The first few kilometres invite patience – they’re an ideal warm-up as you leave Bédoin and make your way onto the scenic roads of the famous Côtes du Rhône appellations. The day’s backdrop is the region of Beaumes de Venise and the Dentelles de Montmirail, a singular playground where all the charm of Provence works its magic.

The atmosphere shifts as you reach Lafare: the terrain becomes a little more demanding at the foot of the Col de Suzette (392 metres), and the scenery grows ever more beautiful. For contemplation on your left, as you climb the roughly 250 metres up to Suzette, the jagged silhouette of the Dentelles de Montmirail, vineyards, scattered houses and sheer rocky faces. It’s an easy enough climb, and you may well find yourself tempted into pushing the pace. – The reward at the top, a stop in one of those charming little villages that the Ventoux countryside does so well.

Perched at 410 metres above sea level, Suzette is one of the smallest villages in France, home to just 110 souls. Clinging to its rocky outcrop within the Saint Amand cirque, it offers a 360° panorama over Mont Ventoux and the surrounding vineyards. Known to geologists the world over, Suzette conceals a remarkable treasure, the Diapir de Suzette: a compression phenomenon that has forced rocks over 200 million years old back to the surface, creating an exceptional wine-growing environment for the Beaumes de Venise AOC. The Romanesque church (where you should leave your bike for a few minutes, to explore by foot) and the stone alleyways round off this noted gem of a village.

The descent towards Le Barroux is picturesque but calls for a little caution: the roads are narrow, the bends tight, and the eyes have a tendency to wander, drawn away by the views. It is the imposing Renaissance castle, perched like an eagle’s nest high above the village, that catches the gaze as you roll into Le Barroux. Founded in the twelfth century by the lords of Les Baux, it was transformed into one of the region’s finest Renaissance residences in the sixteenth century, before falling victim to a turbulent fate: looted during the Revolution, abandoned and plundered as a stone quarry, then passionately rebuilt from ruin in 1929 by André Vayson de Pradenne, only to be accidentally set ablaze by German troops on 21 August 1944. The fire burned for ten days. Restored from the 1960s onwards, the castle is today a listed Historic Monument and open to visitors. The village itself is equally enchanting, with its narrow streets, gently murmuring fountains, the Church of Saint John the Baptist with its wrought-iron campanile and sweeping views over the Comtat plain, the Dentelles de Montmirail and Mont Ventoux.

Leaving the village, the route follows a quiet road through vineyards and olive groves. The scent of Provence hangs in the air. From one month to the next, the vines shift from lush green leaves to heavy clusters of grapes, poppies blaze red across the surrounding fields, lavender floods the landscape with mauve and fills the breeze with its unmistakable fragrance. Fruit-laden peach, almond and olive trees complete the picture. There is little doubt that the experience of Provence will stay with you long after you've headed home.

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