Day 9. Villes-sur-Auzon to Forcalquier

Les Gorges de la Nesque

 ‘Arguably the best 30km you can ride in the whole of France.’  That’s what the book says and it is hard to disagree. The road from Villes-sur Auzon up the Gorges de la Nesque is so beautifully engineered that a height gain of 440 m is almost effortless. The scenery is spectacular, the surface smooth, there is almost no motorised traffic and at the summit by the Rocher du Cire you can enjoy an extensive view looking back to Mont Ventoux. 

I had persuaded Les to join me for this part of the ride but he then freewheeled back to Villes-sur-Auzon to collect the car while I continued to Sault for coffee and to pick up some food for lunch.

Sault is the starting point for the least arduous route up Mont Ventoux, a small matter of 1200 m of ascent. From the terrace on the edge of town it looks tantalisingly close, but I left that for another life and headed east on the D950 which was undulating rather than brutally steep, rising up to over 900 m before an exciting descent to the small village of Banon. 

I bumped into Les and we settled into a café and asked for an ice cream, whereupon the waiter told us to forget the commercial stuff on his menu and head for the glacerie artisanale down the road. He was right - the ice creams were the best of the trip.

The glacerie is next-door to Banon's main claim to fame, Le Bleuet, which is supposed to be one of the largest bookshops in France with 150,000 different titles. We posed for pictures outside, then Les stopped to explore the bookshop and seek out a postcard for a bibliophile friend while I carried on to Forcalquier.

It was another interesting town although our digs in the Grand Hotel did not quite live up to the name.  We staggered up a very steep hill to the chapel that overlooks the towns before seeking  out a restaurant in the old town for an al fresco dinner.

Distance today 84 km   Total distance 677 km