Today we decided to do a reprise of the reverse Malaucene ride (counter clockwise) with a twist. The earlier ride circumnavigated the hills to the west but feeling triumphant we plotted the deviation to Suzette, a hilltop town up and over a long winding climb up to the town and beyond.
The day was looking a little iffy with a thick mist, overcast skies, and very damp surface. After a short delay we decided to head out believing that no rain was in our future. As we left the house it was spitting a bit but no serious drops to soak us and force us to turn back. Actually the horizon was looking promising so we pushed on.
As we passed through the "V" town it was time for a bread stop, and to be extra precautious purchased two seeded baguettes in case we needed a "bread break" along the way and one in reserve in case we bailed on lunch out.
Once we started up we knew this was a serious climb. Part way we shed clothes as we were soaking from within.
With only 3 KM to go we figured we were golden with the additional KMs to Malaucene a cruise.
After congratulating ourselves with the KOM (King of the Mountain) and QOM (Queen of the Mountain) trophies we were shocked back into reality by two guys who spoke enough English (actually they were fluent) that the best (or worse) was yet to come. More serious climbing ahead before cresting for the Malaucene downhill cruise. Seeing our age and absence of e-power they recommended that we take another route to the Castle town of Barroux which we had visited on our last "Tour De Malaucene" This took us mostly down a C road which was narrow, quiet, and well paved. "C" roads are a notch below "D" roads and are usually a scenic improvement as long as we can avoid double digit grades and broken and gravel laden pavement.
Heading toward Barroux was a smart choice and sorry we could not thank our pathfinders for the recommendation.
Before finding the coffee stop we meandered around the castle ruins which were quite impressive.
The place was fairly busy since it was a Sunday and the church bells were sounding the call to prayer.
On our last visit this place was closed which would have been a bummer - but Voila the place was open. So after a bread starter we polished off the pastry with an unusually large cup of coffee. With only about 11 miles back home and no serious uphills ahead we savored the goodies and appreciated the rest.
The rest of the way home was over familiar territory which we continue to enjoy, although a bit sad the it is unlikely that we will be this way again. The lesson learned is that resisting an upgrade to e-bikes strokes our pride but realizing that we have avoided many beautiful alternatives. So who knows where our heads will be on future trips to France.
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