25, 26 Mars - Lyon to Saint Vallier to Saint Laurent du Pap

The rain started heavy our second night in Lyon and so we donned all of our rain gear once again and after bidding adieu to Laurent (Audrey had left at six in the morning for work), we cycled our way through the city of Lyon and its suburbs, heading south along the Rhone River.

I often say to Paul, or think to myself, when a fasty cyclist races past us that it must be somebody training for Le Tour de France. It's been fun to go through some villages and think that perhaps in July will see them again, or something like them, when we watch the Tour back home some early mornings at the Mount Bakery Cafe. 

We've been following the official the ViaRhrona cycle way, but clearly it's not complete--and we knew that. But some of the terrain has been a little more rough than we were envisioning, so thank goodness we have some experience with soft sand and gravel from our ride of last summer.

 The find of France! He was dirty and sodden and forlorn, alone on the wet trail. I'll clean him up as best I can and Panthere Rose can come along with us for the ride.

A municipal campground in Saint Vallier was where we first pitched our tent. We hunkered in for the damp night with the meal du jour...(bread, fromage, jambon, wine, some sort of raw vegetable, and chocolate) and were happy when we woke to sunshine to take us further south.

Our view over a coffee cup down the road.

Another small puncture-- this time on Paul's front tire. Still...a pretty spot for the repair!

In Valence, we were charmed when a man walked up to us while we were admiring the view and smiled, spoke things in French, then said "English?" and "warmshowers?" ... He offered us a place to stay for the night, but we had to decline, as we hoped to get another 20km down the river.

The campgrounds were closed, as was the tourist office in La Voulte sur Rhone, but the nice girl saw us pondering the signs outside (how to interpre...?! And us with no phone...) -- so she opened the door and helped find us a room in a nearby village. Okay, so it was another 6 km, but with a closet containing such as these... It was worth it.