Day 155: La Palud-sur-Verdon (Drive)

Today's route was supposed to be a relatively easy Sunday ride and was all about exploring the area where Paul Cézanne plied his trade (whatever that might have been!). It is centred around a big rock that goes by the name of Montagne Sainte Victoire. Here's a photo of it:

Shortly after taking the photograph a couple of guys enquired as to whether I had a pump (obviously, initially in French and thereafter in English!). I told them I did. They asked if they could borrow it. I could see that the rear tyre of one of the bikes was flat and so I said that they could. They then asked if I had tyre levers (in French (not knowing the equivalent in English) whilst simultaneously acting out the international sign language of using tyre levers. That's how I knew that what they wanted. I said I do, would you also like to borrow them? They answered in the affirmative. I asked them why they had a spare inner tube but no pump or tyre lever? They responded with: we've only came out for a short ride!!

They struggled to reinstall the wheel ... so I showed them where the lever to slacken off the brake was located!

Shortly, after leaving them I came across this bunch of "likely lads"!

The photograph was taken after I fixed the broken bike chain for one of them!

I was thankful that I didn't encounter further mechanical misfortunes, otherwise I might not have arrived at my new location before darkness fell!

I climbed a hill today, there was no sign to indicate its name, nor its elevation. However, someone clearly wished to congratulate summiters on their achievement:

There were two more colls summited today:

And this one, with its odd name!

Interestingly, I encountered a smorgasbord of cyclists out and about today. Clearly, on a sunny Sunday, cycling is a popular activity/pastime/sport for folks around here. I suppose it helps that the route is quite interesting (Cézanne and all that) and not too hard.

• Distance driven: 64 miles
• Distance cycled: 75 kilometres
• Weather: Blue skies and hot, becoming cloudier late afternoon.
• Location: Google Maps

Today's route: