France 2011 - Recumbent Tandem Tricycle Tour

Much of this tour is a re-creation of the first French tandem tour, which we did in 1998. We made a detour to Salviac to take part in a weekend tandem rally being organised by Bob and Mary, whom we met last year in Luxembourg at the international tandem rally. We also added a spin into Provence to take in the Nesque gorge; the northern side of Mont Ventoux through Buis les Barronies; and for good measure an attempt to climb le Mont Ventoux itself.

Diary abbreviations

Not too many, but some thing come up so often in the course of our cycle touring that it is not worth writing them out in full each time:

PaR  Pain au raisin: Essential fuel to get through that mid-morning dip in energy

SdM&C  Sirop de Menthe and Cassis: No, not mixed, but Menthe for John who likes the lurid green colour and Cassis for Sheila. Not a new drink, but a great cold drink alternative to fizzy pop like Coca Cola and Orangina and only really finally appreciated by us on this tour as being for adults too, not just what you give the kids in a French café

OdT  Office de Tourism: Often our first port of call in a new town to acquire detailed street map, what’s on and if possible walking tour of historic sites

ATQs  Answering Trike Questions: If you choose to travel by tandem recumbent trike as well as being regarded as eccentric “les Anglais”, one has to answer an endless litany of regular questions – Is it comfortable?  Did you make it yourself?  How do you steer it?  Why are there 3 gear levers? (answer: dual drive rear hub, if you are wondering) Is it heavy? How does it come apart? …etc.

We never got around to, but always meant to have a multi-language laminated sheet with all these FAQs on, which we could hang over the rear seat when the trike is parked and we are having a picnic lunch or similar. But then we would miss out on lots of interesting conversations and opportunities to expand our foreign language vocabulary of obscure bicycle parts.

S&W  Showers for us and washing of cycle kit: Normally (unless the need for a drink prevails) priority number one when checking into overnight accommodation. Includes either finding a washing line or engineering our own with the length of nylon cord carried for this purpose. Years of cycle touring experience have given us grade A skills and ingenuity at this.

TP  Technical Problem: Not something one wishes to encounter too often

TdF  Tour de France

GG  Gertrude (aka Gertie) Greenspeed: We aren’t great ones for naming bicycles but if the ‘trike’ is referred to in an abbreviated form the alliteration of ‘Gertie Greenspeed’ seems appropriate

TOUR DIARY

Pre tour and Travel south

Day 1 Sault to Roquemaure (76km)

Day 2 Roquemaure to Anduze (84km)

Day 3 Anduze to Aniane (73km)

Day 4 Aniane to Narbonne (105km)

Day 5 Narbonne to Carcassonne (78km)

Day 6 Carcassonne (0km)

Day 7 Carcassonne to Castres (73km)

Day 8 Castres to Cordes sur Ciel (68km)

Day 9 Cordes sur Ciel to Cahor (88km)

Day 10 Cahor to Salviac (51km)

Day 11 Salviac Tandem Rally (28km)

Day 12 Salviac Tandem Rally (68km)

Day 13 Salviac to Vers (50km)

Day 14 Vers to Villefranche de Rouergue (65km)

Day 15 Villefranche de Rouergue to Villefranche de Panat (105km)

Day 16 Villefranche de Panat to 
St Chély du Tarn (105km)

Day 17 St Chély du Tarn (0km)

Day 18 St Chély du Tarn to Chamborigaud (81km) 

Day 19 Chamborigaud to Vallon Pont d’Arc (65km)

Day 20 Vallon Pont d’Arc to Vaison la Romaine (88km) 

Day 21 Vaison la Romaine to Sault (72km)

le Mont Ventoux (51km and 1912m)