than the average day. I may also be nursing a hangover!
I am however scared of the wind. I believe but have not checked that this part of France gets hit by strong winds. But hey, on the bright side, I may be seeing the Mediterranean for the first time of the trip.
I will be avoiding the busy roads of the coast, stopping for lunch and a mooch in Beziers. I think the lunchtime break may be more interesting than the evening, but only time will tell.
Stage 5: Narbonne - St Marsal 115Km
This will be a special ride for me. Not only is this the first truly uphill stage, this will be the last stage before my first rest day. Oh yeah, I will also be arriving at my father's house. This will be my first visit there since he moved there last year. It will also be the first time I see him since Christmas day. Woohoo.
However it looks like a tough slog, starting more or less at sea level and steadily climbing up to over 700m. Most of the day is flat, but there is no real downhill on which to coast along. Arghhh!.
I will definetly be seeing the Med today. Wonder if the weather will be nice enough to merit a stop and a dip?
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