France, where it is at its loneliest: bend follows bend, pass summit follows pass summit, signs provide information about the gradient, and when you reach the top, the view over the green humps to the Alps is a delight. Your gaze wanders to the cloud-covered summit of Mont Ventoux and the peaks of the Cévennes. Then you slip on the windbreak and enjoy a special kind of particle acceleration: downhill, in wide meanders, for many kilometres. Exhilarated, happy. The Fédération Française du Cyclisme (FFCT) has tracked down more than 180 passes in the mountains of the Ardèche. Every year, the participants of the "Ardéchoise" are allowed to toil on the most beautiful ones. Recently, there is even "L'Ardéchoise Permanente", which can be enjoyed all year round. No GPS or search engine required - it is signposted. There is hardly a junction where you won't come across a signpost.
You can find the travel report on the Ardèche in TOUR 3/2012
You can download the GPS data for the story below.
Downloads:
GPS data: France: Ardèche
