The End Is Near

After the drama and excitement of the day before, our ride back to Vezenobres seemed almost like a let down. Moreso, since this was our last day out touring. It was sad to think our holiday was almost over. I think this made me ride slower and stop more often just to make the trip last longer.

After coffee and many thanks to Vincent for his kind hospitality (Joelle had left for work very early), we rode into town to find some food for breakfast and lunch. We would be following a lot of the roads we had ridden with Eddie when coming back from Mt Aiguoal, and we remembered that there weren't many services along the way, so again it would be a good idea to stock up where we could. 

The rains from the previous evening were now just a memory, and again we had majestic blue skies and light wispy clouds. Our route trended downhill, that is, after the first climb of the day. Autumn was definitely settling in and the day started crisp and cool, but that first climb warmed us nicely.

We diverted off route slightly after seeing a signs of civilization, with hopes of coffee and croissants. At this stage, no one should be surprised to hear that the boulangerie/epicerie had closed years before! But there was a lovely bar nearby where we were able to get a couple of nice cafe cremes. We soaked in the delightful warm sunshine, while enjoying the nice warm drinks.

Maybe we were getting tired. We only had 40 miles to ride, and it was definitely downhill the remainder of the way, but my legs just wanted to take it easy. We found a pleasant field for our picnic lunch, and again savored the warm sunshine, and gazed out at the dazzling blue sky.

Someone in the public works department definitely had our route. This road was paved last week!

Never tempted to take the bus! That would be cheating. But John and I each had read Tyler Hamilton's book on the flight over and had learned that Edgar, as in Edgar Allan Poe, was a codename for EPO. We joked lots about taking Edgar, and being Edgar'd for the climbs!

In another stalling maneuver, I spotted a patisserie, where I had to have another sublime chocolate eclair. Coffee in France was a real disappointment, but boy do they know how to make eclairs!

This was one of our best views of Vezenobres. Eddie and Chisa's place is to the right of that really large building - the Mairie. It was great to see our friends again, but still sad to be so close to the end of the holiday. We headed across the street to the local bar and told tall tales of our week away and then planned to do a short ride together the next day, before packing and getting a lift into Nimes, where we would catch a train the next day.

Last day report next...