cycle adventure – Postcards from Provence and beyond

Day 7: Rest Day in Saumur & Changing Course as the Heatwave Hits

June 21, 2026

A day off the bikes today, on our ride from Provence to Roscoff. With the danger to
Life heat warnings, we have replanned our onward trip, experiencing the frustration of booking bikes on trains and have spent today exploring Saumur, finding out more about its past, and its fascinating WW2 history too. An evening with the Fete de la Musique and on again tomorrow … More Day 7: Rest Day in Saumur & Changing Course as the Heatwave Hits

Join our bike ride :Day 3 Exploring the Gard and finding Orchids

April 29, 2026

In the great scheme of things, Pezenas isn’t really very far from Provence, so we had always planned to have a day off, on the way across, and Sommières seemed to be the perfect place for it. It’s a beautiful little town on the River Vidourle, with a castle, wonderful cobbled streets, and a fantastic … More Join our bike ride :Day 3 Exploring the Gard and finding Orchids

Join our bike Ride: Day 2, Beaucaire to Sommieres

April 28, 2026

After a glorious evening on the boat we had rented for the night, watching the sunset along the Rhone-Sete Canal, at Beaucaire, we woke this morning to grey skies. They weren’t enough to dull our spirits, and after a slow morning, enjoying coffee on the ‘poop-deck’, watching the day start around us, we loaded everything … More Join our bike Ride: Day 2, Beaucaire to Sommieres

Hello 2026, what do you hold?

January 3, 2026

I should start by saying Happy New Year, and wishing you a gentle, healthy and enjoyable next 12 months. I don’t know about you, but I really can’t get my head around the fact that we are already a few days into 2026. They say that the older you get, the quicker the time passes … More Hello 2026, what do you hold?

Day 15 … Second breakfast in Marmande.

September 3, 2025

Since deciding to accept that we will just ride from Duras to Bordeaux and avoid the storms that had been predicted, we’ve just relaxed into enjoying our time here. Today, we decided that as we cycled in from the north, pedalled the roads to the east yesterday, and will be riding out west to Bordeaux … More Day 15 … Second breakfast in Marmande.

Day 14 … Exploring the Dropt valley

September 2, 2025

Last night, we had a long chat about the plans for the next few days, coupled with looking at every possible weather forecast we could find, hoping that one may give us (even the slimmest chance) of being able to camp (storm-free) on Wednesday night. But however hard we sought for a glimmer of hope, … More Day 14 … Exploring the Dropt valley

Day 13 … Hiding from the cloudburst

September 1, 2025

We really enjoyed our day off in Mussidan yesterday, and after another good night’s sleep, we were ready to go on again this morning. I had planned various routes to Duras, which we had decided would be our next stop, on the revised route towards Bordeaux. We had the ‘If it’s bucketing with rain’ route; … More Day 13 … Hiding from the cloudburst

Day 12 … Dramatic history & some re-planning

August 31, 2025

The joy of cycling and also the frustration of cycling is having to deal with the weather. Two years ago, we were having to fill our water-bottles from taps in cemeteries, as it was over 35 degrees on some days. This year, we’ve hit the storms at the end of a long summer canicule (heatwave), … More Day 12 … Dramatic history & some re-planning

Day 11 … Into the Dordogne

August 30, 2025

All I can say, is that cycling 740km to Angouleme to watch the first rugby match of the season for Provence, was worth every turn of the pedal. We had spent a lovely afternoon exploring the town, before I put on my Provence T-Shirt to wear to the match. I have carried it in my … More Day 11 … Into the Dordogne

Day 7 – What no coffee?

August 25, 2025

After yesterday’s ride into a brutal headwind, we were absolutely exhausted and were snuggled into the tent, ready for bed by 9. It was quiet on the site, and we thought most of the vans and tents were ‘garage morts’, with their owners just not there for the night. We were wrong, but were so … More Day 7 – What no coffee?