Rest and recovery

The last two days we have rested and recovered as we explored the "flat" areas to the south of Mazan.

Wednesday was a very short ride to recover from Mont Ventoux. My legs were shot and it was all I could do to get started. By the end of the 25 miles, I was starting to feel almost normal. Nothing a couple of advil could help!

Yesterday we drove down to St Remy de Provence. I was looking forward to returning to St Remy, having spent a memorable night there several years ago at the Hotel Van Gogh. The area around St Remy is much more arid and brown than Mazan. Fortunately there was nice breeze so it wasn't too hot (certainly not DC hot!). Our circuit took us through fields of sun flowers and olive trees. It was quite spectacular.

"How steep is the climb gonna be again?!"

The peloton rolls along

Up to Les Baux de Provence

Today we repeated the same route we rode on Day 2, with an extra climb up to Sault. My legs seemed to have recovered over night and I was feeling pretty good as we rode out of Mazan. I had somewhat of a climbing breakthrough today as well. There is a 10-mile-long climb from Mathamis to Saint Hubert that we rode on Monday as a group. Today, Lance and Rob paced me a bit of the way, but for most of the climb I was on my own, feeling strong as I passed a couple of other groups like they were standing still. At the top, I was pretty excited to see that I shave nearly 15 minutes off Monday's time!

From Saint Hubert, we descended to Sault and stopped for cafe and coca-cola in Monieux. Then came the fun part: the 12-mile ride down the Gorges de la Nesque. Twelve miles of downhill through short little tunnels and wide switchback turns! I spent the half hour it took to descend trying to catch Paul! it was a blast!!

I posted a few more photos on facebook for your viewing pleasure.