Dave and his Bike

The morning brought more wind. Further checks of the weather forecast along the proposed route didn’t look great. Climbing further and being more exposed didn’t seem like a great idea, so based on safety I opted not to ride from the campsite. Day three and I’m already hitching a lift. Not a brilliant feeling, but I won’t have the option soon so I may as well enjoy the ride and use the options available to me.

So, we drove to Langogne, and headed southwest from there which was a complete change of route. It turned out to be a great choice, as the roads were spectacular. The climb to the top of the Col de La Croix de Bauzon was steady, and hit my highest point so far.

Turns out I climbed it from the right side (read ‘easy side’), starting from nearly 900m. The descent was awesome!! 1200m of altitude loss. Fantastic with lovely long views.

Once down in the valley I picked up a cycle route (old railway line) which was smooth tarmac and easy gradients followed by a bit of a complex route through the suburbs of Aubenas where Jane was waiting at the campsite. She had been for a trip round the town centre before I got there. Last time we visited was the aftermath of a motorcycle v lorry incident 13 years ago. Not great memories. The hospital is still there.

The Turkish restaurant opposite was too much to resist. Big kebabs. Walk down to the river before another early night. The wind in the trees was quite concerning. It was so loud that we were both more than a bit worried about what might fall on us in the night. Earplugs are the way forward.