Strolling around Topsham with my camera has turned out to be quite a diversion during my extended recovery from concussion, and I definitely enjoy keeping my eye out for small things, as well as the larger scenes. I’m carrying on the practice here… here’s this afternoon’s selection:

Planning routes of 70-miles+ around here is easy… multiple options. Less than that gets rather more restrictive, if not retracing steps. I’m still being careful to graduate my efforts, but at the same time want to give my riding guests both a varied experience and the option to do more than me.

Then I suddenly realised that none of them had yet done the modest little 1023m Col de Miscon – modest in the sense that it’s tucked out of the way between two tiny villages, the col is rarely visited or used (it’s always closed all winter), and even the sign is hand-painted, rather as an afterthought. The fact that it’s still higher than anywhere in England amuses me.

Anyway, a perfect morning for cycling dawned (not too warm, despite the clear sky and sun, and a very gentle breeze), so the four of us went out to Châtillon, Boulc and its tunnel, then the col, and the return via Miscon and Luc-en-Diois. And while Anthony and I returned home for a cheesy French lunch, Andy and Neil decided they’d not done enough miles or cols, so carried on to the lovely Col de Pennes. Everyone happy.

A planned day off the bikes today, and a very simple walk, with immense rewards. The five of us went up to the Col de Rousset ski station, took the ski lift to the top, and walked a little way along the path eastwards. I think I last did this four years ago, and the pleasures are undiminished. Add in all the sunshine, flowers, wildlife, a nice picnic with the company of good friends, and you can’t ask for much more.

The aim of my Drômois ride yesterday was to visit and photograph this village of two parts – down near the D93 is la Clastre, with its impressive Romanesque church – beautiful in its relative simplicity, but with some superb stone carvings; and much higher up the road the amzingly situated château, with its views back over the Drôme and Vercors. Well worth a visit indeed!

An assortment today: one photo from a round-the-block stroll yesterday evening, a few flowers from a stroll this morning, and a selection from a ride to Piégros-la-Clastre. I wanted to do a photo feature on Piégros, and I needed an easyish day, so Andy, Neil and Anthony carried on from Saillans to Bourdeax and Saoû via the Col de la Chaudière, while I stayed in the Drôme valley with my camera. I’ll post the Piégros photos in a separate post, but in the meantime, here’s my general assortment of ramblings.

The forecast for today had been an improving day weather-wise. It certainly started out very grey, and quite damp after yesterday evening’s (much needed) torrential downpours, so the day was planned in two parts: a walk to Die this morning, and a ride to Luc-en-Diois this afternoon. Andy and Anthony enjoyed a guided tour or the Roman walls at the top of Die in the morning, and ftger lunch all four of us cyclists did a loop to St Roman, Luc-en-Diois and le Claps, via Laval d’Aix. It wasn’t quite ‘ciel serein’, but there was enough sunshine to make up for the vicious headwind on the way home!

One of my missions this year, instead of epically long rides, will be to visit more of the beautiful little villages in the region. I started doing this a bit last summer, and from the comments on my Facebook Page, it’s clear that many people appreciate the photos – either long-time visitors to the region, or people born or brought up here. Either way, it’s lovely to think that the photos can bring back happy memories.

Many of the little villages can trace their history back to Roman times, and, apart from things like electrical cables and satellite dishes, many have barely changed in a couple of hundred years. But of course, how people live in them has: no longer are these places closed, self-sufficient farming communities, and many of the houses will be holiday homes. But nearly every one is worth visiting.

Some of the most picturesque are the ‘perched villages’: two of the most famous around here, a little further south, are Grignan and Mirmande, both on the ‘tourist map’. But there are many others, and on Friday I went into St Roman proper for the first time. It’s a place I’ve cycled past many many times, as it’s alongside the route to Châtillon and all places east, but I’d never once stopped and really explored. I’m glad I did. And I hope that the young residents I photographed won’t mind.

The next week will be filled with friends, laughter, riding and eating… last night three of the riders who cycled from Paris to Rome in 2013 arrived, along with our friend, Sue, to spend a long week here. They travelled from Geneva via the Tour de France stage, and got here very happy but tired last night.

So essential things first today: a trip to Die market, to stock up on essentials, and to Vélodrôme bike shop, to pick up the hire bikes for Andy, Anthony and Neil. Sue decided to stick with the hire car rather than a bike for the week, though if there were a horse here, she’d be on it like a shot.

Very happily, Sue loves buying and cooking French food… even better, all of us enjoy eating it! So while we went for snatched ride in between showers around my favourite Quint Valley loop, Sue set about her magic back at the house.

Well, when I said “in between showers”, we might have got quite wet on the last part of the ride. But, unlike the Tour de France yesterday, we didn’t stop before we got home.

I knew the race would be on to catch sight of local lavender, and with changeable weather forecast this weekend, I forwent an afternoon of putting my feet up for a stroll over the col de Romeyer towards Chamaloc. Chamaloc is quite famous for its lavender (as well as very photogenic fields of it, it has a distillery which does tours), and I remembered a couple of fields I visited a couple of years ago. It’s a lovely little walk in any case, so if the fields had gone over to another crop (the crop does need to be rotated), I’d still have enjoyed the walk and some glorious views both sides of the col.

As it was, not only were both of the fields still in lavender, but I had the bonus of seeing the crop being harvested… reminding me that I was only just in time for these splendid sights.