Day three of the trek got under way at 1000 this morning. Once we realised that the Garmin had altered our route overnight we had to re-jig the route to best suit us.
We took the Via Rhona again today for about 30 Kim's. This was a good choice, nice and flat, a couple of cattle/sheep grates just out of Belley. Swans and cignets littered the water as did many ducks. ( and a beaver yesterday, sorry forgot!) There were many places to get food today, although we planned ahead and bought 5 small tubs of jams, electrolyte drinks and bread.
After day one we were considering removing the tent, metho cooker, and some heavy clothing from our bikes to lighten the load. We decided not to, we were complaining, until today. We were riding through a town called Serrieres -En-Chautange and ran into a couple of French men who were not only carrying their worldly possessions on their bikes but most of all full sized guitars. We are no longer complaining. They we headed for Santiago Decompostella.
6 km later whilst looking at a hydroelectric station on the mountain, last nights host stopped to wish us well as she headed for Annecy. It was near here that we got our first 9* climb. Rode for for a little while then stopped in the shade to have a blow. This helped our legs and heart.
Tonight we bought a frypan, plastic cooking spoon and cups to carry with us and have decided provided the weather is good we will camp, until we need clean clothing. Our first night camping in rural France was not our best camping effort, but tonight's is pretty good. There are many poms over here glamping and we have had good conversations.
We intended to stay in Annecy but as we arrived at 4pm or so we went south to the park. We swam in the lake and enjoyed the warn freshwater, it is enormous. The backdrop to the lake is 500m rock faces.
The last two days have seen 153 km behind us with a total climb of 1868 m with a maximum elevation of 533m. We seem to be coping better with the riding now. We haven't been flogging ourselves it is just not as many town with accommodation as I thought there may have been
We are headed for Chaminoux about 50 km away. Our first rest day.
This little town 25 km from Belley was our first stop for morning tea. Beside the river, with a paddle boat in harbour..
Dinner has come a long way since Ellangowan state forest
Sunrise at Annecy
Just a church in the middle of town, near lake
1 comment:
Swimming in warm lakes with swans and cygnets! I'm now jealous! Sounds like you are having a ball! Thankyou for the detailed entries, it's almost like we're there too! How nice are the caravan ammenities? Narrabeen could do with some pointers! The scenery is so picturesque, thanks for making the effort to stop and snap when it's probably the last thing that you want to do during a hill climb! Sounds like you're meeting lots of interesting people along the way, can't wait to ask you more questions about these conversations when you get home :)
Post a Comment