Today we were set to do some more Ardechoise exploring and it was a great day for it. Thunderstorms from last night were gone and replaced with clear crisp autumn air and blue skies.
Since today was to be a shorter day, 165 km or so, Feed #1 was in a town square and Phil encouraged us to duck into a local cafe which honored Jean Farrat (a French folk singer). Memorabilia about him was everywhere. Jen and I had a cafe au lait and hot chocolate which help to take the edge of the morning chill still present after the descents in more shaded areas.
Lunch was in a cafe as well and today’s vegetarian option was quiche. As has been the theme this trip, lunch was warm, filling and hit the spot. After eating we were pretty much right into a long climb up to Col de la Croix de Bauzon (14 km and about 1000 m of elevation gain). The higher we climbed, the better the views were. You could truly see and feel autumn on the climb. Yellows and orange were everywhere. I took a bit more time at the top of the col and climbed up to the nearby ski station and the views were superb as well.
We then had a quick down and back up to Col de Meyrand and the colors were just as good if not even better as we snaked our way up to the col. From there we had a 30 km or so descent. The road eventually snaked its way back down to the valley where we had a few more ‘bumps’ until the final feed of the day.
After Feed #3, we had a few more shorter climbs and joined more forest roads before heading down and of course back up to the town of Aubenas for the night.
So, today was supposed to be 165 km, but due to some arrowing confusion, at least 2/3’s of the group went 10-15 km out of the way which made the ride at least 180 km or so. Even Phil went the wrong way! Of course, Garmin gpx files and lack of reassurance arrows eventually got us back on track.
Another notable siting today included a house with at least 10 cats eating outside. Most were tabby’s. Wow, a home with more cats than ours...
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