Euro Tour Day 22

Last night' home made pasta was a great success and money saver! This morning we had an omelette at the restaurant for breakfast. It turned out to be a plain omelette with a healthy portion of chips. Not sure what happened to the salad as per the menu, but with the communication problems we decided not to persue that! Danie again opted for the tar option and I got going at 8:17.

When I joined the route, I was greeted with a 5 km hill and nearly 400 meters of ascent! Today this is ridable! The first part is a good gravel road, which do become more "doggy" but still ridable. It then turn into another ridable single track through an oak forest. No views, just trees and riding in the shade most of the time. Every so often I have to get off to negotiate a rocky section, but these only go on for 5-10 meters at a time. Today's route is what I hoped to find on this adventure! 

After 14 km and 2:15 riding time, I come to Saint-Ettiene-les-Orgues and stop for coffee and have the extra banilla pudding from last night. I am taken out of town on a tar road, which do become gravel after a while, but all easy ridable. There also are the mandatory climbs, but today the riding conditions is very good. 

I do get taken onto a rough section of about 300 meters and then over the top of the mountain followed by the most gorgeous single tracks. Today even the downhills are mostly ridable. There are some steep rocky sections where I do get off. 

At one such section I grab a tree not to loose my balance, knock my Garmin against the tree and break the bracket which holds it onto my handlebar. Fortunately a piece remains and I do manage secure it to the bracket. The Garmin do have a string attached, which I always secure to the handlebar, so at least I should not loose it if it comes loose again. It does work for the rest of the day, I must just keep my eye on it.

I turn off at a board which indicate that my destination for the day, Forcalquiers, is 5 km away. This is followed by the most amasing single track, which mostly go downhill, but today is ridable with a number of rocky sections which must be handled with due care. I pass some very interesting rock formations and then get taken down a track on the edge of a precipice followed by a rough single track down the hill, all negotiable with reasonable care. This really is awesome riding and I am in a seventh heaven.

Just before town this leads onto a gravel road and as I hit the edge of town, I stop to get Google Maps to take me to where Danie booked place for us. On the way there I meet up with Danie, who came looking for me. The accommodation is top quality and after a walk through the old town, where we stop for a "tropézienne" and coffee. There after we walk to a super market to buy supper and breakfast. This is much cheaper than eating at a restaurant every night.

Now there is only one day of this amasing trip left. Tomorrow we willl reach our destination of Monasque and then down to Marseiile to start our journey back to SA.

Day's stats: 33.79 km; time 5:21; meters climbed 938.