A short loop today on a hot and hazy day. My late afternoons being eaten up by the Tour de France this month, I’m forced to cycle during the hottest time of the day. Well worth the small sacrifice though, I have to say.

Today’s ride was nothing new really, but I took a few roads less travelled to mix it up a bit. This is Montferrier sur Lez from the outskirts of Montpellier.

At Prades le Lez I took a left turn onto a promising-looking gravel road and stopped at this little bridge for a stretch. The path, it turns out, is a MTB/hiking road that I thought better to save for another, cooler day.

From Prades I did a little hill climbing up to the very tiny (and goes without saying, ancient) village of St. Vincent de Barbeyrargues.

Hard to get lost in the countryside of France. If you miss one sign, the road name often tells you where it goes.

The 12th century church of the village.

And now I realize I didn’t actually take anymore pictures of St. Vincent itself. Well, here’s one from a previous post. This is for Ed. If you can afford to rent a bicycle you can get this close to Pic St Loup!

View Ride #2 – The Foothills in a larger map