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Italy - Day 2 : A hot start

We arrived in Avignon around 8:30. First we needed to straighten our handlebars, put on sunscreen and load all our luggage on our bikes. It was already 32 degrees. Today there was some festival in Avignon. We rode through a street fully covered in posters, the walls were invisible and even the street lights were covered.

Avignon

In Avignon
 

After some searching we found the large road to Apt. After 5 kilometers we realized there was also a bicycle path running parallel to it. It was nice to cycle there, along the trees and lavender fields.

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Along the way

In Apt we searched for a supermarket. Only after giving up we found one. We bought ice creams, yoghurt and water. We had only cycled 45 km, but where already baked by the heat. It felt like my heartrate didn't drop below 180. After Apt the road was still pretty flat so we quickly cycled another 45 km. This part of France is always nice to cycle, because it's beautiful everywhere.

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Rolls of hay 
 

After a few hours we went to a supermarket to cool down. A 5 liter water bottle was cheaper than one of 1,5L so we bought that. We easily managed to finish it in the heat. It was now around 40 degrees and we sat down in the shade. A clumsy Frenchman who couldn't drive tried to leave the parking lot by going back and forth 6 times. He nearly hit Bram's bike. After this break the landscape became more hilly.

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Rocks
 

Another few hours later I was again getting hungry and developed a cramp in my legs. In a small village we found a store, with a big sign saying 'ouvert je dimanche' open on Sunday. Unfortunately, today was Saturday so it was closed. Bram still had some bread left from the Netherlands. We sat down briefly against the store, when I got up there was a big puddle of sweat.

cycling in the provance

View along the way
 

We still needed to climb some more. At a terrace we each ordered a cola and the lady offered to fill our water bottles. Later we only needed to descent to arrive at a campsite in Barrème, were we planned to arrive around 20:00. We got food and a guy recommended us to buy a bottle of Genepi, which was a type of liquor. That didn't seem a great idea. 

 

Camping Napoléon was just outside the village. It wasn't crowded at all. The owner was friendly and even told us to charge our phones in the bathroom, so we wouldn't have to pay for electricity. We lay down in front of our tents to eat some more until it got dark. We had tracked our route with a GPS-tracker. The height profile is pretty accurate, but sometimes the device lost connection.

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Route of day 2

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Height profile of today, it was mostly climbing.

Distance cycled : 171,5 km

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