A great day. All of the things worked, I almost killed myself on a practice hill for for the impending Alps, and it was stunning all day.
I started the day in Lyon with the plan of stopping somewhere in the middle which ended up as Lac du Lit au Roi (at a nice campground with maybe the strong, best shower I’ve ever used).
I followed the Rhône out of Lyon after some city driving. The miles went very quickly for then first thirty. The humidity remained and got a bit more intense into the afternoon when there was a thunderstorm a couple of miles away. I barely dodged that. I’ll need to get fenders soon. The tires held up wonderfully. Today was the first day in five days that I did not have to repair a flat.
I took a lunch (peanut M&Ms, banana, rice pudding, and something else) in a town just outside these sheer cliffs. Little did I know I’d be essentially going over them shortly. You can see them just behind the building in one of the photos below.
Then started the climb. It was harder than I expected but absolutely gorgeous the whole way up. Life was urgent and everything was wet. It reminded me of backpacking in Olympic National Park. It’s quite incredible the terrain that is farmed. I’m curious how many of the fields were farmed a hundred years ago or are now fallow.
I eventually made it to the top. It was quite steep and inconsistently so with the grade hitting 20% in some ridiculous sections (mostly because I took some “shortcuts”).
I eventually made it to the top of the pass (col des Fosses)
One very small section wasn’t a path I could take the bike on I’m glad I did as it was a forest with a type of loss coverage I’d never seen before.
From the top I could see the Alps and just barely make out Mount Blanc. I speeded down the hill. Got some snacks at a supermarket and set up camp.
I sat on the shore and ate strawberries and ham.
I bonked and managed my water a bit poorly for the climb.