Fast and Curious: ViaRhôna Drift

What a big day on the bikes today: 100 km in a single stretch! We rode from Avignon to Montélimar, the town famous for its nougat, following the ViaRhôna. This wonderful cycling path runs all the way from Lake Geneva down to the Mediterranean, tracing the Rhône River the whole way. We’d already explored a section of it before, heading south from Montélimar to Arles with the kids - back when they were still delighted to come along on our cycling adventures. It brought back such lovely memories. That said, the Rhône Valley itself isn’t the most breathtaking scenery out there.

Still, it was one of those blissfully simple days: no mental load about directions, no cars anywhere nearby, just following the path from morning till evening. The kind of long, steady ride that really clears your head. Usually, when I cycle 100 km, I end up completely exhausted and sore all over. But today felt different. I can tell we’ve built up real stamina after so many days in the saddle. We’re eating plenty, sleeping deeply, and our metabolism has clearly adapted. At some point, we’ll have to gently readjust when we stop exercising this much!

Tomorrow, we’ll keep rolling along the ViaRhôna as far as Valence, before turning toward the Isère region. Our next stop: visiting our friends Delphine and Laurent, and we’re really looking forward to seeing them again. If everything keeps going as smoothly as it has so far, we’ll be right on schedule to arrive this Friday at Lake Paladru for Cécile and Boud’s big party. 🎉