Why not try a cycling weekend in France trying out some of the Tour de France route? We are not that far from Mont Ventoux if you really want to test your stamina and there are plenty of other smaller mountains to practise on first! Take a look at some cycling posts in our Blog to get a flavour of what’s possible. If you prefer hiking there are countless trails here for all levels of proficiency – we have plenty of info on routes at our house.
Flights to Nimes, Marseille and Avignon mean a French micro adventure at Chateau Colombier is a real possibility.

Petrina and Simone take the prize for the longest journey of road bikes – brought with them from Brisbane via Paris on plane, train and van (supporter kudos to Sue Ann who drew the short straw of driving the transit van through narrow Provencal roads, on the wrong side, while jet-lagged). Though It was May, the weather wasn’t kind to them, but it didn’t stop the girls doing trips of up to 100km a day, sheltering from the rain in local bistros with hearty lunches and pastis to warm them up. You don’t often get Aussie girls around the roads here – they put the local Sunday cyclists to shame. And of course, they conquered Mont Ventoux. Plenty of eating and drinking also took place – and shopping on non-cycling days.

An unexpected outcome was that they seduced Eleanor into Australia as a destination for her post-study trip this September, where she intends to sample the surfing on Bonzai beach.

Holger takes the prize for the longest cycle ride to get here this year – forgoing a week of choir summer camp to ride from Heidelberg to Chateau Colombier in just 7 days; completing the final etape from Grenoble to here in a single day.

Dominic has taken up cycling with true gusto, and swapped his single gear London bike for a road bike hired from our great cycle shop / garage in Aubres (Bouchonaux). Lizzie hired a more robust “sit up and beg” bike – but still pedalled up the hills all for the reward of the free-wheeling adrenaline-inducing descents. Then Lizzie went back to London and Ash arrived – but Dom managed to break him, as Ash got over confident on the final bend into the car parking and crashed onto the gravel. Strains and bruises; or was this a cunning plan to be able to stay in the cool of the summer office (the outside verandah) hacking code on the computer?

I think I deserve a consolation prize – or a wooden spoon – for at least having a go. I never learnt to cycle as a child, and despite various attempts as an adult, I just don’t have the confidence – or the motivation. Not to mention that my physique has more in common with Michelin man than Lance Armstrong or Alberto Contador. Nevertheless, I drove to meet Dom and Lizzie on a quiet (flat) stretch of road in Curnier and managed about 10 minutes of fear-inducing push starts, wobbling and emergency stops. If I hadn’t been concentrating so hard it would have been funny watching Dom run beside me shouting words of encouragement. I didn’t fall off but if truth be told what I most enjoyed was finishing the ordeal. I’ll stick to the zen of swimming, thank you, and cooking to fuel the real cyclists’ hungry muscles.

Luckily, cycling here doesn’t have to be a competition. The house bikes are just as regularly brought out for the bread-run to the local boulangerie in preparation for a hard day of choosing a book from the library to read by the pool.

The Aussie cycle routes (no sat-nav, no maps, just simple lists of of the route:

Ride one
Les Pilles
Nyons
Mirabel-aux-Baronnies
Mollans-sur-Ouveze
Pierrelongue
Buis-les-Baronnies
Sainte-Jalle
Curnier
Les Pilles

Ride two
Les Pilles
Curnier
Eroyles
St-Ferreol-Trentes-Pas
L’Estellon
Bourieves
Gumaine
Cornillon-Sur-L’Oule
Remuzat
St-May
Sahune
Curnier
Les Pilles

Ride Three
Les Pilles
Chateuuneuf de Bordette
Mirabel-aux-Baronnies
Villedieu
St Roman de Malegarde
Cairanne
Camaret
Orange
N7 then D976 to to Les Pilles

Ride Four
Les Pilles
Mirabel-aux-Baronnies
Vaison la Romanie
Malaucene
Bedoin
Mt Ventoux and then back the same way to Les Pilles

Dom and Lizzie’s warm up:
Chateau Colombier, les Pilles, Curnier, Chateau Colombier
Dom and Lizzie’s favourite:
Chateau Colombier to Chateauneuf de Bordette, to Mirabel, to Nyons and back
Dom and Ash’s challenge:
Chateau Colombier, Condorcet, St Ferreol, Gorge de Trente Pas, and to the top of the Col.

Do come and add your cycle routes to the Chateau Colombier favourites and the Mont Ventoux roll of honour.

And I watched the penultimate stage of the Tour de France this year with awe as the guys I’d seen with my own eyes sprinting past the house 4 hours earlier reached the finish line.

But it’s with equal pride that I am thinking of keeping a tally of the Mont Ventoux ascents achieved by my cycling house guests.

The early arrivers of my June group of house guests did all three routes to the top (starting and finishing at Le Colombier).

I’m listening in to the plans. It seems that there will be at least one or two breakaways from choir practice who also have the Mont in their sites. Rachel – my sous-chatelaine for the month with a fitness to die for – is tempted to join them.

Of course I’m encouraging her. What a personal souvenir to take back the other side of the world.

And talking of Rachel – look out for her guest blogs coming soon.

As well as many shots of headless riders, and tarmac (why do cyclists go so fast? – I guess it was a sprint stage) guess who I managed to snap cycling past Chateau Colombier?