Last week I had to find a way to get some more climbing in as my TMB training goes vertical a little bit. Around these parts that means heading for the Cévennes, so I drove 30 minutes up the road twice last week and pointed myself towards our little patch of mountainous paradis. And because I’m out of practice, I forgot to bring more than a banana on the first day. Check out what I found at my usual bakery stop on the way up…an auspicious beginning!

Tuesday was a cold-but-clear day and I spotted this old friend only a few kilometers out of my parking lot north of Alès.

I’ll have a few dates with that guy later in the season. My first foray into the Cévennes took me on familiar roads, as quiet and pretty as they always are (out of summer).

Two days later I did a bigger ride, with a goal of getting in 2000+ meters of climbing. Here is the border of the departments of Gard and Lozère. A cursory look at the road tells you who spends more money on maintenance.

Not long after I started seeing some snow – a rare sight in these parts in recent years.

At nearly 1000 meters I saw enough that I nearly pulled over to make a snow angel.

And just before that descent I got a good view of the Alps in the distance. I’ll be seeing more of those in the summer, as usual.

After that long descent I did a very steep climb on a very quiet road that apparently has sheep that are not to be taken lightly. I kept to myself and never made eye contact.

It’s a challenge to get 2000 meters of climbing if I ride from home, so I’ll be back soon. I’ve probably told you this a hundred times, but if you have never ridden in this magical area, trust me, you will not regret it…unless you get too close to the local moutons.