Biking in Provence

In May '02 we took a biking "Untour" in Provence, France, arranged by Idyll, Ltd. (Media, PA; phone 888/868-6871 or visit www.untours.com).

Our trip started with a nonstop flight from San Francisco to Paris, where we spent one night at an airport hotel and then took a TGV train from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Avignon.

After picking up our Avis car, we drove to our rental apartment located two kilometers from the center of Pernes-les-Fontaines and about eight kilometers from L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. Our rural gite consisted of a bedroom, a bathroom with shower, a fully equipped kitchen, a patio and a living/dining area.

The following day we attended an orientation meeting with the Idyll local staff before picking up our rental bikes. We were ready for 13 days of biking in Provence.

A typical day started with a daily bike ride to the bakery to pick up a freshly baked baguette, followed by a breakfast of fruit, the baguette, cheese, ham and coffee. We then would load our bikes onto our car and drive to that day's starting point.

Our first bike tour was the Circuit des Voconces, which starts at Vaison-la-Romaine. This fairly easy 30-kilometer route connects the hilltop villages of St. Romain en Viennois, Puymeras, Faucon and St. Marcellin before returning to the starting point. After lunch we biked uphill to Entrechaux and back to Vaison-la-Romaine. Our total distance for the day was 50 kilometers.

Other biking day trips included the Circuit Cyclotouristique de l'Enclave. Starting in Valreas, we rode to Richerenches, Visan and Grillon before returning to Valreas--a total of 40 kilometers. There were many more of these enjoyable but rather conventional day trips, but one of our more unconventional day trips went as follows:

We packed a picnic lunch and biked to Pernes-les-Fontaines for market day. We then headed off in a northeasterly direction through farmland, pastures and vineyards with no destination in mind. After two or three hours we stopped at a roadside shady spot and had our lunch.

As time was getting short and we were completely lost, we started to look for our way home. After encountering a detour due to road construction, biking down two dead-end roads and cycling down a road that took us in a 5- or 6-kilometer circle right back to our starting point, we arrived home exhausted but very happy.

Another trip involved biking the famous (infamous) Luberon. We drove to Cavaillon, unloaded our hikes and started riding toward Maubec. As the hills started to get too steep for these 60+ legs, we loaded our bikes back on the car and drove the Luberon until we found a section that consisted of several very steep, exhausting ascents separated by segments of gently rolling terrain. We then drove to the top of the last hill and biked the Luberon in the unconventional direction one person at a time.

My wife went first, coasting down the steep ascents and pedaling on the rolling sections until she reached the bottom where I waited with the car. We then loaded her bike onto the car and drove back to the top so that I could ride down.

We repeated this "lazy man's biking of the Luberon" on several sections of this famous bike route. My purist biking enthusiast friends would consider this to be heresy, but it sure was a lot of fun.

Our vacation ended with a TGV train ride to Paris, where We stayed a few days before taking the long flight back to San Francisco.

An Idyll trip is perfect for people who enjoy the pleasures of independent travel--being able to stay in one place for two weeks and take day trips wherever and whenever it pleases--but who want to have someone else take care of the nuts and bolts of travel (i.e., arranging apartment rental, auto rental, train tickets, flights and much more).

The total cost of this Untour was $1,280 per person, including the first-class round-trip train between Paris and Avignon; an Avis auto for two weeks; a 2-week apartment rental, and the help of the local Idyll staff. It did not include the cost of the transatlantic flights and the expenses in Paris.

One last item--after making many bicycle trips in Europe in the past few years, we have learned that Europeans respect Americans who bike their way through Europe much more than they do the tourists who are bused from one tourist spot to another. We find Europe to be a biker-friendly place.

GEORGE & NEL MILLER

Medford, OR

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