An epic trip over 27 days covering 1164 miles/1862 kilometres took us from Provence
to Normandy. We cycled 24 of those days, rested on 3 and averaged 48 miles per day.
Our shortest day was 9 miles and our longest was 68.5 miles. Our lowest point was
at sea-level in the Camargue and our highest point was 6273 feet on top of Mont
Ventoux. We managed to avoid the major roads (red on French maps) except for 40
miles, 10 of which were on a deserted road closed for repairs. The weather was good
and we had only two days of continual rain (one of those on a rest day). However,
the hoped for southwesterly wind was replaced too often in the early days by a strong
northerly (the infamous Mistral)! We were never ill but our necks and/or knees were
sore at various points. Nothing serious enough to prevent our cycling. No punctures
or other mechanical problems other than the damage to my brakes by the bus driver
and snapped gear cables on both our bikes. The best trick for light packing was to
take throw-away books downloaded from the web and printed out in a small font on
double-sided paper. Too many marvellous dinners to mention.
Overall? It was fantastic!!!
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