So there we were, cycling up the viaRhona, wondering where to stop and eat our picnic. Fortunately a picnic spot was marked on the cycle path and we had it earmarked for both shade and a table. Obviously others had a similar idea and the 3 tables were quite busy, « vous avez un reservation » greeted us as we rolled to a stop! What a good stop it was though as while we were scooping up our extremely runny Roquefort onto the tiny amount of bread and crackers we seemed to have that day ( what was going on there?), we got chatting/communicating/acting/ with some other cyclists. We were just about to arrive at La Voulte-sur-Rhone and apparently there was a lovely route up into the Ardèche, following the Eyrieux river. They really recommended it and gave us all the information we needed ie a map and camping knowledge. We were easily persuaded to be honest as the viaRhona is interesting, but not THAT interesting ( or hadn’t been). (Here it is for orientation – apparently you can also link with the Via Fluvia which might be fun)
So off we set, albeit it was the afternoon and Peter was worried about the heat, but it was a great ride. One of those steady uphills you don’t notice and although boiling hot, a lot was in shade and almost immediately the route was beautiful. L’Eyrieux is a much smaller river, bubbly along with small waterfalls and old bridges linking pretty villages on the hillsides. It was surrounded by the hills of the Ardèche and we felt that we had made a great decision. We stopped in a campsite and the next day continued up the path for another 20 miles or so, before stopping for the inevitable bread and cheese ( and a swim for Peter) and heading back to the campsite. Happily, the restaurant at the campsite was pretty good and even more importantly, open on a Sunday ( yay! Another Sunday negotiated!).
Interestingly, the cycle route was an old railway line, built by the Ardèche Railway Company in the 1800s to help the transfer of goods and open up the area. Even more interestingly, the main goods were silk as the local communities built silk factories adjacent to and powered by the river to try to make them self-sufficient from the large mills in Lyon and the poor working conditions there. ( photos of silk factories)
I am writing this now in Lyon ( over a Kir) and it all links up. I did not know that Lyon used to be the European centre for silk and that it had the monopoly in France for the manufacture and trade in the 15-1800s. I did not know that the French Hugenouts were the most skilled in silk making, so the trade and manufacture dipped in the 17th century when they were forced to flee. ( in fact I did not know about the atrocities handed out to the Hugenouts). It then recovered again but working conditions for the canuts ( silk workers) were awful and there were at least two very significant rebellions ( and hence the wish to move away from the dependency on Lyon for the Ardéchois). Anyway, there’s still lots of silk being made here and we’re off to find out more tomorrow and about the social rebellion. There is a local dish in Lyon called Cervelle de Canut. It’s a cheese dip and it means the silk workers brains – I’m avoiding that.
Cycling from Tromso to Rome 