Three months around Europe

After weeks of temperatures in the mid 30's,the chilly start for the ride into France was, well, uncomfortable The road took me over the Jura Mountains, through tunnels, round hairpin bends and into the teeth of a cold wind, blowing, it seemed,direct from the Pole. It was mountain riding – not extreme, but enough to test my fully loaded bike.
After three months of riding defensively, it was hard to let loose. I held the bike back too much on the climb and when I stopped at the top, I took stock and decided to throw a bit more caution to the winds.
My new Italian riding jacket, while cutting a dash on the boiling plains, had to be supplemented by a merino inner, fleece and rainjacket and my heated grips were on full. But the discomfort was fleeting. The sun came out, the wind dropped and I began to enjoy the ride- just letting the bike find its momentum .

The route I followed was one of the major climbs on the Tour De France. The road was covered with signs encouraging the riders.
“ allez Cadel, Vitez Franco, Gitz est merde !!” These riders are special and Lance Armstrong having won it seven times is something else again. The way he came back from cancer and beat the illness, the system and the French officials is a great tale.
There was little traffic on the road north , but on the other side of the road , the rush to the Coast was in full swing - as was crazy driving. A couple of times , I had to head for the shoulder as a stressed continental did a suicidal overtaking movement. Such was the hurry to get to the beach.
I headed for Besancon and crossed the path of the cycle ride I made
from Turkey to UK last year. I even stayed at the same motor camp
and had a meal in the same Italian restaurant with a couple from Christchurch who were cycling the Danube.

The weather had turned bad. Cool, strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning. I consulted the long range weather map and saw it was settled in the east, so I made a decision and headed for the Swiss border. I only remembered once I was inside Switzerland, that my emergency passport only covered five countries. But as the Swiss are lax about such things - yeah right- I plodded on.
I spent the night at my mate's mum in law and made a considerable dent in his inheritance with the amount I ate and drank.

This was all a bit deja vu for me. On my trip last year I had 12 days of continuous rain and I turned up in Basel waterlogged, tired
with everything soaked. But Emma soon fed me up, washed and dried all my gear and after two days I was away to enjoy a sun baked ride up the French canals.

A digression: if you are ever looking for a different holiday, the bike ride along Euro Velo 6 from Vienna into Besancon is well worth considering. It is a mainly flat ride, goes through beautiful towns , is traffic free and you can do it 50 km stages over three weeks. You don't need to emulate Lance Armstrong – but you may need good rain gear.

Till next time

Safe Riding