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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2882 |
24th June 2016 Mt. Biking: Into Nyon Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: 38 Sea Temperature: Weather: Sunny and hot :) Max Speed: Distance Covered: 8 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Friday 24th June – Bike ***** then Open water skinny dip x 2 :) ***** sunny and hot Only 8 miles today but out 3hrs 15 mins with a top speed of 18.81 kts Another top night in what we discovered on the way out was the Col de Soub-Eyrand, Mag was up at 7 doing her Yoga in the shade before it got too hot! I read and dozed awhile longer before making breakfast and doing my exercises in the full sun – it was very hot! Moved off at about midday heading back down the way we had come. We had been looking up all morning to see if we could see vultures because we had had a great encounter with them a few years ago just across this col. As we pulled away Mag spotted 6 soaring above the cliff! We stopped for a quick look before turning on to a small road to le Poet-Sigillat - another lovely looking little hamlet perched on a cliff surrounded by sweet smelling yellow broom:) We continued down towards Ste Jalle passing the best fields of lavender we had seen. Stopped at the side of the road to take some pics of the rolling balls of purple – just stunning:) Then after a few miles we got to what constitutes a main road around here and Nyons was only about 10 miles away. Seeing a stall on the side of the road selling fresh fruit and veg we pulled over to buy some of the famous local apricots, getting some strawberries as well. It was then we saw a sign for a Roman Bridge ahead. At the town of Aubries I saw a sign for a Moulin and Pont and thought it must be the Roman Bridge but no - just what looked like a dead end track over the fast flowing River Eygues. Eagle eyed Mag noticed a bike sign saying you could get to Nyons along the river in 4.5km, this would save us trying to park the van so we returned to a nice shaded carpark, popular with the locals as there was a great swimming spot and stone beach nearby. We unloaded the bikes and packed a quick picnic and headed off, first it was tarmac then turning to a dirt track as we wound our way along with the river one side and fields of olive and apricot trees the other and tall tree covered mountains all around – just beautiful:) We passed two campsites on the other bank full of campervans and tents and I had one eye out for a nice spot for a swim on the way back and a nice spot to stop overnight. We soon arrived at Nyons and after crossing a busy road were straight onto the large Roman bridge with lovely views across the old town with odd roofed Chapel, churches and towers with loads of teenagers having fun in the river and not a mobile phone in sight:) We spent an hour exploring the narrow street. The first lined with restaurants and shops including an arched square offering shoppers and diners alike welcome shade as the Pharmacy sign was saying it was 38 degrees!!! We came across some walking signs leading you up narrow lanes climbing many many steps to the Chapel with the ornate roof, not an easy place to reach when you are pushing your bike! The best part about the chapel was a small lime tree shaded garden where we stopped for lunch and it was so good to get out of the sun! Having had enough of culture for one day we headed down biking at times and then walking the steps, ignoring several no entry signs we were soon back at the Roman pont and onto our road back to the van. I found a path down to the river just before the second campsite and although it was not far from the road it was high above us and we couldn’t be seen. So it was our second day in a row for a spot of skinny dipping but today was completely different as the river was fairly shallow and very fast moving but it was as warm as a bath! I got straight in and struggled in the flow but there was a slower section on the far side, I had loads of fun trying to swim against it – impossible! Then just put my feet up and went with the flow, Mag was a bit nervous about coming in in case she slipped on the rocks but decided to keep her sandals on and soon joined me in the fast water. We found a large rock in the middle of the river which offered still water behind and laid there kicking our legs for ages as the warm water whizzed past:) I had some fun with the timer on the camera, setting the 10 seconds and trying to get across the fast water in time. I wrecked my sandals in the process but they have been on their last legs for well over a week. My choice of footwear now are my trainers or my walking boots - not ideal in this heat! I have loads of pairs of sandals at home!! Then it was time for a chocolate bar and strawberries – yum yum! I hadn’t spotted anywhere to stop for the night so when we got back to our starting point we continued up-stream on a dirt road finding a turning right down to the river where an older French camper was already parked up. There were a couple of lads parked right by the river just sitting in the water chatting. I noticed one place to park, quite small but the ground was firm and it was just big enough for our van so we biked back loaded the bikes up and returned. I had to move a large rock but then could reverse in for the perfect fit:) Even though it was five it was still very hot so it was a case of stripping quickly off and taking my cuppa and cake down to the river. I put our chairs in the water and had a great time reading and watching the world go by with my feet in the water while Mag enjoyed the comfort of the van and a break from the glare of the sun! I then had a walk a hundred yards downstream in the river and found the perfect spot for swimming, a fast water section led into a large deep pool. You could launch yourself into the fast water and let the current take you round and I did several circuits before returning to Mag who had come down to sit on the chair and was happily reading with her feet in the water. I just sat in the 18” water chatting with Mag, mainly about what a sad day it was as the UK has sadly voted to leave European Community – a huge mistake we think :( We watched the sun disappear behind the tree covered hills bringing the temperature down to a more manageable level before returning to the van for pasta – the most perfect day – we are so lucky:) Photo Gallery Here |
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