Sunday was frosty, and both of us wanted to find some sun, and quick! Graciously, the gorge we were in ended abruptly a few kilometers down the river, and the Languedoc plains opened up to us. The giant, medieval ‘Pont du Diable’ (Devil’s Bridge) forms the border between the two.

Then it was vineyards…

…more vineyards…

…all the way home.

Oh, and hunters! It must be at least rabbit season here, because I saw one guy holding one up like a trophy as we rode by. The sound of gunshots was everywhere through that first bit of flatness – I didn’t have the guts to take a picture of men with weapons in their hands, but you can imagine, I guess. 

The rest of the ride was west to east, which I assumed (wrongly) would be flat. The half-day ended up being a series of ups and downs, all the way to Montpellier. But the weather was incredible, and there were plenty of other cyclists out there to help us think we made the right decision. Here’s a little hill after our morning coffee.