Vaucluse Dreamer

Honestly, it’s hard to believe that 4 months have passed since we did our cycle ride from Devon to Provence. Where has this year gone?

The summer has been an absolute whirlwind and our feet haven’t touched the ground, so we thought we needed to have a few days away together, just to settle ourselves down a bit. I had to return to the UK to do a couple of events in late September, so we went through lots of options for a few days away, when I came home. Perhaps a few days visiting Italy, possibly a few days in Paris? But even though these sound nice, it didn’t feel right.

Then we remembered that it is the huge brocante market in Pezenas this weekend. We visited a few years ago and spent 8 hours ambling around the stalls, rootling through boxes and filling my bag with bits, and had the most fantastic day. Perhaps we should just drive over and then have a few days along the coast, we thought. But as ever, we decided driving wasn’t really what we wanted to do, so we looked at whether we may be able to incorporate it into a little cycle trip, perhaps a #bikesandbrocante trip

A few hours with a glass of wine, a pile of maps & train timetables and we had a plan. I would fly home on the Thursday and on Friday we would start making our way across, aiming to arrive on Saturday evening, ready for the event on Sunday. We would cycle to Avignon, catch the train to Montpellier and then cycle to Pezenas from there.

So here we are now, sitting on a train that is taking us from Avignon to Montpellier, with our bikes safely stored in the carriage and we’ve had the most perfect morning getting here.

It all started yesterday, with an early start from Devon to get to the airport for a mid-morning flight to Nice. Andy collected me and we arrived home at just after 5pm, and then immediately started to pack our bike-packing bags ready for today.

When we packed them for our long trip in early summer, we spent hours making sure we had what we needed and that it was well packed and well balanced on the bikes. Last night, all the anxieties we’d had last time had gone and within an hour, everything was found, rolled and packed up, ready to leave today.

We spread the maps out on the table and as we ate supper, I set about marking the first day’s route from home to Avignon on the map, writing the detail on a piece of paper, so that I could follow it easily as we rode. It felt good to be planning a route again, and my maps and green pen felt like old friends, as I marked it all up.

To be honest, I was amazed that we could find a route through, into the heart of Avignon, without having to go along any main roads at all. The only roads I have ever seen heading into the city are busy, wide and not my idea of a nice ride, but Andy had spent days looking and we had found, what appeared to be the perfect route.

So, by the time we went to bed, less than 12 hours after leaving Bristol, we had everything ready to go. There’s nothing like a quick turnaround, there certainly wasn’t any time for worrying or stress.

Today started gently and we dropped Millie off with friends, before popping the bags on the bikes, and cycling off down the hill towards the Veloroute du Calavon, the off road cycle path that runs through the Luberon valley, to make our way to Robion, where we would hop off and start to head across country to Avignon.

Even though I have been away for less than 2 weeks, the colours have already started changing and autumn is starting to tint the vineyards and fields in shades of red, gold and orange, with the crisp chestnut leaves and glossy conkers littering the path at the Gare de Lumières, as we pottered towards Coustellet for a coffee.

Turning off at Robion, we followed back lanes, cutting across the spiders-web of roads that head towards Cavaillon. We cycled through vineyards and orchards, their trees heavy with apples ready to be harvested, hardly seeing any other traffic.

Crossing the main Apt to Avignon road, we cycled up into Caumont du Durance, taking the narrow streets through the village, before climbing up past the Roman Gardens on our way towards Avignon.

Cresting the hill we had a glorious view across to the Pope’s Palace, and it was easy to imagine what this must have been like in medieval times, with the huge building dominating the landscape for miles around. It must have been quite an incredible sight.

Dropping down, we then took a quiet lane that skirted the airport, cutting between the main road, the runway and a TGV line. It may not have been the most picturesque route, but it was incredibly quiet and took us well away from any busy roads on the way into the city.

We rode along tree-lined lanes, which had the sense of having been ancient routes into the city, and seemed far away from the chaos of modern civilisation, a matter of metres away.

Finally, we started cycling through housing estates, before crossing the ring-road and taking a quiet street that had a very well-protected cycle lane, all the way into the city, where we joined people cycling along the wide boulevard below the ancient walls.

We’d made it in plenty of time, so ambled up into the city and sat in the square below the Pope’s Palace…

eating ice cream and watching the world pass by, before doing a little Instagram Live Update

Then it was a short walk to the central railway station to catch the train that would take us to Montpellier

It’s a regular service, with space for bikes and an easy way to get between cities, especially when we only have a week away this time.

So now, we’re hurtling towards Montpellier, with regular stops at little town stations in between. And tonight we’ve booked an Air BnB in the heart of the old city so we can make the most of the evening there, before heading on again tomorrow and making our way across to Pezenas.

So far, so good … It’s just so lovely to be back on the bikes together again.