Distance: 11 miles. Elevation: 1567 ft
I didn’t want to let this glorious day go by without a ride so I planned a short one to go and investigate that road I spotted yesterday to La-Croix-sur-Roudoule. It was only a ten mile ride, so I skipped some of my normal prep. I only took one bidon and one energy gel. I did eat a banana before leaving. I didn’t lotion up or wear my neck-protector or a base layer
I left at 3:30. The weather was glorious again – high 20’s, not a cloud in the sky. I rode all the way to the suspension bridge without stopping. Inevitably, because the sun was in a different place this late in the day, some of the views I had photographed yesterday were cast in a new light. I noticed that the bridge looked better, but I didn’t stop. I thought maybe I can still catch it on the way back.
I stopped and at the turn off and braced myself for the climb to La-Croix-sur-Roudoule.
It wasn’t the effort I was bracing for but the ‘fear’ factor. Google street view made this road look quite narrow and with a sheer drop to the right as it clung to the side of the hill. I started the climb. The gradient was fine.
Only a couple of cars passed. So I was able to ride well away from the edge. In fact the road was ok – not too scary at all. I’ll let the photos tell the rest of the story
There was not a great deal to see there. A cluster of houses huddled around the church on top of a hill – usual fayre in these parts. Nice though.
As I rode back through les Gorges de la Roudoule coming into Puget Théniers, I remembered that I’d referred to it as a ‘mini gorge’. Well everything is relative and I’d said that on the same day that I’d seen the massive Gorge de Cian, or at least a bit of it. Suffice to say that Gorges de la Roudoule makes Cheddar Gorge look like a crack in the pavement.
