Bodhi On Wheels: A Winter's Ride from Provence to Languedoc: Amidst Cold, Snow, and Howling Winds (4

Truth be told, we were always slightly concerned about winter travel on bicycle. Our strategy was to lengthen our WWOOF stays, minimize cycling distances, and stay in the south of France. Even so, there was always the possibility of winter storms and cold cold temps. And here we are, on the eve of our departure from La Grande Bastide, and it's snowing, first time in years in this area. We have 200km ahead of us to reach our next stay in Languedoc, and the maximum daytime temperature forecast is 1 degree Celsius (33 fahrenheit)...

In this section we would outlast the snow and then encounter frigid gale-force winds, making our ride much more adventurous than ever imagined...

Morning of our departure: fresh snow and COLD temps.This guy carries on as usual, oblivious to the frigid air, seeking out all his favorite muddy puddles.

Katy doing last-minute preparations; a few new additions to her bike: a frame bag and a Magpies sign.

Final goodbyes to Solange and Pierre.

Cycling between Villelaure and Cadenet. We had frozen fingers and toes as we advanced!

It got snowier as we progressed beyond La Roque D'Antheron. Now in the département des Bouches-du-Rhône.

This image tells the story pretty well.

Mansion seen leaving Charleval.

Our goal for this first day was near Mouriès, about 55km from Villelaure. But we got a late start, moved slow on snowy and icy roads, gradually climbing into Les Alpilles, and had only reached the town of Eyguières by 5PM, still 20 km short of our destination and less than an hour before nightfall.

This incredible scene is at Mas Gourguignol, an amazing ranch of organic vineyards and fruit tree orchards in the middle of Les Alpilles, a small mountain range south of Avignon. We were invited to stay here by WS hosts Delphine and François.

Luckily, François came to our rescue and managed to squeeze both bikes and both trailers into his car, barely; we did this in the dark with frozen hands - baggage and belongings piled into every last inch of the vehicle.

(L-R): Jeff, Joseph, François, Delphine, Salomé, Katy, Bo.

We had the pleasure of drinking this amazing organic red wine, produced right here!

Delphine shepherds Bo and new friends Joseph and Salomé during a playdoh session.

Joseph, although 3 years older than Bo, took well to Bodhi, and these two had some fun moments together.

Le Bonhomme de neige de Gourguignol (Gourguignol's snowman), sat on the edge of an almond orchard.

All saddled up and ready to roll again; today's high will be 3°.

Setting out, we were treated to the rare sight of vineyards buried in snow, with the rugged Alpilles as the backdrop.

Katy pulls up an incline with the summits of Les Alpilles behind in the distance. We mostly had the road to ourselves, but we had to contest with gale-force crosswind/headwind all day that wore us out.

Nevertheless, the scenery was jaw-dropping and kept our spirits up...

...as on this amazing descent!!!!

Old Man Winter threw us a wildcard on this day, and for only the second time on this whole trip, we set up shop for a night in a hotel. With gusts of wind up to 90km/hour at times, this was our best bet. The Lemon Hotel in Tarascon. 29 Euros for all three of us.

The perfect place for Bo and his balance bike; he explored every possible inch.

Katy and a local discuss the finer points of bicycle travel (in Tarascon).

Bringing back memories of our previous ride on the ViaRhona, we crossed the Rhône again at Tarascon/Beaucaire.

The castle at Tarascon.

Beaucaire marked our entry into the département du Gard.

We passed this eye-catching cemetery while leaving Beaucaire and stopped to have a glance about...

picnic lunch near Beaucaire.

climbing up out of the Rhône Valley.


Not far from Nîmes (less than 15km), Jeff stopped to inspect his rear wheel, which had been acting up. Bo seized the moment to ride his balance bike all over.

Jeff's rear wheel, which miraculously made it to Nîmes! He would rebuild it there with a different rim.

Bodhi ran ceaselessly all over Nîmes, which has pleasant and safe pedestrian areas all over the centre.


The little man struts about the Roman Ampĥitheater (Les arènes) at Nîmes. Built in 70 AD, it is nearly 2000 years old, and is the best-preserved of any Roman amphitheater.

The construction is nothing short of phenomenal, all dry-fit stone. Each arcade, shown here, acted as entrance and exitway.

The mesmerizing panorama from the top of the stadium. A place haunted with the blood of gladiators, animal death sport, the feeding of slaves (some while tied to posts!) to lions and tigers, lion wrestlers, bullfights, etc.. It held 24,000 spectators spread over 34 concentric terraces.

Maison Carrée, from 16 B.C. Another iconic Roman construction in Nîmes, and one of the best-preserved Roman temples.

Tour Magne, dating to the times of Augustus, was the highest of 14 towers that formed the ramparts of the ancient city of Nîmes. It is the only one still standing, on the city's highest hill.

Bo was lucky enough to get a pony ride to round out our visit.

Big thank-yous to Yves and Catherine, our WS hosts for two nights in Nîmes.

Leaving Nîmes, we once again encountered demoralizing brutal winds. It was slightly warmer than previous days, and sunnier, but the wind was a constant menace as we moved westward...

Bo didn't mind the wind and cold; he preferred to ride in his bike seat. The flags are ample proof of a furious crosswind. This is near the start of a delightful Gard voie verte (traffic-free cycling path) from Caseirac to Sommières.

Jeff struggles to pedal straight against vicious crosswinds.

Riding the course of an old train line, we had pleasant pedalling into Sommières.

The 7-arched (originally 17) Roman-era bridge of Sommières, built between 19-31 AD on the Nîmes-Toulouse road.

Bo takes delight in tossing stones into the Vidourle River.

Crossing the Roman bridge with the medieval center of Sommières behind.

In this section we would see many Camargue white horses, as seen here. They are one of the world's oldest breeds of horse (although their smaller stature classifies them as ponies). Traditionally they have been used to round up bulls in the Camargue wetlands and delta areas of the Rhône.

In Galargues we were hosted by WS hosts Laurent and Anne and their daughters, Aude and Cécile (pictured with a family friend).

Bo captured the girls' attention...

... the morning sendoff.

We were guided for the first 2 km by the girls!

Near St. Mathieu de Tréviers, Katy celebrates the promise of relief: sunny skies, warmer temps, we find ourselves peeling off our cycling layers.

Jeff with Pic de St. Loup in the background (left).

another encounter with Camargues horses.

Having a jaunt about our picnic spot.

Happy to be in the sunshine.

On the move again...

... can't complain about the weather or the scenery.

As you can see, he's quite settled into his life as young traveller...

Taking in all the sights with Daddy.

St. Martin de Londres. As we are now in the region of Languedoc, we have witnessed a vast increase in vineyard lands and wine production in general. Each larger village is equipped with a colossal wine-growers' cooperative building, where traditionally villagers can go to purchase local wine in bulk quantities.