The day dawned mistily. The campers sleeping on the stage in the gymnasium woke from 6am and began morning rituals. Everyone was very pleased not to have to pack up wet tents. Breakfast was much appreciated bacon and eggs. Then when we were all packed up we headed
off.
The ride started with a hill climb for the first four kilometers as a warm up then we dropped down into Remiremont at 19 kms. Yesterday we had ridden the last twentyfive kms before Xertigny in the hilly country, leaving behind the rolling wheat/canola/hemp fields. Now we
were moving into mountain country. We passed through forest, past a car being loaded onto a truck after an accident, and through a few little towns. It was very foggy but a pleasant riding temperature. We stopped in Remiremont for a delicious hot chocolate and an almond croissant.
From Remiremont we turned onto the D417 and carried on climbing steadily past houses and little villages. The mist had cleared and conditions were rather pleasant.
Lunch was at 45 kms and the lady over the road came over to take photos. She rang the local newspaper to come and take photos also and brought over some flowers to put on the ladder flagging the stop. She also gave Theresa a cd of French music for us to dance to! Not much dancing at camp in the evenings after riding all day - it is always early to bed.
After lunch it was onwards and most definitely upwards. We continued up and up and up through Cornimont and La Bresse. There was a ten kilometer climb to the summit at Col de la Schlucht at 1139m. It was through forest but became more and more misty as we climbed higher.
The climb was quite manageable! Unfortunately there was no view at the top as it was so misty. In fact you could only see 10 metres ahead as we approached the top. So we believe that there would have been a fantastic view if there was no fog. It was a great feeling to have ridden to the top of a French alpine pass -there were lots of ski fields in the vicinity and a number of groups of cyclists also.
Then from the summit it was a very steep fast descent for 18 Kms into Munster. It was a great ride downhill in the fog. Traffic was light. We could not see over the sides of the pass - probably a good thing as could not see the steep drop beside the road. Occasionally we had to slow because of the lack of visibility. It was a long road down but a great ride! Towards the bottom the fog cleared and we could see all the houses in the valley. There were lots of houses perched on the sides of the hills. We passed farms selling Munster cheese and lots of cows with bells on. Rode through Munster to the camp site. Munster is a very picturesque town with lovely little shops - we have not seen shopping malls in any towns or cities! It was a bit bumpy riding over the cobblestone streets though. It was great to put up the tent on fine weather.
Showered and clean we rode down to the local McDonalds to tap into their free wifi and send off the emails to update our blog site. Then it was camp happy hour while waiting for dinner at 7pm.
Distance travelled today was 90 km in 5 hours 15 mins. Average 17. Lots of uphill! Thank goodness we trained on the hills in Wellington.
off.
The ride started with a hill climb for the first four kilometers as a warm up then we dropped down into Remiremont at 19 kms. Yesterday we had ridden the last twentyfive kms before Xertigny in the hilly country, leaving behind the rolling wheat/canola/hemp fields. Now we
were moving into mountain country. We passed through forest, past a car being loaded onto a truck after an accident, and through a few little towns. It was very foggy but a pleasant riding temperature. We stopped in Remiremont for a delicious hot chocolate and an almond croissant.
From Remiremont we turned onto the D417 and carried on climbing steadily past houses and little villages. The mist had cleared and conditions were rather pleasant.
Lunch was at 45 kms and the lady over the road came over to take photos. She rang the local newspaper to come and take photos also and brought over some flowers to put on the ladder flagging the stop. She also gave Theresa a cd of French music for us to dance to! Not much dancing at camp in the evenings after riding all day - it is always early to bed.
After lunch it was onwards and most definitely upwards. We continued up and up and up through Cornimont and La Bresse. There was a ten kilometer climb to the summit at Col de la Schlucht at 1139m. It was through forest but became more and more misty as we climbed higher.
The climb was quite manageable! Unfortunately there was no view at the top as it was so misty. In fact you could only see 10 metres ahead as we approached the top. So we believe that there would have been a fantastic view if there was no fog. It was a great feeling to have ridden to the top of a French alpine pass -there were lots of ski fields in the vicinity and a number of groups of cyclists also.
Then from the summit it was a very steep fast descent for 18 Kms into Munster. It was a great ride downhill in the fog. Traffic was light. We could not see over the sides of the pass - probably a good thing as could not see the steep drop beside the road. Occasionally we had to slow because of the lack of visibility. It was a long road down but a great ride! Towards the bottom the fog cleared and we could see all the houses in the valley. There were lots of houses perched on the sides of the hills. We passed farms selling Munster cheese and lots of cows with bells on. Rode through Munster to the camp site. Munster is a very picturesque town with lovely little shops - we have not seen shopping malls in any towns or cities! It was a bit bumpy riding over the cobblestone streets though. It was great to put up the tent on fine weather.
Showered and clean we rode down to the local McDonalds to tap into their free wifi and send off the emails to update our blog site. Then it was camp happy hour while waiting for dinner at 7pm.
Distance travelled today was 90 km in 5 hours 15 mins. Average 17. Lots of uphill! Thank goodness we trained on the hills in Wellington.
No comments:
Post a Comment