20 years ago today – Day 68

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May 10 – Ruoms to Beage, 3096 km

Ruoms has an interesting public market of Fridays, but we did not have much time to spare. We only see a small part of it because, even though we plan to only cover 80 km, most of our route will be uphill into the Massif Central, the highlands west of the Rhone Valley.

We continue up the Ardeche River for 30km, switching back and forth across the river on a small highway, D679. We climb gently the first 25km to Aubenas, skirting the edge of the town to avoid a steep 30m climb into the city. Four kilometres later, the highway leaves the Ardeche Valley and follows a smaller, steeper stream. It climbs rapidly for one kilometre to the town of Vals-les-Bains.

The road climbs at this rate or steeper for the next several hours. We do our best to conserve our energy, cycling in the lower gear to keep our pedals moving to ease the strain on our knees. Cyclists injure their knees more than anything else.

The valley is a steep V-shape in cross section, with the hills rising 200m on either side. The land is dry and lightly forested. There’s only a low stone guard wall between us and the river and only a narrow shoulder. The wall might be a bit low to stop us from tumbling into the canyon if a car brushes us over, so we stay focused on the road as we creep along up the never-ending hill. “This is going to be fun to go down,” Mike muses, trying to think positive. An hour later, still climbing the same hill, he modifies it to “This is going to be REALLY fun to go down.”

We stop for a break, and while we are resting I see a town perched high above us on the opposite side of the canyon. And high above it, perhaps another 100m vertically, there is a road carving around the mountainside. “I didn’t know there is another road in this valley,” I say, checking my map. There isn’t. That road is our road. We both sigh. There is no turning back now.

The road has huge switchbacks to bring us up to Laviolle, the town hanging on the mountainside. It continues to climb through the town and beyond, around another big switchback, the one that passes above the town. A bit further on there is a sign announcing another 18km to the pass at Mezilhac, the top of the hill. Mike and I are incredulous. We stop to discuss our strategy. Mike wants to get closer to the pass before stopping to have a roadside lunch. I go along with him – for the ride, so to speak.

The climb is now not quite as steep as before, which gives us some relief. We find a nice grassy patch half a kilometre from the pass and have our lunch. We are in a great mood now, knowing the hill is almost over, but when we reach the pass, we have an unpleasant surprise. To get to Le Puy, our destination, we must turn west at the pass and start climbing a steep road up the mountainside from the pass to the hills above. We groan and laugh at the same time.

This definitely the longest and highest climb I have ever done in one day. I hope to never break this record I have set. The road finally peaks an hour after we turn onto the road at the pass. We have climbed continuously for 38 km, from 120m at Ruoms to a height of 1400m at the top. I console myself with the fact that the climb is over and tomorrow, the last leg of the route to Le Puy, will be shorter and easier.

At the top, there’s a strong, icy headwind that requires us to don as many layers as possible. There are great views there too, first on one side and then the other. We cross the great Loire River as it is still a young stream, only 20 km from its source. We ride through the village of Eulalie, which boasts of being the first settlement on the Loire.
Eight kilometres later we reach Beage, where the rolling countryside on top of the Massif Central falls away rapidly, this time to the south-west.

Our trip for today is over. We find a nice little inn with a room with two beds for only 105 francs. The showers are 10F extra so I wash in the sink. We eat in the hotel, too, celebrating our victory with the least effort possible. We are tired but pleased with ourselves. It is only 40 km to Le Puy, and it will be downhill much of the way.


PHOTO 1: start of canyon near Val-les-Bains
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