Etape 2009 – Pont du Gard
Time to get back on the bike today but it’s not so bad when it’s to do bit of sightseeing.
Our group has expanded to include a couple of other riders. Between us we decided to visit Pont du Gard, a Roman Aquaduct about 40k south of the hotel.
The ride down had a couple of long climbs but at managable gradients. It was well worth the ride as we skipped the car parks and rode through the crowds to the river. The aquaduct was impressive, it’s three tiers of arches effortlessly support the tons of rock that span the valley.
After a few pictures we locked up the bikes, stripped down to shorts and jumped in the river. I opted for the high jump off the rocks and found the cool water a refreshing blast.
We swam and larked about for a couple of hours before hitting the road once again. Taking a slight diversion we rode through the cobbled streets of a castled hill top town.
The return journey took half the time as a rare tail wind helped push us home. Mount Ventoux stands pround and drew my eye whenever visible from the road.
I ended the day doing a short run with Mark along the river. The waterside part of town is the oldest and spreads out from bridge of Pont St-Esprit. It provides a stunning backdrop to the river as the evening sunlight.
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L'Etape du Tour 2009
- Mont Ventoux
- Start from Montélimar (Drôme) to the Mont Ventoux summit, 172 km and 4 climbs (côte de Citelle, col d'Ey, col de Fontaube, col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles).
The Bike
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Trek Madone 5.0 (2007) - I love this bike, some would say too much with the amount of time I spend maintaining it! But if I'm going to be going 50mph down a mountain I want to know its in good shape.
