Cycling from Aix-en-Provence, France to La Palud-sur-Verdon, France

Getting out of Aix looked easy on the town map, but ended up taking almost an hour. The road to Manosque on the D96 was a gentle climb up to Venelles, then more rolling, with the wind in the face all the way. Still I made good progress and at the town of Pont Mirabeau it looked like it would be no problem to reach the hostel by noon,  much too early. The route forked here at 40km on each side of the river, so there was no going back as I took the D952 for the remaining 75km to the hostel at Palud-sur-Verdon. Here was the first glimpse of the snow-capped mountains. If it got dark first, there was always a hotel. Well, climbing all the way, fatigue really set in at 80km and a stop for a sandwich of pate at Riez didn't help. Nothing left to do but press on to Moustiers-Ste.-Marie. This town was really picturesque, set high into the sheer rock walls. A steep climb up to the town found it full of tourists and there was no point in even looking for a hotel, there being nothing left to do but head up the climb through the Gorges de Verdon and hitchhike if it got dark. It was only 20km to the hostel, but my climbing rate is only about 6km an hour, with only 2 hours left 'til dark.

The views had been great all day, but after the first steep part of the climb the gorge revealed itself and it was awesome! Sheer walls with the blue-green Verdon way down below. Along the way a little Renault truck passed me and in the back was a German couple who I had breakfast with in Aix. They took the train to Manosque and hitchhiked through the gorge, also heading for the hostel in Palud-sur-Verdon. Fortunately the road leveled out, but was still very twisting and I began to wonder if I'd be blown off the road into the gorge, but was able to make the summit at 1,071m just as the sun began to set. The wind roared at the top of the Col and it got really cold for the 3km descent into the town, making 115km for the day.

After a warm welcome and a hot shower at the hostel I had a restaurant meal at the only place in town. A pastry filled with poached egg for an appetizer, followed by an excellent tagliatelle with chicken and some rouge.

Thursday morning began with a cold rain, low clouds and snow on the surrounding peaks. This hostel lets you stay in the rooms all day, so it seemed like a good day to have a nap and catch up on the mail. With this weather, I'm not sure about continuing north into the Alps and may head east some more to Nice and Menton. Oh, well.