Dag 22: St. Pierre-de-Boeuf - St. Jean-de-Muzols (48 km)

On the first day of the fourth week we continued the Via Rhona, down south. The cycle tracks are in this part of France very well established and maintained. So well that car drivers might be tempted taking them. To prevent them from doing so potential access points are often provided with a variety of 'barriers'. Today we had to do with wooden poles, sometimes so narrowly placed the one to the other that cars definetely couldn't pass, but even for bicycles it was questionable. It required concentration and taking some risk as to poles were sometimes so high that they might catch my cycle mirror. I'm using such a mirror for two reasons. First, being hearing impaired I have to be vigilant for any traffic coming from behind. I'm not always successful in this respect. The second reason is that I can check if Nelly is still behind me. She always is. To avoid misunderstanding, it also happens that she is in front of me. But I don't need a mirror to check that.

Cycling along a river doesn't mean that you don't have to climb (or descend). Today we had to take two 'hills' were special hairpins had been made. We feel it should have been two more, at least.

With temperatures up to 33 degrees, a break in the shadow at for example a picnic place or bank. Both were scarce. When we wanted to take a lunch break it lasted more than 10 kms to find a (free) place, under a number of nut trees in front of a field of fruit trees. Unfortunately the peaches were not ripe yet. But we were and decided to look for a campsite in the Ardéche, with swimming pool. We found one at the border of the Doux. A rough guess is that 80% is Dutch, whereas we were yesterday the only Dutch at the campsite.