May 26, 2025
Gorges de la Bourne
The good news at breakfast this morning was that Jacquie's energy levels were up and she and Al were planning a relaxed out and back ride through the Gorges de la Bourne. And even better, they were more than happy to have me tag along. Janos and Suzanne planned a ride through the Royans, a duplicate if the ride I did yesterday. Rachael was hiking and Scott was still undecided when our breakfast confab ended.
Pont-en-Royans is located at the entrance to the Gorges de Bourne and the winding road that cuts through the cliffs above the Bourne River was important in opening the Vercors in the 19th century. The road has been referred to as “one of the mythic routes of the Alps” and was rated three stars in the Michelin guide. As mentioned in an earlier post, the route through the gorge has received rave reviews from many CycleBlazers and I was very keen to experience it for myself. And it did not disappoint.
It was the perfect day for me to ascend the gorge with Jacquie and Al – she was feeling better but not yet fully charged and so was content with a slow and steady climb. Al had pushed himself yesterday so was happy to take it easy, though he did stop and wait for us at several points along the way. All told, this made for a very stress-free ride for me – the grades were not as challenging as I’d imagined and I was able to relax, find a rhythm and really enjoy the company and our stunning surroundings.
We all shared pictures and I’ve tried to acknowledge the photographer(s) in the captions. You can find Jacquie’s version of the ride here. Scott also ended up cycling a large section of gorge – his entry is here and it has video.
There are not a lot of words to add, except one superlative after another. If you’re in the area, you might want to put this ride on your bucket list.
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Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 652 miles (1,049 km)
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1 week ago