France

Hola supermercado, hay un banco por aqui? Let’s get Spanish! Yep, we just crossed the Pyrenees and we’re now in Catalonia, Spain! And we passed some beautiful lands to get here… We left Camping La Fief near Alès and continued our way through the southern foothills of the Cévennes. The smooth riding we’d had in the previous days quickly ended, and we found ourselves riding some nice and rocky trails in garreau country – mostly limestone plateaus, ridges, and gorges. The flora was also very different to anything we’re used to, and we were inundated with the delicious scents of wild rosemary, lavender, and thyme. We harvested some for our meals at night! Suddenly, the trails were also lined with cacti and Aloe Vera plants, and lizards, big and small, were crawling between them. Spiky plants would occasionally cut open our legs and feet, but we felt so lucky to be riding here. We were really in the South of Europe now. ...

The last three weeks didn’t exactly go according to plan for us. We figured we’d be in Spain by now but this trip had different plans for us. We’re currently in the Cévennes region, a bit South of Alès! It was hard leaving Camping Robert and its private beach at Lake Paladru, but we did and continued riding west. The Isère region was full of excellent riding, full of little pilgrimage and GR trails. We quickly reached Valence - gateway to the Ardèche region - where we had our first warmshowers host! Warmshowers is a community of cyclists that offer each other just that: a warm shower and a bed or place to camp. Perfect for bigger cities like Valence that don’t have any campsites. It’s also free! Funnily enough, our host wasn’t home so we didn’t get the full-on social experience, but at least we had a place to pitch our tent. After a mix-up with the address, we finally arrived at the right house, rinsed off with a very cold garden hose shower, and enjoyed the garden all to ourselves — tucked away from the buzz of the city. ...

Leaving the Doubs River behind us, we continued south and finally found ourselves in the foothils of the Alps! We were particularly looking forward to this next étape in the trip: the Jura mountains. They stretch along the French - Swiss border, the highest peak of the region being the “Cret de la Neige” at 1720m. Our legs definitely felt ready after the Vosges. So we started climbing into the alpine! We were just about to leave the last few houses behind us when we double checked the map and realized there were no rivers or streams anywhere to be seen on route. Not a problem we were used to yet - there was water everywhere in the Eifel and Vosges! We really wanted to camp up there so we rang the bell of a random house, asking to refill our bottles. Fully loaded with a couple days of food and 4 liters of water each, we finally started the ascent. There goes ultralight. The blistering hot days (35 degrees) made water all the more important. ...