In Pont-en-Royans: day two

May 26, 2025

Today is Bourne Gorge Day. Jacquie announces that she's feeling better at breakfast, this morning, and well enough to take a shot at biking up the Bourne Gorge as an out and back, the most accessible from our hotel of the big climbs. Al climbed up there yesterday but is happy to ride it again; and he made it sound manageable enough that Susan decides to give it a shot herself and tags along with them.

I'm the odd man out here. I'm climbing the Borne Gorge too, something I feel more confident about after my Goulets experience yesterday - but instead of climbing all the way to the top I plan to branch off at the midpoint for the road east to Saint-Julien, the first place Rachael and I stayed the first time we came to the Vercors ten years ago. After that I'll return to the gorge along an alternate road that drops me higher up in it before finally dropping back to the hotel again.

I'm not very far up into the gorge when I start seeing familiar sights. On our second visit to the Vercors five years ago we followed this same route to Saint Julian, and then kept climbing to the top of the Combe Laval - but unfortunately weren't able to drop down it because it was closed to clear up the effects of a recent landslide.

It's a justifiably popular cycling route: not too steep and physically difficult, not busy at all (at least during the middle of the week), but really beautiful. And just as it was five years ago, the weather is ideal. It's warm but partly overcast - just enough to keep things comfortable on the climb, with the bonus that the lighting conditions and sky really show the gorge at its best.

And it's a good thing that I decided to ride on my own, because I don't feel conflicted by how often I feel compelled to stop and haul out the phone for another shot.

Just outside of town there's this interesting bit of equipment. A water-powered saw maybe?

I don't know anything about this old mill or factory. I didn't know when I took a photo of it five years ago either.

I think this is in Choranche. And I think this is the village where the other three stopped for their snack break on the way back. We'll have to wait for one of them to get caught up on their journal before we know for sure.

In the Bourne Gorge. It's fascinating watching the changing colors of these cliffs - sometimes golden, sometimes gray, sometimes silver, sometimes black.

In the Bourne Gorge. Seeing spots like this make me imagine how different life must be to actually live in a spot like this.

You can hear from where I'm standing the roar of the waterfall.

About ten miles into the ride I come to Le Balme de Rencurel, a sleepy village that looks like it had some life to it at some point in the past. And there's less now than five years ago when I took photos of the same buildings and the curtains were in much better repair.

Le Balme de Rencurel sits at a crossroads between the Bourne Gorge and a long lateral road that runs perpendicular to it along a trough that more or less splits the Vercors in half. I turn east here toward Saint-Julien, but I could just as easily have gone the other direction toward Rencurel and had a very similar experience.in both directions, the road climbs away from the river for several miles and eventually tops out at a pass at around three thousand feet. The climb I take today isn't bad, but climbing at around 8-9 percent, it's the most challenging part of my ride today. It gives me plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers and commune with the cows.

I think the pinks are bistort, and maybe the blue one is a tassel hyacinth?

The climb to Saint-Julien is the most challenging part of the day.

Looking west along the trough toward Rencurel. Le Balme sits in between here and there, at the low point beside the river.

Toward the top the land becomes more open and cultivated.

The trough is lined to the north with cliffs, the opposite face to the ones we saw from below a few days ago biking along the Drac.

I'm not sure about the flower identifications, but I feel pretty confident here in claiming this is a cow. Susan can correct me if I'm wrong.

It's really a lovely little valley up here at fhs top. I love places like this.

I turn back when I come to Saint-Julien-en-Vercors and reflect on the hotel we stayed at ten years ago and stood here together looking at five years ago. Ten years! In some ways it seems like it's so long ago - so much has happened and changed in our lives since then - but in other ways it feels like only yesterday. Time is so strange.

In Saint-Julien-en-Vercors. It's a tradition now. I'll have to return in another five years.

And then comes the reward - fifteen miles of freewheel and brake action as I drop two thousand feet on the way back to the hotel. I stop at a few spots for stills - especially on this other road that I've never ridden before - but mostly I let the GoPro do all the work and just thrill to the ride.

Here's an impressive view I've never seen before. Might as well brake for it.

And here. My route curves to the right and through that tunnel.

We're still dropping back to the Bourne River here, but parts of this road are as scenic as the gorge itself.

Ok. One last stop. Let's just ride the rest of the way now.

So I have no idea how often folks out there stop to check out the videos, but you might want to take a look at this one to get a feeling for what this gorge is like. And when you watch you might reflect on the fact that the Combe laval, the Goulets, the Goege du Nan and several other dramatic rides are just a few miles away. If you haven't been to the Vercors before you might want to put it on your map.

Sound track: Adams's Apple, by Wayne Shorter

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So that's my day. Rocky's afoot today also, and hikes south from the hotel down into the area I biked yesterday after dropping out of the Petits Goulets. I recognize several of the shots in her slide show from my own ride. She enjoys her hike, especially the goats and geese - but it starts out frustratingly when the route I mapped for her asks her to ford the Bourne River. Instead she contents herself with a good look at the waterfall before doubling back to a safer crossing.

Sound track: Jardin d'Hiver, by Stacey Kent

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The menu at our hotel is reasonable enough but limited, so we're all more than ready to check out the only other option in town, at Beau Rivage - a family run restaurant hotel. It's about a third of a mile away, far enough that I decide to bike there instead of putting my knees through all that walking nonsense. And it's an excellent evening, sitting outside listening to the river rushing below and talking over the day with friends.

Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 923 miles (1,485 km)

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Amber StarfireWhat a gorgeous annd idyllic place! Thanks for sharing it with us.
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2 weeks ago

Scott AndersonTo Amber StarfireThanks, Amber. France is so full of exceptional places, but the Vercors really stands out.
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2 weeks ago

Susan CarpenterGreat pics and videos/slide show. I see why the Vercors has a special place in your heart and was so glad things worked out to share it with you both
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2 weeks ago