Steve and Lee's excellent adventure
- Thread starter leedude03
- Start date
After the spending most of the day in Carcassonne, we retired back to the hotel to plan the next stage of the journey, Our route was to take us via Millau and the famous bridge, and onto the Tarn Gorge where we would be camping for the next 3-4 nights, we set off early doors and the weather started off a bit mixed being warm but rainy, this was to change, after about an hour it got hot, very hot into the 30's and all was going well until we came accross this, A blocked road, so a quick look at the map and satnav, showed we would need to make a 30 mile detour , not a great hardship as we were enjoying the ride and a bit more of the same would do just nicely.
So we made an about turn and carried on to Millau.
So we made an about turn and carried on to Millau.
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After spending an hour or so at the visitors center it was time for us to move on and find a camp site in the Tarn Gorge.
Now for anyone who has visited the bridge but not been to the Tarn Gorge, you have missed out, why, because its only an hours ride from Millau and its stunning, words and pictures can not do it justice, there is so much to see and do there, i could have happily spent a week there, and still probably not seen all i wanted to. So if you are planning a trip down to Millau to see the bridge, do yourselves a favour and plan your route to take you through the Tarn gorge area, you will be glad you did.
We found a nice campsite right on the side of the river and set up camp, the temp was now in the mid 30's, wall to wall sunshine it could not have been better, and it was to stay that way for the duration of our stay.
Steve was feeling a little tired due to the heat, so he got his head down for an hour and i went for a ride to take some pics and get familiar with the area.
The following pics were taken during our time in the Tarn area.
Now for anyone who has visited the bridge but not been to the Tarn Gorge, you have missed out, why, because its only an hours ride from Millau and its stunning, words and pictures can not do it justice, there is so much to see and do there, i could have happily spent a week there, and still probably not seen all i wanted to. So if you are planning a trip down to Millau to see the bridge, do yourselves a favour and plan your route to take you through the Tarn gorge area, you will be glad you did.
We found a nice campsite right on the side of the river and set up camp, the temp was now in the mid 30's, wall to wall sunshine it could not have been better, and it was to stay that way for the duration of our stay.
Steve was feeling a little tired due to the heat, so he got his head down for an hour and i went for a ride to take some pics and get familiar with the area.
The following pics were taken during our time in the Tarn area.
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Deleted account Cooperman
Registered user
The Tarn area is a wonder of the world 
could not agree more, it is spectacular. reminds me i must finish this rr
Nice one LeeDude,some excellent photos. Tarn Gorge is on my list and your post has got me thinking. Good start and look forward to your next instalment.
leaving the Tarn gorge today i was thinking i want to come back to this place and spend some more time exploring the area, little did i know that it would be sooner than i expected, but more of that later.
We packed up and headed off to our next destination, Avignon. The route i had chosen would take us through the east side of the Cevennes National Park and onto the Reserve Naturelle des Gorges de L'Ardeche, the weather gods were being kind to us, and again we were blessed with wall to wall sunshine, and it was going to be very hot. We left early without breakfast the plan was to ride for an hour or so and get some on route. The miles ticked by without drama, the scenery and views were spectacular little to no traffic as usual, soon it would be time for a breakfast stop so we pulled in at the next village, a lovely little place called Le Pont-de-Montvert it was about 9am and the place was just starting to wake up, we found a little cafe that was just setting the tables up outside and ordered our breakfast, while waiting for it to arrive i took the opportunity to take a few pics.
Breakfast over time to move on, next stop was the Gorges Lardeche another stunning place with views to die for, we stopped to take a few pics and then made our way to Avignon to find digs for the next few nights.
Another f1 hotel was found for the price of 29 euro a night so we unpacked and made plans for the next day.
We packed up and headed off to our next destination, Avignon. The route i had chosen would take us through the east side of the Cevennes National Park and onto the Reserve Naturelle des Gorges de L'Ardeche, the weather gods were being kind to us, and again we were blessed with wall to wall sunshine, and it was going to be very hot. We left early without breakfast the plan was to ride for an hour or so and get some on route. The miles ticked by without drama, the scenery and views were spectacular little to no traffic as usual, soon it would be time for a breakfast stop so we pulled in at the next village, a lovely little place called Le Pont-de-Montvert it was about 9am and the place was just starting to wake up, we found a little cafe that was just setting the tables up outside and ordered our breakfast, while waiting for it to arrive i took the opportunity to take a few pics.
Breakfast over time to move on, next stop was the Gorges Lardeche another stunning place with views to die for, we stopped to take a few pics and then made our way to Avignon to find digs for the next few nights.
Another f1 hotel was found for the price of 29 euro a night so we unpacked and made plans for the next day.
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Early start today into avignon for a look around, I should point out that i have been here before, infact some of the places we were to visit from now on i had been before, and unbeknown to me would be doing some again, more of that later, but it being steves first trip to europe i didnt mind one bit, so we spent a good half day in Avignon and then moved onto Orange for the rest of the day, then made our way back to the hotel,
on the way back to the hotel my bike felt a bit strange in the handling department, so back at the hotel and a quick check of tyre pressure revealed the problem the back tire was down about 8 psi, first thoughts were one of my previous repairs was leaking but no, so checked all the tire with soapy water and could not find a thing, so i inflated it to correct pressure and left it till the morning to check it again,the next morning i checked the tyre and it was bang on this seemed very strange, tyres dont just lose air for no reason, so i would keep an eye on this. So with that in mind we set out to visit Les Baux de Provence a medieval city south of Avignon that i had visited before and felt sure steve would enjoy, and yet again the weather was outstanding infact as the day wore on it was getting to hot, at one point a sign outside a pharmacy had it at 39c. i know i shouldnt complain but boy with all your gear on thats hot.
Steve loved it at Les baux and also the ride back we took leaving there. Back at the hotel it was cold shower time to cool down and then out for a meal at the nearby Buffalo Grill, (living it up or what.) in all honesty it was nice, then back to the hotel to chill out and decide where to head for next.
on the way back to the hotel my bike felt a bit strange in the handling department, so back at the hotel and a quick check of tyre pressure revealed the problem the back tire was down about 8 psi, first thoughts were one of my previous repairs was leaking but no, so checked all the tire with soapy water and could not find a thing, so i inflated it to correct pressure and left it till the morning to check it again,the next morning i checked the tyre and it was bang on this seemed very strange, tyres dont just lose air for no reason, so i would keep an eye on this. So with that in mind we set out to visit Les Baux de Provence a medieval city south of Avignon that i had visited before and felt sure steve would enjoy, and yet again the weather was outstanding infact as the day wore on it was getting to hot, at one point a sign outside a pharmacy had it at 39c. i know i shouldnt complain but boy with all your gear on thats hot.
Steve loved it at Les baux and also the ride back we took leaving there. Back at the hotel it was cold shower time to cool down and then out for a meal at the nearby Buffalo Grill, (living it up or what.) in all honesty it was nice, then back to the hotel to chill out and decide where to head for next.
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Great pics and enjoying reading the trip story unfold, nicely done....
ButtonMoon
Registered user
brilliant ride report, you got some magnificent pictures. 
I left it to Steve to decide where we were going next, as he had been doing a little research the night before, browsing the web and looking at places to stay in between Avignon and The Italian border, He said that the verdon gorge looked good, so that was it the verdon gorge it would be, i failed to mention to him that i had been before just in case he changed his mind , and i really did want go.
So tyres checked,all good, we set off into what had the beginings of another hot day.Our first stop for a break was in a little place called Reiz where we were accosted by a bunch of german bikers asking us the best way to of all places avignon, well the way we had come had been a great ride so far, so i asked them if they had a garmin nav, one of them had, so i fired up my net book and uploaded our route in reverse, to his sat nav, i think they were a bit relieved as none of them seemed to have a clue what they were doing or where they were going, this was confirmed over a coffee as it turned out to be there first trip, they had been relying on the sat nav and that was set to take the quickest route avoiding Tolls (go figure), anyway we said our goodbyes and carried on to the verdon gorge, i had planned the route to take us on the south side of the gorge to castellane where hopefully we would find a B&B for a couple of nights.
well we got to within a couple of miles of the gorge and guess what, my bike was showing signs of the tyre going down again, a quick check confirmed this, so re inflated it, found a garage that sold that stuff you squirt into your tyre (tyre weld), filled the tyre with it and carried on hoping that it would seal the very slow puncture that it obviously had.
What can i say, The Verdon gorge never fails to impress with its scale and beauty, its one of those places you have to see for yourself to get it, no amount of pictures and words could do it justice, we spent a fair amount of time riding the length of it taking pics, and stopping for something to eat, it was then time to find a B&B somewhere close to Castellane, the first one we tried was full but at the second one we got fixed up with just bed and no breakfast, not a problem as we were planing to eat in Castallane anyway.
the next few pics are from in and around the gorge.
So tyres checked,all good, we set off into what had the beginings of another hot day.Our first stop for a break was in a little place called Reiz where we were accosted by a bunch of german bikers asking us the best way to of all places avignon, well the way we had come had been a great ride so far, so i asked them if they had a garmin nav, one of them had, so i fired up my net book and uploaded our route in reverse, to his sat nav, i think they were a bit relieved as none of them seemed to have a clue what they were doing or where they were going, this was confirmed over a coffee as it turned out to be there first trip, they had been relying on the sat nav and that was set to take the quickest route avoiding Tolls (go figure), anyway we said our goodbyes and carried on to the verdon gorge, i had planned the route to take us on the south side of the gorge to castellane where hopefully we would find a B&B for a couple of nights.
well we got to within a couple of miles of the gorge and guess what, my bike was showing signs of the tyre going down again, a quick check confirmed this, so re inflated it, found a garage that sold that stuff you squirt into your tyre (tyre weld), filled the tyre with it and carried on hoping that it would seal the very slow puncture that it obviously had.
What can i say, The Verdon gorge never fails to impress with its scale and beauty, its one of those places you have to see for yourself to get it, no amount of pictures and words could do it justice, we spent a fair amount of time riding the length of it taking pics, and stopping for something to eat, it was then time to find a B&B somewhere close to Castellane, the first one we tried was full but at the second one we got fixed up with just bed and no breakfast, not a problem as we were planing to eat in Castallane anyway.
the next few pics are from in and around the gorge.
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