The gorge ride is a splendid gentle climb through a limestone gorge. Nice tarmac gave a hint, and when we reashed a summit at Barret sur Meouge, there was a yellow bike and jersey on the side of a gite, coincidentally owned by some Brits, and friends of the gite we were staying at. So we had a bit of a chat over the fence.

After 45 km, it becomes a long downhill affair, just a couple of lumps on the way into Sisteron, where we stopped for lunch. It was pretty blowy there, and after lunch we crossed the bridge over the Durance to take a look at the Citadel Rock - the full force of the mistral was making staying on the bike impossible as Andy was in raptures over the geology.

Back in the shelter, we had to take a diversion to the planned route, so it was a busy road, before stopping in Laragne for a post-ride beer... which was clearly a mistake, as it was 4km uphill into a headwind to get home!