Apt to Manosque and Manosque to Aix en Provence

I am writing this a few days after the event. We did not take too many photos during these trips as the days were very hot and the scenery was not that dramatic. Even so, the cycle from Apt to Manosque was enjoyable but hard work. We headed out of the town on a voie verte, which has been constructed along an old railway track. It made for easy cycling and we had the Liberon mountain range on our right to look at along the way. It stopped short of Cereste and then a cycle route took us up hill and down dale through pumpkin fields and vineyards before we finally got into the town. It added an extra 5km to the route down the main road but the roads were quiet and we enjoyed the ride.

 The way ahead took us up and over the Luberon with a long climb before dropping steeply into Manosque. Some of the views were marvellous but we didn't stop much to take photos as the roads were narrow and there were not many safe places. We ate our lunch under the shade of a large tree and watched the butterflies in a field of clover.

The next day was lovely at the start as we cycled through the countryside towards Pertuis but got increasingly hotter and busier. There was a strange old chateau along the way that offered a good view of the surrounds but we did not feel like looking around the museum of faence.

There is only one river crossing and we nearly got wiped off the road at a roundabout. The driving has got worse as we have gone south and people seem more impatient. We took a quiet road into Aix and were happy to arrive in one piece. 

We stayed in Aix for three nights and so had a couple of days to explore the city. It seems to be centre for eating, drinking and shopping. Fortunately there were some good art exhibitions on at the time so we visited them along with having a few wines and beers in cafés ourselves.

 Yesterday we took a bus out to the Barrage du Bimont at the base of Mont Saint Victoire and climbed the mountain. It was a clear day but the way was very rocky and we wondered how this would affect our cycling the day after.