14th June 2025: Day 9

Today marked the start of our ascent up the Jura mountain range. We chose a short distance and started early to try and get most of the climbing done in the early morning before the temperature rose too much. The day started well and we had time to appreciate the views and the wild flowers. By late morning we had nearlycompleted the ride and rested for a short while at a friendly coffee bar on the outskirts of Champagnole.

Unfortunately, after coffee our plans unravelled! After just a short distance we realised the sat nav was taking us onto a major and busy road. We tried to cycle carefully along it, but the rushing traffic: motorbikes, cars and huge lorries were just a bit too daunting. We checked Google maps and thought we had a solution- a little track running parallel to the main road. Google warned that the route was “very steep”, but failed to mention that parts of it didn’t actually exist! We struggled along a steep rough track that became an overgrown path through the forest. After about 3km of this we hit a fence and the end of the track. We were able to squeeze past the fence, traverse a field complete with grazing cattle and finally exit the field (lifting our bikes over a locked farm gate) and return to a path. Our short day had become long and tiring.

Fortunately, it was only another couple of kilometers (back on the main road that we had tried to avoid) before we reached our hotel and some very welcome cold beers!