30-07-2014     Ville-Vieille – Champis/St.-Romain-le-Lerps     104 km

Well, I do wake up sometimes, in my soft warm bed, luckily not in need of a bathroom, which is downstairs at the other side of the farm, and all the time hear the rain, rain, rain. However, when I'm woken up by my alarm, at 7:05 a.m., there's no more sound of falling water. To my sorrow my first view out of the window doesn't reach beyond twenty metres. I decide I will skip the loop around the Mont Gerbier de Jonc. Instead, having finished breakfast, I curl up into the soft sofa, about the only luxury here, with my book and Prokofiev's second piano concerto, twice. It takes some time finding Michel, to settle the expenses, and around 9:45, when the visibility has slightly improved, set off, with four layers of clothing, into the drizzle, well, at the beginning it's a bit worse than that. And it's cold! For around 20 km I stay on the high Plateau de l'Ardêche, between 1100 m and 1400 m, and with the hard wind from my right it is quite an undertaking to take of one layer (the innermost but one) of clothing.

	Same view, 12 hours later		Where's the bright side?		Disconsolate morning
	Still on the high plateau		And down from here!		Down down down

The Col des 4 Vios I get for free, and from there I descend into lower regions with better visibility, better temperatures, better weather in general, and the day will turn out very nice. In Saint-Pierreville, indeed some 700 m lower, I first fear (panic) I have left my purse in Ville-Vieille, until I find it in an unusual compartment of my pannier. I sit in the sun! with coffee, and two chaussons, aux pommes et aux châtaignes; indeed there are chestnut trees everywhere, I see them and I smell them; lovely! All in all, even with this late start, at 12 o'clock I have covered a longer distance than yesterday at this same hour. From Saint-Pierreville the road goes up and down for a while, until an unexpectedly long descent, with a completely looping (as at the Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin), brings me to Saint-Sauveur-de-Montagut, on the river l'Eyrieux. I must have come down almost to the level of the river Rhône, some 15 km further east.

	Les Cévennes: le pays des châtaignes		The world is getting brighter . . . .
	. . . . and brighter!		Lowest point of the day: Saint-Sauveur de Montagut

The local temperature: 23 degrees; that's not too bad. My original plan was to follow this quite big river some 5 km, and then start climbing the last ridge separating me from today's destination. I don't mind the wind too much, the sun is shining, the valley is rather narrow and beautiful. On the other side I see quite a lot of cycling activities, a lot of children on back seats too. It appears there's a piste cyclable that goes as far as Le Cheylard, which is way out of my route, but I decide to change my route a little to enjoy this cycle path for some 8 km. It's unpaved, but it's fun. During the last km I can clearly see the road that is going to take me out of the valley.

	Beautiful valley of the Eyrieux		Cycling activities on the other side
	Piste cyclable		. . . .
	Eight kilometers of fun		. . . . and the cars are on the other side
	Looking up: where's the road?		There's the road!

This will be the climb of the day, and it's a nice one too! Almost from the start I can see the village Chalencon, some 400 m up, at a col between two hills. The Eyrieux gets smaller and smaller when I look down upon it from higher and higher, the climb seems to last longer than the mere 5.5 km that the map indicates, and also contains a few tough sections (tougher than expected). The views deep down give the impression that I'm getting quite high (whereas the Col de Chalencon lies at an altitude of only 694 m).

	First view down		View up, as far/high as Chalencon
			Higher view down
	Almost there		Even closer to 'there'

I definitely need a break and some refreshments when around three o'clock I arrive at (the Col de) Chalencon. While I take in food and drinks I follow two workmen filling their break with a match of jeu de boules (or so I guess). I have 26 km to go, there's not much climbing to achieve, no more busy roads to follow (there haven't been any today), and the weather is much nicer than foreseen. So the world is all brightness to me. The views back to (the Col de) Chalencon are quite nice too.

View back to Chalencon

Another view back with Silhac in between

I pass Vernoux-en-Viverais, leave it by a typical straight road bordered by sycamores, sycamores populated by cicadas. Over Vernoux a last view back to Chalencon, and a frightening view to a big dark cloud in the north, which I pass on the east.

Leaving Vernoux-en-Viverais

Risk of rain again?

So far so good, but then: Alboussière: all shops are closed on Tuesday afternoon. Humpf! Champis: appears to consist of several villages. In the first one, Champis-Garnier: no gîte. A friendly woman helps me to locate it – calls to the people there and finds me a route by Google Maps. Eight km to go still, and not flat either! I get back onto the D533 to Valence and just before the junction where I think I have to leave this road to the left, I note a sign for a gîte rural to the right. Will that . . . ? I call the last number I phoned yesterday, which was the place for tonight, wasn't it?, and am connected to a very confused lady on the other side, and then her husband, who with a loud voice tells me that I'm at least 100 km from his place, and then I realize it's Michel, from Ville-Vieille. The other number I dial takes me to an answering machine. Well . . .   At the (right?) junction (to the left) there's hope: two gîtes are mentioned. However, the road goes up, there's another junction, and I don't know the name/location of 'my' gîte! One road goes up, the other down, I opt for the first. To end up at a shabby looking gîte moto – about the same category as yesterday's. After I have announced myself – bonjour! – three times a sleepy beauty of around 20 come down the staircase, as if she has just woken up. She knows of nothing, not of my arrival, not of any other gîte nearby, and calls her Dad (?) for some information. It might indeed be the other road. Before I resume my search I learn that, if needed, I can have a room here. The other road ends at a building with a building site. No gîte. The people are friendly, with the number I give them they do get through to the other place, but they receive no positive answer from there.

	Enough for one sleeping place (!?)		Hesitation to bring Koga inside
	It's definitely not here!		So hey doggy, here I am again

So back to the gîte moto, where I spend a cozy evening with Morgane and her stepfather Cocoun. Mum, who's off horse riding in the Pyrenees, has left several ready to warm up dishes in the fridge ;-)

31-07-2014     Champis – Rencurel     118 km

Around 7:15 I cautiously descend the steep, creaking staircase and am welcomed by a breakfast with ten jars of confitures de la maison. And in few moments Morgane appears as well. Later on two people that stay on the campground come in and use the kitchen to do their washing up. Yeah, it's quite an unorganized but friendly household. For more information: www.gitemoto.com. Gorgeous day!!

	Koga at his high and dry place		Gorgeous day!!
	Vinyards in the Rhône valley		The river Rhône (and the autoroute)

First a descent to St. Peray, getting so low that there are orchards around me for a change, Côtes du Rhône. On the busy N532 I cross this big river, and the autoroute along it and enter one of the two biggest cities of the trip, Valence. Keep to the east, that's my adage to pass it as quickly as possible. This works quite well, though I end up a little too much to the north. The information I get from a man on the street: au cinquième feu d'arrêt tournez à gauche is correct. It brings me onto the road past Aeroport Valence to Chabeuil. It's a straight busy road, it takes a while to get out of the city, and then the hard wind from the north is still annoying. I put on my sun glasses, and in front the Vercors ridge lies luring me – it's a pity it does look rather cloudy up there.

Having left Valence behind

. . . . right unto the mountains of the Vercors

Just before Chabeuil I do not ignore the Super U – in fact I buy almost enough stuff to eat and drink for two days. In Chabeuil it's not that warm still, but I have a coffee outside, with muffins ('Super U'), on a sunny terrace. I get onto a different road to the north than I wanted, which leads through St.Didier, but what's worse is that I again have to fight the mistral. When finally (in my perception) I reach Barbières I have already gained 200 m since Chabeuil. In Barbières that's where the fun begins.

Last hour against the mistral

With the Vercors closer and closer by

Through a small clue the tiny road up to the Col de Tourniol starts, a new one for 'the list', some 750 m up in 11 km. A quiet road, two sections with hairpin bends, nice views back, cloudy views up, and close to the end two steep kms (of at least 8%). It's another test that goes well; it just takes it time.

	The clue just after Barbières		Narrow road to the cliff
	Behind me the Rhône valley,		before me the high rocks (and the fog)
	Nice quiet road,		with sparse cycling activity
	Higher view back/down		Almost there
	There		View to the other side

At the top I meet a Dutch guy who started from the east, and who tells me he has had a lot of rain during his stay in the Drôme. I have a coke and a muffin before I start the short descent to Léoncel, from where the road to Oriol-en-Royans descends more gradually. Quite a nice road, actually, with the high chalk cliffs on both sides, and ... what a lot of water! At many places there are temporary small streams on the verge of the road, at some places it's flowing from the high to the low side of the road.

	What a lot of water!		Small bike
	Quite a nice road!		Is there a problem (??)
	The mountains are getting more. . . .		. . . . and more impressive
	. . . . . . . .		. . . .

The tenant of the gîte in Rencurel had already warned me the route through the lower part of the Gorges de la Bourne is closed after éboulements, and suggested one of two alternatives (in fact he mentioned two, and recommended one), and now I can indeed with my own eyes observe some consequences of the rainfall in the last month. Closer to the Bourne the high rocks are getting more and more impressive. I postpone a break till Saint-Laurent-en-Royans, and at the end of this long stretch from Chabeuil, when the road keeps going up and down, I'm getting tired indeed. I choose the (not recommended) alternative route to Rencurel, via the Grands Goulets, which I assume means a little (not much) less climbing than the alternative via the Col de Pra l'Étang, though I have the intention to certainly add that one to my 'list', this year. First the tunnels of les Petits Goulets, and then a climb to the long tunnel that was built when part of the route through les Grands Goulets collapsed, somewhere between my tours of 1999 and 2010. Shortly before the tunnel I create my own Cascade des Goulets ;-)  The climb to this tunnel is definitely less demanding than expected – I thought it was 200 m higher than it actually is – and the tunnel itself, slightly uphill, is a 1.7 km danger/struggle.

	Into the Vercors		Trop d'eau
	Deeper and deeper . . . .		. . . . into the Vercors
	View back		Roundabout just after the tunnel

On the roundabout after the tunnel I take the exit to Saint-Martin/Saint-Julien-en-Vercors. The road goes gently up for a while, and again, what a lot of water all around! In fact this is not a very interesting part of the stage, and I'm also disappointed I don't see an alimentation in Saint-Laurent(-en-Vercors). I ignore the steep shortcut to La Balme-de-Rencurel (where I would have found a shop, I learn in the evening) and thus pass by a very impressive section along/under a huge cliff followed by a short descent to the Bourne (to the point where the last time – in 2010 – I noticed the dents in the road surface caused by falling stones, and to the Pont de la Goule Noir, where in the past I've already made so many pictures. Follows an easy ride to La Balme, with a nice view back to the road around the cliff.

	'Boring' part'   (boring?)		Rencurel from a distance
	At the road along the cliff		View back to the road along the cliff
	Pooping (or peeing?) cow		Rencurel from closer by

From La Balme a short rude climb to Rencurel – the hardest 2 km to the Col de Romeyère – where I arrive shortly before six. And where I do not find a shop either, which doesn't surprise me. What surprises and annoys me: again the gîte is situated a few kms past the village, and again with quite a noteworthy gain in altitude (almost on level with the Col de Romeyère!). Luckily the instructions given by the bar man in the luxurious hotel in Rencurel (for a long while I should follow the signs for fromage de chèvre) turn out accurate, but I am not amused. The people in Villefort had already told me the gîte in Rencurel is really nice, its tenant Philippe very sympathetic and a culinary expert. In all respects their praise turns out correct. What adds to the pleasure is the encounter with a friendly couple of hikers, Joan ("Dzjoan") and Montse (short for Montserrat), from Spain, er ... from Catalunya ;-)   I appreciate the Leffe Blond that I skipped in the hotel in Rencurel. Over dinner we share the table with a group of horse riders, three adults and five teenagers. Only one of the young ones is a boy, Benjamin, and what a lively, funny chatterbox he is, utterly unaware of his charms it seems (unless he is also smarter than he looks).