In St. Guilhem it Rained but We Reigned
The riders - rain-soaked and pre-caffeinated but in good humor at Saint-Guilhem
From February 12-13 seven bicyclists including Yours Truly traveled to the town of Gignac on a trip whose main destination was the pretty town of St. Guilhem-le-Desert.
The president of our cycling club and the chief organizer of the trip, named Antonio, collected our bikes the day before, and six of us set off at 7:00 a.m. on the 12th from our usual meeting point at the former train station in Apt. Another group member named Daniel and his wife drove separately.
Weather reports called for clear skies and cool temperatures.
We arrived at the Hôtel du Vieux Moulin in Gignac and prepared for our first ride.
That’s my Specialized — ready for its first overnight!
For the thousands of you following our trip in detail on a map, we then went west through Saint-Andre-de-Sangonis and then north past the towns of Saint-Félix-de-Lodez, Jonquieres and Saint-Guiraud.
The roads leading out of Gignac weren’t as well maintained as back home in Vaucluse and I was worried this would be a bumpy ride. But they improved as we gained altitude. There were also very few cars. My French colleagues noticed how springlike the vegetation was, which briefly diminished the fun I was having: who wants to worry about global heating when one is on a nice bike ride?
Before Arboras we began a long climb. I tried as I usually do to stay up with a guy named Jacky, who is in incredible shape, but couldn’t pull it off. At midday we ran into Daniel’s wife driving the other direction, and she followed us until we stopped at 1:00 p.m. for a picnic. That’s when it started to rain, continuing for much of the afternoon.
Though soaked and cold, we soldiered on, riding down into Saint-Jean-de-Buèges then back uphill toward Causse-de-la-Selle before descending along the Herault River to Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert, where we stopped for coffee and photos and to try to get warm. Saint-Guilhem was pretty neat and worth the visit.
From there we continued to Le Pont du Diable at Saint-Jean-de-Fos, stopping to enjoy the view. That was cool too. There are a lot of these “Devil’s Bridges” across France and Europe. I may have to visit all of them...
Then we continued through Saint-Jean-de-Fos, a town famous in part for the porcelain gutter pipes on its buildings, before heading back to the hotel.
According to my Garmin, we had traveled nearly 44 miles over four hours of moving time and climbed 3,000 feet. We were tired, wet and cold but content and very hungry.
Dinner was in the hotel restaurant. Bicycles were not allowed in our rooms, so we parked them — unlocked — outside our doors. That was weird, but it seemed I was the only one worried. After dark, however, I snuck mine inside so I could sleep better, and snuck it back out again before going to breakfast. Management didn’t notice.
On day two, the weather was nicer and the ride shorter. After breakfast we headed westerly past Saint-André de Sangonis and Ceyras where we began our climb through Clermont l’Herault and south of Lac du Salagou.
Riding through the pretty town of Mourez, we stopped to see rock formations and to pee before turning north at Salasc.
With Antonio
The road was flooded in places by rain from the day before. We rode through by gaining speed and then lifting our legs.
We circled the lake to our right, stopping once to take in the view.
Rounding Rabejac to our left and turning right at Cartels, we followed the River Lergue through Rabieux and Saint-Felix-de-Lodez to Jonquieres and Lagamas back to the hotel.
We had gone 34 miles in nearly three hours’ riding time and climbed a total of 1,888 feet. We changed our clothes and enjoyed lunch in a restaurant before Antonio drove us back to Apt.
As this was my first overnight ride, the other organizer of the trip, Karina, hazed me by making me write this report (which I’ve lightly edited for you) for the administrative record — a requirement as our trip was partially subsidized by the French government!
