We had two choices this day. One was to ride to the summit of Mont Ventoux, 21k straight up hill, some of which is in excess of a 10% grade. The second was to take a leisurely ride through the magnificent Gorges de la Nesque, and finish early so that we could enjoy the afternoon at our next hotel, the luxurious Relais & Chateaux Crillon-le-Brave. Hell, we were on vacation. No use killing ourselves. We opted to take the easier way.

Gorges de la Nesque

It was a delightful ride, that seemed to be an endless downhill along a winding mountain road through the gorge. Not exactly the Grand Canyon, but impressive anyway. The cycling was fun. There were a number of natural stone tunnels through which the road had been carved. We were happy to have an easy day as it was blisteringly hot by the afternoon.

Crillon-le-Brave

So we certainly appreciated the luxurious digs we had that evening at Crillon-le-Brave. Magnificent setting. Splendid views. Beautiful swimming pool (unfortunately filled with screaming American and German children). Some developers had "rescued" a desserted village and turned it into a deluxe hotel, and the rooms were in the houses all along the main street. Ours was in the house pictured on the left.

View from the Terrace

A few minutes after we arrived, our "valet" knocked on our door and brought us some apertifs and a few nibbles (nuts and olives). Very nice. The restaurant was located on a terrace overlooking the surrounding farms and vineyards; unsurprisingly, the food was fantastic.

Total relaxing kilometers for the day: 50

Day 7 - Crillon-le-Brave to Murs

View from Méthamis	Le Tour Route

This is Provence proper. We rode up and down hills through beautiful pastoral scenery. The view from Méthamis was worth the climb ... maybe. The 2000 Tour de France, which was in progress at the time, would be coming this way in a week's time. We saw the road signs. They would be doing the equivalent of at least three of our day's journeys in the one day.

Venasque

We rode up to the town of Venasque, a beautiful medieval village perched on top of cliffs. While the climb looked daunting, the road actually curved around the back and, although it was a long haul, was not as bad as it looks in the photo

Up the Col de Murs

After this came the hill we had been thinking about the whole trip. The Col de Murs. This was actually on the Tour de France route as well. They probably did it in 10 minutes. It was a 10 kilometer climb -- 6.2 miles up hill. Well, as is the case with most things you anticipate with trepidation, it was not as bad as we thought. The grade wasn't too bad, and it was in the shade most of the way, as it climbed through a valley (downside: no views till the top).

Murs

When that was over, we rode into the village of Murs, one of the hidden gems of Provence, well off the beaten path. We were charmed with the village and its inhabitants, sorry to leave the next morning.

Total kilometers for the day: 50