Travellers’ tales: French fried

Having enjoyed many holidays in the Ardèche in the south of France, I had long wanted to ride in the Ardèchoise sportive: a four-day festival of cycling in which 10,000 enthusiasts take on one of numerous routes around this scenic département.

At the age of 66 and used to cycling in the relative flatlands of Suffolk, I chose one of the easier routes: a day ride of 125km with 2,500m of climbing. So it was that I arrived at the start town of St Félicien in the middle of June 2022, with temperatures already approaching 30°C.

After 14km and the first of five challenging climbs, the pattern for the day was established: eat, drink, recover, and cool off with plenty of cold water on the head and feet. From the first summit came the relief of the descent, with sweeping curves and welcome breezes.

As the day wore on and the heat increased, the climbs became ever more challenging. Yet although there was the occasional ‘Garmin auto-pause of shame’, I never had to resort to getting off and walking. Reward for the climbs came not only from the fantastic descents but also the stunning Ardèchoise scenery.

I finally rolled into St Félicien after 11 hours – seven cycling, four stopped to cope with the heat. It was a really satisfying achievement, helped by fantastic organisation.