France ride: The breath of Marseille

( If you have not read the prologue, start here ) In the third week of my bicycle journey through France, I was staying outside Avignon, a city in Provence. The day before had been a short ride, so today I meant to go far. I would leave while the morning was still cool, take the north wind known in this region as the mistral at my back, ride south to the port city of Marseille, and return by…