118 km
As I left the camping I heard a strange noise and yes, the tire of the Extrawheel was flat again. It costed a delay of 30 minutes to dismount a pannier and repair the tube. BTW at the end of the day the tire was flat again so it will be replaced.
I followed the signs of the Via Rhona until they disappeared at Donzère, but that w as no problem, because I could follow the track on my OSM/Garmin. After crossing the Rhône on a suspension bridge there was a yellow sign ‘Deviation’. I was looking at it as some French racing cyclists told me, that I could ignore that sign, which was true. The cycle route was here everywhere on minor roads or cycle paths not far from the Rhône. The Rhône? Sometimes the river is divided three streams and I was hopping from island to island. Near Meysse I had lunch on a Via Rhona picnic area. At Le Pouzin the route was directed to the east bank. I expected to change the bank again, but for that I had to use a bridge with much traffic near Charmes Sur Rhone, but that probably was to risky for the Via Rhona architects. So I arrived in Valence passing through industrial areas instead of the nicer west bank (that I cycled last year).
In the center of Valence I didn’t see the signs anymore, so I had tot find my own way to the continuation of the Via Rhona in the north of Valence.
Now just some km.’s to the camping, I agreed with Monika as meeting point. The camping though was ‘complet’. But I found another camping on 7 km’s distance, where we finally met.
With this day my cycle tour ends. In total over 4100 km’s distance I mastered with body power and it probably will remain the longest cycle trip in my life. The previous record was about 1700 km’s in 1979.
When I am at home, I will beautify the chat and add photos, maps and tracks.
Paul
As I left the camping I heard a strange noise and yes, the tire of the Extrawheel was flat again. It costed a delay of 30 minutes to dismount a pannier and repair the tube. BTW at the end of the day the tire was flat again so it will be replaced.
I followed the signs of the Via Rhona until they disappeared at Donzère, but that w as no problem, because I could follow the track on my OSM/Garmin. After crossing the Rhône on a suspension bridge there was a yellow sign ‘Deviation’. I was looking at it as some French racing cyclists told me, that I could ignore that sign, which was true. The cycle route was here everywhere on minor roads or cycle paths not far from the Rhône. The Rhône? Sometimes the river is divided three streams and I was hopping from island to island. Near Meysse I had lunch on a Via Rhona picnic area. At Le Pouzin the route was directed to the east bank. I expected to change the bank again, but for that I had to use a bridge with much traffic near Charmes Sur Rhone, but that probably was to risky for the Via Rhona architects. So I arrived in Valence passing through industrial areas instead of the nicer west bank (that I cycled last year).
In the center of Valence I didn’t see the signs anymore, so I had tot find my own way to the continuation of the Via Rhona in the north of Valence.
Now just some km.’s to the camping, I agreed with Monika as meeting point. The camping though was ‘complet’. But I found another camping on 7 km’s distance, where we finally met.
With this day my cycle tour ends. In total over 4100 km’s distance I mastered with body power and it probably will remain the longest cycle trip in my life. The previous record was about 1700 km’s in 1979.
When I am at home, I will beautify the chat and add photos, maps and tracks.
Paul
