It is better to arrive in time than to have been invited.
Had an early start from Malaucène some time before 8AM, after the first climb of the day, the downhill ride almost all the way to Carpentras seemed to last forever. From there in the direction of Luberon and Bonnieux; the climb on the D103 towards Bonnieux was on the kind of road that gives the impression it is flat, because the gradient is so small. You work and work, at least with a heavy bicycle, and have the feeling you get nowhere.
Finally I came over the first hilltop and had a quick downhill ride to Bonnieux and the first beer and the first Perrier of the day, after that I climbed from Bonnieux up the hill to the ride down the valley towards Lourmarin.
From the top at about 430 meters there was the most fantastic ride down the narrow valley towards Lourmarin, narrow hairpin bends, and again a downhill ride that seemed to go on forever.
Came to Lourmarin eventually and had a quick lunch
and started on the last leg towards Aix at around 3PM, arrived in the big city finally about 90 minutes later, had a quick beer with the reception committee at a very posh restaurant (Les Deux Garçons) on Cours Mirabeau. The place was so posh that the waiters were primarily occupied with cultivating an image of not serving anybody before they absolutely had to; obviously not a place for a thirsty cyclist. I checked in at my hotel instead and emptied the minibar.
Well, I am here. Glad to have done it. The heading is a quote from Gabriel Garcia Marques book: Love in the Time of Cholera. If I have a life motto that must be the one; do what you have to do and do not wait for an invitation first. Not that I am able to do that always, but sometimes it works.
Thanks a lot for all support from everybody, from the US, from the Netherlands, from the Brugge support group, from Turkey and from Norway and from the UK and from anywhere else. To bicycle alone through a major part of Europe may be a lonely thing to do. Not this time however, again thanks for all help and advice and support.
If anybody is interested todays distance was 119 kilometres, average speed about 21 km/h. And the days rest in Malaucène away from the mad dogs and the Englishmen seems to have done the body an awful lot of good. Temperatures were also a bit more humane today.
One broken spoke in the front wheel has been all bike damage during the total of 1727 km. And the rider has no damage to report at all, at least not after having emptied the local minibar at this place. And the electronics all work as normal, after having been shaken in a bike pannier bag through 1727 km of roads all the way south from Alkmaar.
previous day - Mt. Ventoux on 3rd July