May 23, 2023
Day 1 - Limoux to Carpentras to Monmoiron
Starting off with a short one
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The day has arrived! After several days of madly rushing around, we rolled out of the garage at about 1030. Everything is packed into the car for the tour and for the subsequent tandem rally. We hope. Somehow packing for two events made everything 4 times as stressful.
The drive to Carpentras was uneventful. Not even a stop for gas. We pulled into the parking lot next to the train/bus station right about 1330. Getting out of the car, we were struck by how much warmer it is over here. It’s hot!
We’re a little nervous about leaving the car in a free outdoor lot, but there weren’t any more secure options. So we’ll trust that we’re in rural France and hope for the best.
We ate a bit of lunch in the hot, sun-blasted parking lot, assembled the bike, and loaded everything up. A quick parking lot change of clothing was done, too, with minimal immodesty. We stopped off at the clean but toilet paper free public toilet and were rolling by 1415.
Today’s ride was short, with some good ramps to wake up our legs. We navigated the town traffic and were quickly on narrow, rural roads with almost no traffic.
Schnooks felt stable and secure from the first moment. The extra weight of the bags was noticeable in the steering, but after a couple of minutes it felt very comfortable. Shifting was flawless and instantaneous, and the gear range was wide enough to handle everything we encountered - up to 10% if my Wahoo can be believed. We are in love!
First days are always stressful for us. Leaving the car, wondering what we’ve forgotten, and getting back into the patterns of navigating through unfamiliar territory. But the bike and the ride did their best to calm us down. The roads were tree-shaded on this hot and muggy day, and we had beautiful views out toward Mt Ventoux.
We rode through the sleepy town of Mazan and took our first wrong turn into a 10% ramp. Oops…but we got up it! Yay! Now back down again…
After an hour of riding and sweating, we pulled up to our lodging for the night, “Le Clos Beauregard.” Pascal, the owner, gave us a brief tour of our gite and volunteered to make dinner reservations for us in town. A sweet guy - I hate using the telephone in French! We took welcome showers and spent time relaxing and enjoying his terrace until the dinner hour.
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11 months ago
Dinner was at “La Table des Gourmands” in the village. It was their opening night, but they were pros and our meal was superb. A starter of grilled gambas was perfectly cooked and came already sectioned for eating. Robin’s risotto with local asparagus was creamy and filling, and Rich’s grilled dorade was scrumptious. We accompanied the meal with a local red that got better as the meal progressed. Afterwards we waddled back up the hill to our room, enjoying the warm spring evening.
Today's ride: 15 km (9 miles)
Total: 15 km (9 miles)
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11 months ago