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Bike Tour 2022: Rhône and Mediterranean

In July of 2022 I had the opportunity to bike tour for a couple of weeks. I bought a cheap bike in Lyon and expected to maybe reach Marseille or Montpelllier. But there were quite strong tailwinds down the Rhône and I ended up in Perpignan before I ran out of time. It was overall an easy tour the main enemy was the heat. The other remarkable feature was that EuroVelo 8 just south of Lyon was quite difficult off road mountain biking. I had a VTT with bikepacking bags, the wasn’t really an issue for me. But several people I met along the way add flat tires or were otherwise surprised by the difficulty.

The route
With Peter at Association Janus France, Oullins, a bike coop (“atelier vélo d’auto-réparation”) where I bought my Peugeot for €120
On the ViaRhôna
From the top of the castle at Tournon-sur-Rhône. The oldest suspension bridge in France is visible at the back.
Nuclear power plants looking pretty good as Germany faces a Ukraine natural gas crisis.
Rochemaure’s Himalayan footbridge over the Rhône.
These fields always remind me of my international trade law prof saying how France loves to protect agriculture for aesthetic reasons (correctly, I think).
Also lavender
Cicada exoskeleton from a campsite that had a constant background hum of them.
Riding by Chateau de l’Hers.
So this is what they mean by “rocky soil”
By the walls of Avignon.
One of many water sources I was only able to find due to OpenStreetMap
Converted train tunnel with lights, between Beaucaire and Alès
Just an average view.
A lot of Mediterranean France looks like Florida
Setting foot in the Mediterranean
Inside the walls of Aigues-Mortes which has lots of tourists despite being named “Deadwater”
Southwest of Sète
No dirty boxers! Only clean speedos!
Rice growing in the Camargue
Fueling up at Aldi.
Everyone else wants to visit the Eiffel tower, I just want to visit the cheese aisle.
Decommissioning my bike outside my hotel in Perpignan
Removing the pedals at La Casa Bicicleta in Perpignan, another auto-atelier.
Space Invader, as seen on Exit From the Gift Shop

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