Still no photos of the Campground Chanteclerc, I secretly scheme to liberate the Nikon Coolpix from Jenny's grasp later in the day once the multiple hill climbs have incapacitated her...he, he, he.
Slow start to our morning, do the usual stuff like coffee, brekky, pack, etc. had a game of Charades with a French Competition Cyclist who is competing on Sunday in a 130km race through the area we will soon be cycling today. It's worth noting the Charades involved drawing numbers in the air....is that allowed in English Charades ? Eventually we are riding along at 11am.
Straight away Davo GPS has us headed for the hill climbs, if the views had not been so amazingly beautiful & so French looking, Jenny & I would have been considering alternative routes. Stacks of 1st, 2nd & 3rd gear action here folks. These suckers were steep, to give you a bit of an idea, 1st gear on our bikes equals about 5km/h climbing one of the hills. That is so slow we have even been passed by Joggers out on a run & that even occurred later in our day again !
To our left we had the magnificent vista of Saint-Victoire Mountain, to our right a crystal clear brook, tumbling down from the mountain range, green vegetation every where. It's getting warm and humid so we are getting through our water supply at an alarming rate.
Eventually we reach what is to be our summit for the day. The Nikon Camera's altimeter is reading about nearly 700mtrs (yes I have reappropriated the camera :-) we have climbed approximately 400mtrs over 13kms. Some cars passed us but we were also overtaken by 11 racing bikes, 4 mountain bikes & 1 jogger but we'll beat him in the end.
Coasting down the other side was phenomenal, both of us travelling along at 50km/h+ most of the way, there was even a section when we were sitting just under 60km/h for a while. We did 10kms in a very short amount of time and the next thing we knew, the patisserie at Pourrieres was welcoming us with cheese/salad pains, juice & yummy pastries.
Just after leaving Pourrieres, Davo's battery died and both Jen & I were feeling it....."the weakness". We had travelled 36kms it was 3pm and we were seriously considering "pulling the pin" once we arrived into Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, some 5 kays away.
The ride into Maximin on the DN7 Hwy was all very fast down hill, with me hitting my PB of 60.8km/h, Jen had reached 59km/h. We rolled into Maximin full of Adrenaline & the food we had eaten earlier had started to provide some energy as well. So we pushed on, Brignoles was only another 18kms and it didn't feel like it was long before we arrived.
We located the town centre of Brignoles and Jen set to work on her phone to locate some accommodation, while I pretended to enjoy the scenery. I was really keeping an eye on a dodgy looking character nearby sitting on the other side of a small fountain who I had noticed was watching us. We are just about to head off and locate the nearby hotel when Mr Dodgy, about 25yo, fair build, blond hair, 175cm tall decides to meander over.
Mr Dodgy in French "do you have the time sir".
Willsie... Just show him my watch, which indicates 5pm.
Mr Dodgy "are you from Britain"
Willsie "Nah Mate, Straya Mate"
Mr Dodgy, Blinks & looks confused ? ?
Willsie " Catchya Cudda" and I give Jen the heads up it's time to move.
We walk our bikes a couple of hundred meters to the Hotel Provence & while Jen is trying to work out why the front door of the Hotel is locked, Mr Dodgy shows up again, I'm like WTF now, ready for some thing to happen.
Mr Dodgy asks in passable English "Can I please ask you 2 questions"
Willsie, has manoeuvred between the two bikes and Mr Dodgy, while discreetly moving into a marshal arts back stance.
Willsie " Yeah what Mate?"
Mr Dodgy "is there much work in Australia"
Willsie " Yep Lots"
Mr Dodgy "do Australians accept gays, lesbians & homosexual?"
(I kid you not, that is what he asked me, how do you answer that ?)
Willsie " Yeah mate they love 'em in Melbourne & Sydney"
Mr Dodgy, turned around and left, Jenny was wetting herself with laughter & I needed a beer !
hill climbs for first 20kms near Saint-Victoire Mountain (1011mtrs).
Religious monument to Saint ???
Babbling Brook, time to wet the shirt.
Ahh nice and cool now. The water is so clear.
Slow hard grind for Jenny, she just loves 1st gear hill work, lucky the view is nice.
Wow !
13 kms of this !
Rest & wee stop. 3/4 of the way up.
C'mon Jen, don't let the crazy French runner beat you !
Where we had lunch the two ladies out the front served us then went back to smoking their ciggies.
Still some hills, but a lot easier, vineyards every where.
Glad this bridge was here, so we could get across the main road.
Zooooom !
In Brignoles, Jen trying to find some where to stay, her phone is down to 12% battery power.
If you look very closely Mr Dodgy is in the picture, just to the left of the fountain, sitting down, waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting Straya Animals.
Hotel Le Provence in Brignoles where we plan to rest up for ANZAC Day and a couple of nights.
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