CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
249 km from Vallon-Pont-d'Arc to Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, about 4 h 02 of riding. It goes by way of Arc de triomphe, Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the and back through Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace.
28 km on Arc de triomphe → Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace.
In December 1994, three cavers felt a draught coming from a pile of rocks above the Ardèche gorge, dug their way in and found themselves in a cave that nobody had entered for thousands of years. On the walls were lions, rhinoceroses, mammoths, horses and bears, drawn with a mastery that changed what we thought we knew about early art. The paintings of the Chauvet cave, named after one of the trio, Jean-Marie Chauvet, are around thirty-six thousand years old, roughly twice the age of Lascaux. The original cave is sealed to protect it, but a full-scale replica, the Grotte Chauvet 2, opened nearby in 2015.
Read the complete Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc is where the day begins. Next is Arc de triomphe.
Orange is a Provençal town of thirty thousand on the edge of the Rhône plain, and it has two of the finest Roman monuments in Europe. The first is the triumphal arch, standing on the old Via Agrippa at the northern entrance to the town, built in the time of Augustus and later dedicated to Tiberius. It is covered in carved reliefs of battles, naval trophies and captured Gauls, celebrating the victories of the legions, and despite two thousand years of wind and traffic, the carvings remain impressive. The second is the Roman theatre, with its stage wall still standing intact, more than a hundred metres long and over thirty high. Louis XIV is said to have called it the finest wall in his kingdom. In summer, the theatre hosts the Chorégies, an opera festival with performances under the stars. Both monuments were listed by UNESCO in 1981.
Read the complete Arc de triomphe write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Arc de triomphe comes up 37 km in. Next is Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace.
For most of the fourteenth century, the popes lived in Avignon rather than Rome. In 1309, Pope Clement V, a Frenchman, settled here to escape the turmoil of Italian politics, and his successors built a vast palace, the Palais des Papes, the largest Gothic palace in Europe, with massive walls, towers and halls, more fortress than residence. Seven popes reigned here until 1377, when the papacy returned to Rome, and then rival popes continued to rule from Avignon during the Great Schism. The palace, the cathedral, the ramparts and the famous bridge, the Pont Saint-Bénézet, were listed by UNESCO in 1995.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
74 km in you reach Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace. Next is Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the.
Orange has one of the best Roman theatres still standing anywhere, and what makes it special is the stage wall. It is a tall, plain facade, thirty-seven metres high and more than a hundred metres long, which in most other theatres has fallen or been taken apart for stone. Here it survives, and Louis XIV is supposed to have called it the finest wall in his kingdom. The theatre was built in the first century, under Augustus or soon after, and a statue of the emperor still stands in the central niche. The nearby triumphal arch, on the edge of town, is also Roman and also in good shape. UNESCO listed the theatre and arch together in 1981.
Read the complete Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the, about halfway. Next is back through Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace sits at 149 km, about halfway. Next is back through Arc de triomphe.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Arc de triomphe write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Arc de triomphe comes up 186 km in. Next is Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc closes the day.
Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc → Arc de triomphe is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Arc de triomphe → Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace → Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the → back through Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace → back through Arc de triomphe is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Arc de triomphe → Decorated Cave of Pont d’Arc is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.