May 9, 2025
To Saint-Martin-d'Ardeche
So here's that rarest of events, a bike/train day in which everything goes smoothly and exactly as planned. So, not particularly interesting - like happy marriages, if you've seen one you've seen them all - but since it's a rare event it's worth sharing just for that. The day begins with us wheeling our loaded bikes out of our room and into the elevator - easy to do because the elevator is deep and wide enough to accommodate a bicycle, with panniers, without folding it or pulling its stem or even just standing it on end - and then coasting the five blocks down to the old harbor. We arrive right at eleven, with three goals - to stop at the pharmacy and try to buy some more prednisone, which I'll run out of in another two weeks; to find something light to eat as an early lunch; and to leave again by around noon, leaving us plenty of time to bike up to the station in time to catch our 1:30 train to Avignon
It all works. The pharmacist speaks English, sells me enough prednisone to see me through an additional month (but records the sale and my passport information, so maybe it's getting tracked somewhere). And right next to the pharmacist is a cafe that's still serving brunch, where we both have omelets with a side salad; and the ride up to the train station goes smoothly, with us arriving there not long past noon.
Oh, and we had a fourth stretch goal I forgot to mention - to stay dry, because there's the threat of rain throughout midday. We basically succeeded there too, although our saddles got a little damp while we were eating breakfast and getting anxious when umbrellas started popping out. It didn't last long though and was essentially stopped by the time we biked up the boulevard to the station. So, pretty much a perfect start.
With an hour to spare, there was time for me to look around and admire the station and the views it affords while we waited for the gate to our train to be announced.
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3 months ago
Our gate isn't announced until about twenty minutes before departure, but it's no concern. Saint-Charles is a flat station (no under or overpasses to traverse on the way to your gate. We walk the short distance to Gate E, and then wait for about ten minutes for our regional train to come in. And it's no problem boarding when the train arrives, because this is the end of the line so there's plenty of time to get on, and the bike car is well branded and easy to spot, and this a modern train with wide doors and no stairs so just rolling them in is a snap. The only negative is that we have to hang the bikes on hooks, so the panniers need to get removed now and rehung later when we arrive at our destination.
And one more thing to note: our advance planning was necessary and done correctly, in that we both made reservations and purchased the €2/bike supplement that the southeast region requires on this line. Both were necessary, as we find out immediately when a conductor asks us to confirm that we have bike reservations; and when she scans our tickets later she also asks to see the receipt for our supplement. So our advice here if you've wondered about these supplements is to pay attention and not just blow them off. If you need any help figuring out how this all works, feel free to ask. I've finally got it figured out.
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3 months ago
There's some excitement and anxiety halfway through our ride when the conductor tries without success to awaken or communicate with a passenger in the front of our car. She tries multiple times to stir her, but the woman is apparently unresponsive. So at the next stop three policemen and a woman who's some sort of incident manager or facilitator board the train and we hear a siren in the distance and then an ambulance arrives and a team EMT workers gets out and heads toward the train with a stretcher also but never actually board because they're presumably not needed.
The whole incident takes at least fifteen minutes to resolve, with us feeling both curious about what's happening and increasingly anxious that we'll miss our connection. Eventually though it resolves in the woman's favor - she's allowed to stay on the train. The policemen and the other woman leave, the doors close, the train starts up again, and we're relieved when we look at the status of the train on the SHCF app. It shows that arrival at the stops ahead will be 15 minutes late, but that still leaves us sufficient time to make our connection.
And somewhere in here we remember our lesson from yesterday and book our tickets for the next train through the SNCF app so we don't have to try to do so at the station. Definitely the better way to go.
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We get to Avignon in plenty of time to make our connection to Pont-Saint-Esprit. Our train comes in before long - another modern one that's easy to access, and we don't even have to hang the bikes this time, Not much story there.
Fifty minutes later we get off in Pont-Saint-Esprit. Everything works to plan. We've only got an easy seven mile bike ride to our final destination, and will arrive around five - hugely better than a 27 mile ride with an arrival around 7 or after if we'd ridden on the first train all the way to Orange, as was the original plan. And even the weather cooperates. For a change Weather.com nails the forecast and it really doe shower for precisely the four hours we're in transit on the train and dries out when it comes time to bike.
And it's a pleasant, attractive bike ride through vineyards with a striking suspension bridge to be crossed at the end.
And I see two new birds for the year on the way in, though I don't stop and try to photograph them: a common buzzard (#157) and a black kite.(#158).
And Saint-Marin looks like an excellent spot to stay for a couple of nights, and the hotel looks like it will work out great.
And when we go out for galettes and a dessert crepe at the end of the day, the snack bar even stocks NA beer.
So in short, it's a ten-jammer of a day, meeting or exceeding expectations in all regards. How boring.
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Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 550 miles (885 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 14 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 8 |
3 months ago
3 months ago
They started in Morocco, and then took the ferry to France. They said the transition was like entering a Brahms recital directly from a rock concert! That's an intriguing description.
3 months ago
Well, we haven't stayed or even passed through Avignon for many years so we can't help much here, but I doubt it's any more expensive than any other larger place in southern France. I think if you're being mindful of costs and just looking for calories you should be fine. There are bound to be plenty of inexpensive bars and pizzerias around to choose from. I certainly wouldn't change your booking at this point.
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