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April 19 Wednesday Bicycle touring France from Gorge du Verdon to Lake St Croix France Yesterday not one cloud scampered across the immense dark blue sky; today not a patch of blue in the sullen grey mass. We climbed on our fully loaded touring bicycles to over 4000 feet elevation. It is cold, rainy, and windy. My left knee hurt after going only 33 kilometres. Sharon's new combination of gears are too high for the mountains. She has lost a lot of spin, which makes for a frowny face. Her legs aren't used to the gearing and it is making her queasy from the extra exertion. She is not too happy at the moment. The other day, when we were snuggled in Paul and Helene's apartment, Sharon whispered in my ear wondering why everyone didn't travel by bicycle. Today she was reminded of the steep, grunting, cursing, sweaty hills and the freezing, cold, miserable, wind-blown rain on other days and remembered why everyone doesn't travel on a fully loaded touring bicycle. Today she got both conditions. Steep hills and cold rain. Merde. We met a family from Canada by a bridge that spans the gorge. They have three kids. The mother took a year's sabbatical from her lawyer position with the government to put the kids in German school by Lake Constance. He husband was originally from Germany. He is still back in Canada, working at his own business in Sudbury. But he is in France at the moment, over for a visit while the kids are on spring break. The gorge has some gorgeous views. The road is right along the top of the canyon wall. The canyon is narrow in some spots like Maligne canyon in Jasper National Park. The river below is a thin strip of turquoise ribbon wending through an orange-sided canyon. Black streaks drip down, like melted licorice ice cream. The depth of the canyon is breathtaking ... and not just because I'm climbing up and up on a fully loaded touring bicycle. There is a walking trail along the river near the bottom of the gorge that looks like a great hike. Parachute in and helicopter out by the looks of these steep-sided canyon walls. Green trees and patches of grass live up to the Gorge du Verdon name. Saw a house on a sidehill with a small patch of pasture. I couldn't figure out how they get to their house. Do they have to hike in? We cycled through two tunnels. The first was dark and hewn out of the rock. The second had holes in the side to let light in, as well as having scenic pullouts inside. Awesome views along the canyon with towering pine-covered mountains in every direction. We passed a couple on a touring tandem. They were going uphill and we were flying down the bumpy pavement on our fully loaded touring bicycles. At first, when I saw the tandem, I thought it was a lone touring cyclist. As I passed the tandem, I noticed a tiny stoker on the back wearing a toque and no view. Hey, that is exactly what mom and dad would look like on a tandem. Passed a couple of other cycle tourers and saw a few other cyclists. Some have mountain bikes. This is the most cyclists with packs we have seen. There are a lot of cars and motorhomes with bikes on them. Pulled my touring bike to a stop to wait for Sharon on a little side road. A car pulled up to talk. The occupants live near Paris and have cycle toured quite a few countries. They have been to Quebec and Ontario, but not on bikes. Sharon caught up. We told them that the Rocky Mountains in Alberta were great cycling and we gave them our address. They gave us theirs and said when we get close to Paris, give them a call and we will talk and have supper. Lake St Croix popped into view as we cycled around a downhill corner. My hands were cramping from braking for so long and I was freezing from going downhill for so long. It is a bit of a problem when I am squeezing my bike's brake levers with all my might and I keep going faster. Yikes! Lots of wet hairpin corners, ready to catapult one over the edge and into the gorge, so I don't like to get too much out of control. I looked over one scenic spot. Down below was a tire in a tree. Is that a rubber tree? It looked like it was ripe. The artificial lake is huge and a beautiful glacial blue color. Sharon wanted to break out our cycle touring tent and camp. We had worked so hard to get here, we may as well enjoy the view, she reasoned. We set up camp overlooking the lake. Sharon quickly fell asleep. So much for admiring the view. Maybe in the morning? It looks flat for a ways now. We have cycled out of France's Var Province and now we are cycling in France's Haute Alps. |
