Girona Here We Come

Monday 21st March and a beautiful first day of Spring, the van is all packed and we are off for a slow meander down to Girona for a weeks cycling.

The first stop is the garage to top up the tank at an eye watering £1.82 per litre and then on to the services at Folkestone for an on board evening meal of shepherd pie that Kaye had prepared before we left.

We had arrived in plenty of time after heeding warnings of long delays resulting from the P + O debacle at Dover.

The check in was automatic and as we were early we were asked if we would like to pay extra to go on an earlier crossing, we declined the offer but were put on the earlier train anyway, there’s a lesson there.

Finding the train queue in the dark was interesting with a distinct lack of signage but twice around the car park and we found the “To France” sign.

A very slick operation from loading to disembarking and we were soon on the road in France, we had decided to avoid the toll roads for a slow ride down to see more of rural France. A few road closures and diversions delayed progress but after a few hours driving we found a lay-by just short of Evreux at 2-30am and got a few hours sleep before carrying on at 7-30am 

Morning coffee and  a Pain-au-raisen at L’Eclerc in Chartres and a quick leg stretch around the store saw me return to the van with plant envy, the cost of plants and decorative pots being 1/3rd of the price in UK.

We were now into the mundane driving bit, lunch of bread and cheese at a motorway aire on the A77 near Gien and a much anticipated afternoon stop for tea and my favourite French Tart, the French do make exceedingly good cakes.

We could now see an end distance for the day and Kaye found an aire at Roanne, Port de Plaisance, overlooking the canal basin. ( N46.038090 E004.082970 ) €7.60 for 24hrs with waste disposal and  €2 for a jeton for water or electric. We checked in at 5-30pm and opted for a walk around the port. The basin was home to an eclectic mix of liveaboard barges of various lengths and design, the common denominator was that none of them appeared to have moved in a long time and an awful lot had for sale signs displayed. Another evening meal in the van as we watched the sun set revealing a red sky and reflections in the water, the temperature dropped quickly but that did not deter a constant stream of joggers circumnavigating the basin.

Looking at the map we could see we were not that far from Provence and we could detour for a couple of rides and still keep to our schedule of Girona by Friday afternoon.

Wednesday 23rd, a clear start and 0c on the thermometer, a frost on the ground and as the sun rose a hint of mist on the water.

Todays target was to drive to the CCP aire at Bedoin and if we were in time get the bikes out for a ride. 

Approaching our destination and an odd occurrence as I had to overtake a guy on rollerblades occupying the inside lane of the A7, must have had a death wish given the standard of driving of French drivers. 

I love it when a plan works and arriving at Bedoin we had time for one of my favourite rides, the Gorges de la Nesque, even better than I remembers as the whole length had new tarmac, like cycling on a billiard table. The ride was fantastic, sunshine and light winds but a noticeable nip in the shady sections and then the second mesmerising moment of the day, in the middle of nowhere a young lady sitting on the parapet overlooking the gorge playing a violin, I’m sure if Kaye had not been there as well nobody would believe me.

From the top of the Gorge we coasted down to the main road and turned on to the D1 back to Villes sur Auzon so we also managed to bag the Col des Abeilles (996m). At Villes sur Auzon we retraced our steps through Flassan back to Bedoin. 

** Camping Car Parks Bedoin: €11.20 for 24hrs with all services and wifi.

Thursday 24th, a beautiful sunny day 2c to start, the plan is to drive to Intermache at Sault to stock up with provisions for the week and while we are there it would be a shame to miss the opportunity for a ride up Ventoux so with the shopping stored away the bikes came out and the pedalling started.

The lavender fields looked very regimented all waiting to burst into life and many of the trees were still in winter mode. There was a worrying lack of other cyclists and it soon became apparent a couple of kilometres down the road with a sign saying summit closed, oh well a coffee at Chalet Reynard it will be then.

At Chalet Reynard there was only one other cyclist and a false dawn as the barrier to the top was open, Kaye did not want to go on so she headed back to Sault as I took a swig from my bottle and decided to head for the top only to be thwarted a further kilometre up the slope with a locked barrier and a couple of Gendarmes looking on from their car so it was about turn and back for some lunch before continuing on to another CCP aire at Meze.

The drive took us to Avignon and through The Carmargue, the latter being strewn with signs advising us to “respect the environment” while behind the verges farmers fields are covered in plastic sheeting. On both sides of the road many equestrian establishments were home to the famous white horses and the wetlands were home to many water birds especially flamingos.

Driving through Montpellier and the traffic was manic with a lot of stressed and angry drivers. Arriving at our night stop we were surprised at the number of motorhomes in the aire but this was explained as a popular refuge for those coming from the bad weather Spain had endured the previous week.

Friday 25th Another sunny Spring day, 3c to start the short drive to Girona. Running down the coast there was a constant stream of motorhomes heading North. At the border cars were being stopped by the police but strangely they saw our UK plates and waved us through. We had just limped into Spain on minimal fuel to take advantage of the cheaper diesel prices and our stop also revealed far more people wearing masks than in France.

We soon found our home for the week, Camping Esponella, not far from Figueres, it looked a little tired but was clean,  and we were only one of a very few customers. Kaye wanted to get some washing done so I changed into cycling gear to check out the route to the hotel Mas Pellegri which would be home to our clubs cycling week in Girona.