Day 16 Sunday 9/15/13 Sault - Moustiers-Ste-Marie 76 miles

We have traveled 912 miles. Two more riding days to go.

 

Just the stats: 76 miles, 14.8 MPH average.  Five hours twenty two minutes of riding time. I stopped for a total of 61 minutes the whole day.  It rained hard in the morning then the clouds cleared.  Then, near the end of the ride - five miles from the finish, the skies opened up with heavy rain, lightning, thunder and HAIL!!.  42 to 64 degrees. Elevation 2,110 feet.

Calories burned on the ride – 4,326. My average heart rate during this ride was 124 bpm. When the lightning and hail struck all around me and I was pedaling like hell, it must have hit 200+.

 

 

 

 

These last few days we have been either climbing or descending as we traveled through this mountainous region of France.   

 

 

The best way I can help you picture what we have been doing is to ask you to imagine you are riding a bike from Hagerstown, MD to Deep Creek Lake on old Route 40 - but on narrow winding roads that are steeper than that.  Then, do this for 75 miles, three days in a row.  That will get you close to what we are doing.

 

 

 

It was raining hard this morning at 9 am, our normal start time.  So we delayed our start.  By 9:45 the heavy rain had let up to just steady rain.  We have to ride every day, no matter what the weather is doing, so off we went.

 Luckily, we begin our day by riding on a series of minor traffic-free roads through a series of small Provencal villages and towns.  We made our way through a region that is virtually untouched by tourism.  The roads were generally undulating (that is code for long climbs and long descents).  Just before lunch we did have a nine mile challenging climb after the town of Forcalquier.  

 

 

 

 

Some people choose to carry a heavy load.  This looks like a good candidate for the "Unburdening Skit" in Emmaus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter and I are proudly wearing the Mont Ventoux shirts we earned yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our roadside lunch picnic, I could see clouds building off in the distance in the direction we here heading.  I wasn’t too concerned but decided to move on just in case.  We had a nice six mile drop into the Plateau de Valensole, as the name suggests, it’s a relatively flat to rolling section through the primary lavender growing region of Provence.  The air smelled so fresh past these lavender fields. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After about sixty miles into the ride, we had our share of climbs as we wound our way through the almond woods that grow in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(SORRY, NO PICTURES ON THIS PART OF THE RIDE!!)

 

Of course, the impending storm spiced things up too!  I started to pray - "You and me Lord, we can do this".  The clouds began to build; I could hear thunder in the distance.  I prayed for protection.  As I traveled on, trying to ride harder in desperation to beat the storm; the thunder got louder, the lightning was flashing – lighting up the darkened afternoon sky, and then bam the storm hit – in biblical proportions.  I’m talking pouring down rain, lightning everywhere and hail.  Hail yes, stinging, pelting hail.

 

Stuck and with nothing else to do, I decided to enjoy the ride.  This too was fun.

 
I told you I was climbing in the late afternoon.  Well, “what goes up…………must come down” and riding alone at this point, in this downpour, I was enjoying a thrilling four mile descent towards the village of Moustiers-Saint-Marie our destination for today.






I arrived safely, looking like a drowned rat, but thankful to be alive.















Moustiers-Ste-Marie is a beautiful town built into the rocky hillside.  These pictures say more than I could.

 

 

 

 

Notice the grapes growing.