Another long delay between blog entries and so much has happened! As we entered the New Year we decided to head back to our home in France as the prospect of remaining on the boat in Falmouth throughout the winter was not enticing. We were glued to the news of travel embargoes from the UK …
Well, we haven’t posted for a while so time for the last few words of the year. 2020 has been a little unpredictable and certainly not ideal for the first year of retirement. Our plans, to spend the winter skiing and the summer sailing to the Mediterranean, have been turned on their head. We had …
Day 4 – Via Rhôna – Le Pouzin to Les Sablons Well, as can be seen from the moody photos, the weather has become much less settled. It was about 20 degrees cooler today than last week as autumn takes hold. Today felt like a long day – 97km fighting a cold, strong, northerly headwind. …
Day 1 – ViaRhôna – Arles to Avignon Well, after surviving the mountains and given a few days of rest at the beach, we are no longer saddle sore and were missing the cycling 🚴♀️🤪. So… we’ve decided to ride all the way back to the mountains along the Rhone initially, then over the Jura …
Day 7 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Barcelonette to Guillaumes Today was an easy day with stunning scenery. We left Barcelonette and began the 30km ascent up the Col de la Cayolle. Within only a few kilometres we entered a narrow gorge that gently climbed to the col. In many places the narrow road …
Day 5 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Briançon to Guillestre What a fabulous day! The threatened rain did not materialise and we set off from Briançon on a fantastic, clear sunny morning. Almost before leaving the town we hit the 20km marker for the ascent to Col d’Izoard and we began. We climbed steadily …
Day 4 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Valloire to Briançon Today, as anticipated, was the biggest climb so far. The 18km Col du Galibier is an iconic climb in the Tour de France and no less iconic to the humble touring cyclist. It climbs slowly up a spectacular valley from Valloire, but at the …
Day 2 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Val d’Isere to Termignan Today we really felt we were starting the tour. We have cycled up to the Col de l’Iseran twice before but have not descended the southern side. We departed Val d’Isere on a stunning clear morning, autumn in the air and our bikes …
Day 1 – Route des Grandes Alpes – Ste Foy to Val d’Isere The Route des Grandes Alpes was established in 1911 by the Touring Club of France and has subsequently become a popular route for sports cars, bikers and cyclists. It starts near Lac Leman and finishes in Nice, covering 750km and a total …
It’s now exactly five month since Jonathan snapped his Achilles whilst skiing off-piste. He’s been doing lot’s of rehab with an excellent physio called Jo who is based in Val d’Isere. His walking now only shows a trace of a limp and, following our lovely cycle trip in Annecy, we thought we might attempt something …