Cycling in Aix-en-Provence

I rented a bicycle - a real road bike, quite serviceable despite its age - from Aix Prit Velo (17 rue Constantin) in Centre Ville. I've been picking directions and getting out of town on rides of varying length. So far, my favorite is to head out D10.

The first time, I headed out a little past the town of Vauvenargues (cute, but nothing to write home about, despite the fact that Picasso owned the castle there and is buried on the grounds.) The next time, I kept going and then turned left on D11. What a great, steep little rode through the massifs (limestone mountains.) Gourgeous, and completely untravelled. The pavement quality was quite good.

I went over the summit, and enjoyed the downhill into Jouques. I didn't find the best way from there back into Aix; the streets were too busy as I went through Peyrolles and Meyrargues. An investigatory challenge for a future ride. The entire trip was about 36 miles (60 km).

Another time, I kept going on D10 and then turned right when it teed into D23. A couple of sections on D10 were quite steep uphills, but turning around at the summit and gazing back down at the valley made it worthwhile. The downhill on D23 was world class; smooth payment and a series of fast s-curves through beautiful woods. I dropped about 800 feet in that one descent. Wow!

I went through Pourrieres and turned right on D7. Since this ride literally circles Mt. Sainte Victoire, I experienced a series of spectacular vistas of this famous massif. D7 was neither too busy nor too steep, but it had one problem that almost caused me to walk; the Mistral (famous Provencal winds) had kicked up. When I reached a couple of plateaus, I was running into it at the worst possible angle, about 30 degrees off a direct headwind. Every big puff would blow me sideways and cause me to decelerate simultaneously, creating real problems in stability. I really started to wonder if I could ride this section, and at one point, did stop riding just to recover from the concentration it took to stay on the road.

Soon enough, though, I was back to lower altitude and then into the outskirts of Aix, which were quite beautiful, with large villas and many trees. This ride was about 40 miles (65 km), and truly a rewarding experience.