June 15, 2011

The sun is really hot right from the outset today.  Once we’ve packed the tent and everything onto the bikes we already feel worn out.  Not a good way to start the day.  We don’t have any really big climbs on the agenda but one or two moderate ones.  As we pass through Die a street thermometer tells us it is 25 degrees – the street is in deep shade and it is only 10 am.  It is going to be a scorcher.

It is soon clear that even moderate climbs are sapping our strength in the heat.  We make our way over the Col de Prémol at 960 metres and run down the other side into a new area of France.  There are fields of Lavender and Walnut trees everywhere – I´m not sure if we have actually reached Provence yet but the landscape certainly looks like all the pictures I’ve seen of the place.

We decide to camp early at la Motte-Chalancon, which turns out to be a bad decision, because when we walk into the fairly sizeable village after a leisurely shower, we find that all of the 5 restaurants and the one food shop are closed on Wednesdays.  This is the first time on our return trip to France that we have found ourselves without anything to eat – we thought all that was behind us now the tourist season is in full flow.  It is too far to the next village and even if we could be bothered to get back on the bikes again and go – who knows whether anything will be open?  When we tour again we will definitely carry the camping stove and cook for ourselves.

A bit of a miserable end to the day.