Bruce and Li's Wanderings Cycling Provence - May & June 2008

Montpellier to Vezenobres May 11, 2008

We managed to find out why Bruce was not receiving any e-mails. His computer was left on at home so, unfortunately, any e-mails up until the point that Lowell went in and turned it off have been downloaded to his computer at home. Should be alright from hereon, though.......

So, today was the first day of our actual ride. We’ve hung out at the jolly old Premier Classe Hotel at the Airport for the last four nights, definitely not sleeping well, and wondering what we were doing there for all that time. We would not have booked there for four nights had we known how far our of town we would be, that’s for sure but yesterday we took the bus to Montpellier and it was a lovely city. We walked 10 to 15 minutes to a bus stop, then took a tram from the final bus stop to the centre of the city. Montpellier has a wonderful feeling – a big, walking city with numerous pedestrian-only spaces. (Although the odd car would come hurtling through the throngs when least expected but somehow there wasn’t blood all over the place.)

Had a fabulous lunch at a little bistro//coffee shop place, with tables out on the sidewalk. In actual fact we haven’t eaten anything here yet that was not terrific. I love the food here! Walking around town we spotted a Mephisto shoe store – my favourite comfy shoes which happen to be made in France – and what an amazing selection they had! Of course, I had to get some so Bruce and Rick, who was with us, took off to go find the men’s washroom while I prowled the store. Bought a great pair and stood outside waiting for them to arrive.......... and I waited! They had taken the “long way around’ to the public washrooms and just happened to spend some time watching the women’s volleyball in a Square. We went back to our hotel in the late afternoon because we were to have our trip briefing after which, although not feeling particularly hungry, we thought we should eat something. It was just as well we weren't hungry because all the restaurants were closed near the hotel. Instead, we went to a supermarket and loaded up on stuff to make a sandwich (mais oui, but with a baguette of course!). Still not sleeping well although I had thought I would finally get a good night, but no.

Next morning everyone was keen to get under way and we were all ready long before our 09:30 departure time. We have around 21 riders, plus Ana (our Fearless Leader), her daughter Camila, and Ashley our driver. We convoyed out for about 12 kilometres to get around Montpellier then were let loose with our maps. I got my de rigueur ignominious tumble from my bike out of the way right at the beginning - chain suck caused me to stop rather suddenly and I couldn't get un-clipped in time to prevent the inevitable. Luckily there was no-one else in sight to witness it as I was on a stretch of open road by myself. The whole day was about 85 Kms, and we were not lucky enough to find anything open en route to get lunch. It’s been a big holiday and people take the days off between the holiday and the weekend plus on the weekend it seems everything is shut down. However, with some salted peanuts and cokes from a little bar that was open in a tiny village, we all made it to our destination in good time: the beautiful Medievel town of Vezenobres. We loved our little hotel with every room having a different theme - some pretty outlandish but kind of funky (e.g. what looked like a room from a harem and another was an African theme). Our dinner here was fantastic, too.