Provence Mt Ventoux

Mt Ventoux is a windy place, took the opportunity of a still day to ride up, thousand of cyclists from all over Europe had the same idea

 Busy at the top

 The views are spectacular

Looking North

Looking South

Provence is the home of lavander, I visited a distellery after getting bogged in thick gravel in their yard, streets can be very narrow, bridges charming, markets interesting

spices

Vallee du Rhone

Riding through the Valley du Rhone to reach Ardeche, I was surrounded by nuclear power stations, further up the contrasting wind mills covering the hills

Not far is Chateau Neuf where the famous Chateauneuf du Pape wine is made, during the crushing season, carefull on the road as it is very very slippery

The Old chateau

The new one

Haute Provence

My cousin, Nicole, invited me to join her, husband and a group of 20 friends in Chabotte for some bush walking. a hell of a ride to get there, riding through mountains with heavy rain and freezing conditions, it was all worth it....we woke up the next  morning with a clear view over the summits covered by fresh snow

after the rain, mushrooms were abound, we had a feast

walking up the mountains, lots of waterfalls, I bathed my tired legs in the freezing pool, a good recipee to avoid muscle soreness, it worked!

flowers, crickets, marmottes enjoying the last beautiful days before winter

marmotte

French army training in the Alps

Ardeche Profonde

Ardeche attracts alternative lifestyle adepts, remote villages can be isolated by snow during winter

The Gorges along the Ardeche river are spectacular

I would like to purchase this castle

Wild Cevennes

Kids are back to school; still some retirees travelling in their mobil home, beautiful sunny September with unusual hot temperature, time to carry on the adventure.
Cevennes has some great roads for motorcycling with little traffic, great scenery

oignons are the best in the Cevennes

End of summer

 Summer is ending, time to pick the wild mulberries to make jam, the fig trees are giving plenty, grapes are sweet, hazelnuts and walnuts are falling to the ground...
A visti to the Gaulois Village and the caves d Esparros

A few more rides in the Pyrennees sharing the road with keen cyclists