19th: The next day, Jenny has recovered and we set off to do the circuit from Soubes to St Etienne and then back along the other side of the river to Soubes. I admire Jenny for her perseverance, and although the initial leg to St Etienne is a struggle, we manage without too much mishap. Jenny has insisted on going at the rear, and so is wearing the high viz jacket. Slowly, but steadily, we reach the turnoff for Les Aubaigues, and we cross the river. Having gone around the houses with Emily, we then take the first right turn called Rue des Condamines (Jenny found out later that there was a leper colony along this road, so the name obviously reflects this).
The next stage of the journey was all downhill, and actually a wonderful experience. Jenny was in seventh heaven, enjoying the closeness to nature, the exercise, and I felt again that liberation of being on two wheels, and being able to simply pull off the road to explore a pathway or to take photos of a memorable scene. We went past the same landmarks as with Emily, easywheeling for the most part except one moment when a small bulldozer or tractor veered suddenly around a corner heading straight for us, and we had to pull over. But absolutely joyous to be cycling through the pine trees like this.
We ended up at the Bar du Terral in Soubes, and ordered biere au pression, wonderfully refreshing after the exercise. I was delighted that Jenny had overcome a hurdle, and was now enthusiastic to do more cycling. The next stage of the holiday would be mainly by car, but it definitely felt like there was a momentum behind doing a longer trip at some stage.
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