Day 4 : Monday 12/7 Mixed Fortunes

Sometimes an economy is a false economy; I mean a campsite is much cheaper than a hotel. The campsite was fine - as campsites go. Nice shady pitches; good facilities and a decent bar and pizza outlet; of and the river Ardeche. What more could a man want? Well, as I write this at 7am in Vallon Pont D'Arc some 6 miles away from the campsite, the answer is that a man of a certain age wants - nay needs - certain things if his overall equilibrium is to be maintained. Now, we knew perfectly well that it was the World Cup final that evening. We are came to know that the campsite was overrun with Dutch - so with Spain v Holland, it was bound to be a boisterous evening. We also knew that it was very hot (36C) and that getting to sleep was likely to be challenging. Dave had warned me about the small inflatable mattress (we had both bought one prior to the trip, but Dave had craftily swapped his). He had suggested that it was both too narrow and very slippery, making any movement an opportunity to roll onto the ground and disturbing one's slumbers. But no, these things did not prevent me from sleeping last night; nor was it the mournful chatter of the defeated Dutch as they returned to their tents at around midnight. No, the problem for me, was that the mattress was like a disguised implement of torture; you would get to a position where the discomfort was just about tolerable and then, a slight movement would cause a contra hump or hollow which prevented any possibility of sleep. For 6 hours I remained in this state of tolerable / intolerable discomfort until my back decided that enough was enough; I emerged from the tent at 5am and packed up.

The toilets are also an interesting lesson in Eco-friendly thinking. As you enter a cubicle you are struck by the sparcity of it all; no loo seats and no loo paper. Mmm, this could be a problem. However, at the entrance to the loos is a large dispenser of ultra thin (cheap) loo paper. The idea is that you pre-decide the quantity of loo paper that you will need; tear it off, and take it in with you. Bizarre and not very friendly.

Dave was packing away when we agreed that I would get off to a cafe in Vallon; after all, there was no way to have a cup of tea and no where to sit either. Vallon Pont D'Arc is all one way and limited traffic entry; so my idea to meet Dave in the central square at the nearest cafe, whilst a "dead cert" almost anywhere else, was doomed to failure. For whilst I did find a way in, Dave (who followed perhaps 30 mins later) found this a maze too far. He called me to join him; which took some 20 mins as I too circled the routes in and out of the town. We met up and headed for the scenic gorges of the Ardeche river.

After this Dave changed his headphones / earphones for the nth time. He was unable to find a combination which a) worked and b) were relatively comfortable. For the majority of the trip so far Dave has been unable to hear my walkie-talkie comments / questions. Maybe this time??!

Of course, I was feeling quite pooped and with the temperature rising towards 30C and beyond, there was a certain urge to get going.

The route headed south towards Avignon and even, for a time, on the rat race A7 then A9 autoroutes.

Avignon was a complete traffic jam with my sat nav taking us on a "tour" of the city centre! However it was a quick visit because we were soon headed out towards Csrpentras and, despite being a D road, the dual carriageway was not much fun.

From Carpentras towards Digne les Bains, we enjoyed some first class riding - five stars from a GT perspective.

Lunch was in a small village restaurant near Sault. Although welcome, the meal for €13 / head was poor value and pretty poor.

By 3:20pm we had arrived at a hotel in Digne (again, the almost universal charge of €51 per room) and cold shower and real bed (bliss!) beckoned for a siesta!

Dave's Perspective. I warned John about the mattress and I had a great sleep as took decent inflatable mattress.However I really didn't appreciate being woken up at 5.50!

A great day's riding and any "down" sides only added to a truly exciting biking experience (I can say that now having had a very cold shower and now on my second beer)