This cycling trips combines the BEST cycling routes of Provence, with both the Van Gogh's Alpilles and the Luberon mountain ranges.
Then comes the Mont Ventoux climb, made far famous by the Tour de France cycling race. From Bedoin, the summit is 1 km and a half higher in the sky, with an average grade of 7.5%. The Mont Ventoux climb is known worldwide as the « Everest of the cyclist », and made far famous by the Tour de France cycling race. Experience cycling Provence Mont Ventoux is a must ..!
A full exploration of Provence with a great challenge !
Your biking adventure begins in the heart of Arles, the Provence "Rome". Take the time to discover the roman town of Arles, gateway to the Camargue, a lively town whose streets are set around a 2000 year-old Roman coliseum.
Meals included : none
Night : Arles
Market on Wednesday & saturday (big one) morning in Arles
Leaving Arles, you head northward, passing the very spot where Van Gogh painted his "Starry Night over the Rhône". You ar riding towards a first chain of mountains - Les Alpilles - a jagged limestone massif heading east-west. Cycling up into the heart of the mountains, you reach the perched medieval village of Les Baux, hanging defiantly on its rocky crag, overlooking its prized olive groves. A freewheling descent takes you down the north face of the Alpilles and to the artists' village of St. Rémy. Van Gogh spent the last year of his life here, from where he did his most prolific and acclaimed work. Heading eastward you then cross the Durance Valley. You follow small country lanes across the fertile plains, lined with fruit orchards, to reach the town of l'Isle sur la Sorgue.
Ride : Arles > Baux > Saint Rémy > Isle sur la Sorgue | 66 km - 41 miles | Elevation: +500m/-450m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Isle sur la Sorgue
Today's loop ride takes you to visit the most beautiful of the region's perched villages! And they call them the "perched" villages of Provence for a reason: high above the plains, and sometimes set dizzyingly above the rock upon which they were built, the high vantage-points offered better protection from enemies. With each climb under your belt the beauty of each village is unveiled: Gordes and its rings of homes sweeping upwards towards its castle, Roussillon and its village homes painted in a palette of colour from pale yellow to deep red, Bonnieux and its labyrinth of winding streets to its Romanesque church, huddled below majestic cedars, and the village of Lacoste, crowned by the ruins of Sade's castle.
Ride : Isle > Gordes > Roussillon > Bonnieux > Isle | 73 km - 45 miles | Elevation: +1000m/-1000m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Isle sur la Sorgue
Market on Sunday ( big famous one) in Isle sur la Sorgue
On most trips, we simply follow the arc of Ventoux's plains, and towards Bedoin. But that's not enough of a challenge: in the sleepy village of Méthamis, you take a seldom-used road winding eastward and upward, gaining 500m in elevation to the St. Hubert farm. With an overhead view of the vast lavender fields, you reach the village of Monieux. Then the real fun begins: arguably the most spectacular cycling road Provence has to offer:les Gorges de La Nesque. Set above a spectacular canyon, a slow and winding 20km descent twists through limestone arches, at times the gradient barely discernible if not for your roaring speeds. Exhilarating...
You touch down in the village of Villes sur Auzon, back in the plains. With the summit of Mont Ventoux staring at its closest, you defiantly head closer to its base, to the village of Bedoin.
Ride : Isle > Nesque Gorge > Bedoin | 81 km - 50 miles | Elevation: +1300m/-1100m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Bedoin
No beating around the bush. You're at 300 meters, and the the summit soars a km and a half higher in the sky. From Med brush to a moonscape above the tree line, with an average grade of 7.5%, and without a single moment of reprieve : you're facing 22km of pure uphill. Often touted as the hardest climb in France, Ventoux is a true test for your climbing legs, attracting amateur cyclists from all over the world. The first 5km are the easiest, a gradual uphill through the orchards and vines, passing the hamlet of Sainte Colombe. But then as you climb through the oak, cedar and then beech forests the slopes are at their most severe.By the time you reach the Chalet Reynard, with only 6km left to go, the gradient is more forgiving, but through a bare rock whose landscapes are often fiercely swept by the Mistral. The final hairpin turn towards the summit stands before you like a wall, but with the goal in view you find the energy to surge over the top... There are several options to return to Bedoin, but it's all downhill from here.
Back to your hotel, transfer back to Avignon by taxi, at the end of the day. End of your trip in Avignon
Ride : Bedoin > Mont Ventoux > Bedoin | 56 km - 35 miles | Elevation: +1800m/-1800m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Bedoin
It’s a beautiful ride to the lavender region of Provence. You cycle up the seldom-used Gabelle road, climbing up from the sleepy village of Flassan. You reach Sault and admire the vast expanse of lavender fields. Ride back to Bedoin. The lavender blooming season is between mid June and mid July .. and of course depends on years
Ride : Bedoin > Sault > Bedoin | 67 km - 41 miles | Elevation: +1130m/-1130m
Meals included : breakfast
Night : Bedoin
