Day fifteen

Today I make for Avignon via Montelimar, not sure how far I will get as Avignon is a bit further than my daily limit but I will no doubt be close and maybe overnight near Orange as the going looks easy. My swollen ankles have fully recovered and I suspect mosquitoes are to blame as I have bites everywhere, especially on my ankles. The mosquitoes are worst in the evenings when I am putting up the tent and concentrating on that task, so I fail to notice them. I slept well in the hotel and should be away by 9:00 today.

Later ... As usual organising packing always takes longer than planned and I leave at 09:30. Then Maps.me delays me further with conflicting info. By 10:00 I am truly underway and arrive in Montelimar at midday. It was an easy and pleasant ride though the town itself turned out to be rather disappointing. Didn't Simon and Garfunkel write a song about it (maybe not). Anyway I found my way to the river, no thanks to Maps.me and had my lunch there.

This beautifully executed mural did at least catch my eye in Montelimar. 

The river (above) through Montelimar where I had lunch and watched an egret fishing before dipping my feet in to cool them off. It was a bit slimy but full of small fish, so a bit like those spa tanks where fish nibble your toes.

 

After lunch I pressed on towards Avignon but a long, steep climb of several kilometers soon has me exhausted. Squirrels took priority on this uphill section. After that things really went downhill. Strong headwinds made progress difficult and I considered calling it a day. Mountains cannot be moved but fighting the wind is wasted energy. However I needed a campsite. I realized I should have downloaded a campsite app before setting off but it's never too late. I reject the first app I download but try the second called 'Happy campers' or something.

 

After that the rest of the day turned into a nightmare largely because I followed Maps.me to a campsite Happy Camper app., had indicated. The track (see photo below) was steep, narrow and rough. It was Maps.me route to the campsite. I was speechless and could hardly reach the top pushing the bike. Had I been able to turn the bike round I would have done so but that was impossible. When I got there I am told that they did not accept tents!

I was given another campsite by the receptionist. It was 5km away but it was getting late and once again that campsite would close at 19:00. I programmed Maps.me but it just took me in circles so I decided to have a beer at an inviting local bar I had already passed twice and just get drunk instead. Maybe do a wild camp in a stupor. The bar owner and a client were eager to help and recommended the same campsite 5km away. I called the campsite owners to see if I could arrive later as it was already 18:30. They or at least she agreed reluctantly to a 19:30 deadline. I downed my beer but the bar owner insisted I had one on the house. I downed half of that beer claiming I had to dash and was soon cutting corners at round-abouts to reach the campsite in time. Anyway to cut a long and painful journey to this recommended campsite short, I arrived at 19:15 and it was closed. I rode in anyway, pitched my tent, plugged in my electrics and am typing this via their WiFi. No sign of any management.

A wild boar roadside kill seen along the way in the afternoon, not a pretty sight. I think this must be Van Gogh country, Cyprus trees everywhere, corn fields and crows.