Day 8 - Nasbinals → Sainte-Énimie

Today, we officially said goodbye to the higher plateau, where we’d been thoroughly enjoying the cooler temperatures and the charm of the rural communities. These past two evenings were an absolute treat—I was able to sleep with my windows wide open, waking up to a gorgeous view looking east as the sun rose.

As you can see in the ride map below, our day began with a gradual climb of just over 10 miles up to the Col de Bonnecombe. The total ascent today was clocking in at 2,413 feet of elevation gain, it was the shortest climb of the trip so far. A total walk in the park!. 

    

Zooming into the Valley

Our lunch picnic was waiting for us about 30 miles into the ride. After a brief stop to refuel, the remaining 10 miles or so passed in a flash as we zoomed down into the historic town of Sainte-Énimie. The road leading into town winds through a stunning, deep valley carved out by the river, which you can see in the photo below.

We rolled in close to noon, giving us a bit of time to kill while waiting for our luggage to arrive. Now that we are off the plateau, the heat is definitely making itself known—by late afternoon, it was hovering close to a scorching 100°F.

Luckily, we found ourselves in the perfect spot. Right across the street was a cafe where we could indulge in our favorite afternoon tradition: ice cream. The photo below captures Mike, from Thousand Oaks, CA, jealousy eyeing my scoop after already polishing off his own!

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow’s ride looks fairly short on paper—about 42 miles. The first 25 miles promise to be flat before we hit the only significant climb of the day.

Given that the weather forecast is calling for 90-degree-plus temperatures for the next several days, I expect we'll want to get a very early start to beat the heat.

Today's Photos

Happy Biking,

Brian