Tuesday, 14 April 2015

2014...The return to normality!!

 On top of the world at Les Deux Alps (France)

Having returned to Sydney after our 'Round the World' adventure in 2012/13, 2014 was planned as a year of consolidation.

Quality time spent with friends and family, travel and fitness continued to remain our staples. It was also a big year educationally for Aurelie who was embarking on the final year of her Law Degree and law school, while professionally both of us looked to settle back into the day to day working routine.

The year kicked off with a bang, being perfectly positioned for the Sydney Harbour New Years Eve fireworks. After hosting a few bevies at a backyard BBQ at our place, we ended up on the balcony of a friends Neutral Bay apartment with panoramic views of the Harbour.


A trip to Tasmania for the Cadbury's marathon in mid Jan quickly followed. Cherie, Mum, Dad, Rhys and Elise also made their way down for the weekend which made it a great catch up.


We were greeted by a gusty cross wind which made the undulating, 'out and back' course along the Derwent River in Hobart a difficult one. Aurelie and Shane were doing the half mara while Cherie lined up to take on the marathon with Rhys taking on the 10k'er.

Aurelie finished 7th female in a very respectable time of 1.28.51. Shane's event was over before it started having limped to the start line and further aggravating a calf strain within the first km of the race - DNF (not a great start to the year fitness wise!). Cherie battled the conditions to tick the 'Tasmania' box in her marathon in all states and territories of Oz, completing the course in 4.22.57. Far from a PB but given the conditions a great effort. Rhys pumped out the 10km in a slick 45.47!


A trip up cradle mountain, a seafood feast on the derwent and a trip into one of Tassie's many national parks were the highlights of a great little trip.

A weekend in the Hunter Valley in early Feb to see 'iconic' Australian band Hunters & Collectors and pump out Shane's favourite song the Holy Grail was a great event.


In late February, Shane disappeared to Albury for his inaugural boys weekend for a few bevies, a couple of games of golf and a day at the races.


The busy early start to the year continued, with Aurelie sitting and completing her exams for the final two units of her law course in late march. A phenominal effort given it took 5 years of sustained effort and many a late night or weekend studying, given the studies complemented full time work. The final component was the course of Law which commenced immediately. The final step to becoming a fully qualified lawyer.

The completion of the university of Aurelie's law course also coincided with her changing jobs having finished her 6 month contract at Westpac. She moved back into the legal department at Rabobank where she was working previously prior to our travels. Shane returned to CBA and was now already 6 months into his role there and was very settled workwise.

As April arrived, we headed down to explore the Southern Highlands. Using Bowral as our base, we cycled in and out of Kangaroo Valley and the surrounding mountains. We also popped in to pay our tribute to Don Bradman at his museum and used his immaculate oval for our early morning running interval session (as you do on holidays!).


The trip culminated with an adventure into and around Wombeyan Caves. It was a long trek along windy, dusty roads but truly spectacular and well worth the effort.


This weekend was followed up with a weekend in Hunter with Shane's parent and to celebrate Rhys 16th birthday. Hiking, dinners and a bit of sight seeing made this a very relaxed and enjoyable catchup. Rhys came back to Sydney with us where we saw dolphins when kayaking around the harbour and then literally tore up the golf course on an entertaining afternoon.


Having completed a number of the striders 10km series, both Aurelie and Shane lined up for the Sydney half marathon in May. Shane finished in the top 100, completing the course in 82.38 (40.30/42.08), not bad but a little slower than hoped. Aurelie was not far behind in a very slick 89.58 mins.


Gold Coast was the next destination on the hit list. Once again, a half marathon made for a good excuse to get away for the weekend. Shane was chasing a sub 80 min result while Aurelie was looking to strengthen her base for a marathon later in the year. After forcing our way through the log jam at the start and losing time in the first couple of kilometres, Aurelie fought on strongly to finish in 1.28.13. Shane replicated his Sydney time finishing in 1.22.41 after tiring in the second half of the race.


The Gold Coast nightlife, a seafood feast and a day out at Sea World quickly wiped away any hint of disappointment from the results, capping off a nice little winter break.

With work, study and fitness activities keeping us busy, the winter months quickly disappeared. As did Aurelie's college of law course, the final accomplishment of her educational endeavours. A 10 - 12 year progression that has led her to studying in Avignon (France), Brussels (Belgium), Leicester, Canterbury, London (U.K) and then finally finishing in Sydney as a qualified lawyer supporting her chosen profession. The completion of Aurelie's studies also coincided with a new job as Head of Legal & Compliance at OCBC (Singapore bank). Hard work is so often greeted with great reward and the new job certainly vindicated all the effort that Aurelie had invested over the years.

 
We celebrated these achievements with a 5 day trip to Hamilton Island. The idyllic setup made for the ultimate destination for a bit of R&R. Of course we blended this with some hiking around the island, running around the undulating trails, squeezing in some hill intervals and also enjoying some kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and snorkelling.


August also included two other significant events. Daniel, Gina and their 4 girls (Emma, Kiara, Chloe & Renae) made their annual trip up to Sydney town. Daniel was suffering an illness so the bundy cabinet remained close, but this did not prevent it being a great catch up.


The following week, we moved out of Neutral Bay which had been home for 5 years and down to a new pad in McMahons Point. Not a big move but one that would give us a little more space and some small but much appreciated conveniences such as a comfortable guest room and a space for a dining table instead of eating on the sofa each night! The outcome is great but moving is definitely not an enjoyable experience! God bless the two little Indian juggernauts and their van to help us out here!

In September we ventured down to Melbourne for Daniel, Emma & Kiara's birthday. Geelong vs Kangas in a semi final 'coincidentally falling on the Friday night was a very present stroke of luck and led to the first time all four Ryan boys had headed out for a night on the town! The Kangas won by a goal in an epic contest! We capped off the night bumping into Cherie later in the evening. Great fun. All four girls were in fine form the following night as birthday celebrations commenced making it a very enjoyable trip.

Aurelie's plans of completing the Melbourne marathon were now also warming up. Having completed Sydney's City2Surf for the 5th time in 59 mins after running 32km the previous day, the blackmores half marathon in Sydney was to be Aurelie's final hitout prior to Melbourne. Unfortunately knee pain flared up just prior and caused her to pull out of the Sydney event in mid Sept. Shane also now struggling with ongoing hip pain did not make it to the startline either. Maybe a sign that we're getting old (33)!!

Melbourne marathon arrived but Aurelie's knee injury was still causing discomfort. Her objective of beating Shane's marathon time (3.05) was not going to happen in 2014 (current PB 3.08). Aurelie jogged around the half marathon course in 1.45, while Shane went head to head with his good mate Jonesy trying to run sub 80. After being right on track at the half way mark (40.00), lack of k's in legs took it's toll as he finished in 1.22.46. Jonesy took the chocolates finishing in 1.21.51.

Shane stayed in Melbourne using it as opportunity to spend some time with family and preparing for the 250km 'Around the Bay in a Day' cycling event. With his hip preventing him from running, cycling was becoming more of a priority so this event would be a good test! A hot day (29 degrees) and a gusty northerly breeze that buffeted into riders faces for the last 100km certainly made sure of this. Shane's sister Cherie pumped out the 100km event from Melb - Frankston and back.


Regardless of the conditions, the event proved to be a big success. Total time was 9 hours exactly including the ferry with a total 7 hrs 15 mins of riding time (35km/h+ avg. speed). Cherie completed the 100km event in fine style and was there to greet Shane at the finish. A great day out was rewarded with a quiet bevy or two with Kenno & Chalky.

All roads were now leading toward planning our trip to France for Christmas. The last major event for Shane of the year was a 380km / 3 day Tour de Cure cycling event from Sydney to Kiama, across the Southern Highlands and then back. The event was organised by CBA and provided a great challenge. With the cavalcade of support surrounding this event (ie lexus team cars, mechanics, medical support etc) it gave riders a taste of what it's like to cycle in the tour. Worth noting that speeds were certainly in no way comparable!!


In early December we set off for France. The 24 hr flight quickly became a distant memory as we arrived at Les Deux Alpes for 5 nights at the snow. 'Ski in / ski out' accomodation ensured that we were able to maximise our time on the snow. Aurelie won the contest of fewer falls throughout this adventure, Shane was definitely faster on the snow but this was offset with consistently finding a way to take a tumble!

We left the snow and arrived in Mazan (Provence, France) at Aurelie's parents. Like us, they were very much looking forward to having all the family together for Christmas, maybe too excited!

Claire (Aurelie's sister) & Fabrice hosted a super Christmas at their place in Le Pradet (Cote D'Azur France), going to an amazing amout of effort to make us all feel comfortable, decorate the place in true Christmas spirit and prepare an exquisite cuisine to help us celebrate the occassion.

Fabrice and Shane took part in the 'tradition' of a Christmas Day swim in icy waters to help refesh after a big night of eating and drinking. Unfortunately Jean Paul & Annick had to return to work the following day.

Aurelie and Shane then tripped across the other side of the Southern French coast line to Perpignan to catch up with Aurelie's Grand mother (Meme Claire), Aunty (Francine), Cousin & Nephew (Emeline & Tom). They spoilt us with the amount of food, drinks and gifts that they showered upon us. It really was great to catch up and see them all in good health and good spirits.


After spending our final days enjoying the company of Claire & Fabrice we arrived in Paris for New Years. After touring Paris on foot, we dined on a gourmet feast at Le Petit Palais before arriving onto the Champs Elysee for the New Years fireworks spectacular. An almost surreal conclusion to a fantastic year...!


2015 started in style with a post Xmas / NY celebration in Melbourne with Shane' parents and family. Leaving the cold of Paris (-2) and arriving into Melbourne to be greeted with 40+ temperatures was a shock to the system, but the catch up made for a great way to start what will 'definitely' be a big year ahead!!
 

Friday, 19 July 2013

London, Scottish wedding and the Tour de France

The Tour de France - there's nothing like being there!


Upon completing our own Tour de France, we put the bike away and headed to London, then spent 5 days in Scotland for a Scottish wedding before returning to France for the arrival of the Tour de France in Provence. It has been a very productive and enjoyable couple of weeks!

London town holds some very fond memories for us given it was where we met and where we lived for a couple of years between 2003 and 2006. So upon arrival, we spent a somewhat nostalgic night out visiting some of the sights of London including the pub where we met, some 10 years ago. London seems to have changed a lot since we were last there, but fortunately this little pub in Leicester Square where we met is still there and still going strong.

Where it all begun - The Brewmaster!

After a night out, we awoke for a morning run around Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Gardens (where we almost saw Will and Kate board their Helicopter but we ran out of patience and missed it by 5 mins!). This was the good side of London.

We would quickly rediscover that Central London on a Saturday afternoon was certainly the bad side! Aurelie wished to continue the nostalgic theme by visiting some of her former favourite shops. However with the normal Saturday afternoon tourists and shoppers, combined with the gay pride festival that was on (no, this was not the reason why Shane was in London that weekend) which blocked the roads, it made Central London a nightmare. It seemed like the whole world had crammed itself into the two blocks around Oxford Circus and we simply couldn't get out of there quick enough!

Aurelie in amongst the masses in central London

Fortunately, the next four days of our London trip were a lot more relaxing. We headed down to SW London (close to Wimbledon) to spend some time catching up with friends Gary, Carine and their 6 month old boy, Ewan. London was bathed in sunshine (we were reminded that this is not normal, even in summer), and we capitalised by cycling around Richmond park and enjoying a Sunday afternoon English BBQ!

Aurelie, Carine and Beatrice enjoying catching up...ah the good old days! 

With the Andy Murray bandwagon in full swing, Wimbledon ticket prices were ridiculous (min £1000 for centre court), so unfortunately we didn't get to see any live action at Wimbledon, but we still profited from a very enjoyable few days back in London.

We then flew to Scotland for our friends Scottish wedding, the wedding of Kieran and Nicola.

The cavalry have arrived!

After 3 wet, cold and miserable days in Scotland, the sun arrived just in time for what ended up being a magical wedding day. The ceremony was held out in the scottish countryside, next to a lake, in an authentic little church from the 1600's.

Enjoying the tranquility of the Scottish countryside

We then returned to the little town of Callander for the reception in an ancient building that looked very much like an old Scottish castle. With the beautiful sprawling gardens and sun shining it made for an ideal setting.

Just married!

With kilts and bag pipes all on display, and a couple of scotch whiskies under the belt, the dance floor lit up and it made for a great night.

Summer had certainly arrived back in France by the time we arrived. It was hot, and with the tour in full swing, it's a great place to be.

`
Girls day out...Aurelie and her sister Claire profiting from the beauty of Provence

With Shane never having seen the tour live, we were super excited about the pending arrival of Bastille Day (France's national day - 14th July), which was the day the tour arrived in Provence to climb the mythical Mont Ventoux, a 22km, super steep mountain climb at the end of a 242km stage...good luck gentlemen!

Charging up the Mont Ventoux in the early hours of the morning

With Aurelie's father Jean Paul alongside, we climbed the Mt Ventoux early that morning to a point approx 600m from the summit where we based ourselves for the day.

All set for a big day at the tour!

The atmoshphere trackside, the entertainment and then watching the phenominal athletes charge past with Chris Froome somehow attacking and breaking away on the climb up the Mt Ventoux to win the stage, all made for a great day out and one that will rest in the memory bank for a long time.

Aussie colours were adorned but to no avail as Cadel suffers on the Mt Ventoux

We had to laugh when we got home, turned on the tv, and on the main national french news broadcast, the camera zoomed in on Aurelie waving her french flag, Shane cheering loudly in his aussie kit and Jean Paul in the middle with a big smile on his face...celebrities for the day, very funny stuff!

We then headed down to a little seaside village close to the French / Spanish border where we spent time catching up with Aurelie's Grandma, Auntie and Nephew.

After a couple of days on the beach, it was back to Aurelie's parents in Provence for the last few days of our adventure. The clear blue skies, the afternoons of cycling around the beautiful countryside and the delicious food are all things that we are going to miss as like all good things, it must come to an end! Our 9 month around the world tour has moved into its final days. Our flights are booked and we arrive back into Australia on the 23rd July.

Before we get too sentimental, and start thinking about what awaits us upon our return, we still have a couple of days to profit over here, with a night out at the Festival of Avignon, a traditional Provencal banquet the following night and the need to squeeze in one last cycle, before packing our bags for the flight home...exciting times, LG!!




















Friday, 28 June 2013

Malta/France - Le Tour de France Part 2

From South to North and from East to West, after 3000+ kilometres on the bike, we can now confidently say, Tour de France on the bikes - tick!

Taking in the phenomenal chateaux and sights of Beziers

The last three week have included Aurelie's sisters 30th birthday, a trip to Malta, some more time lapping up the joys of Provence, and part 2 of the ‘Tour de France’. This time it was a trip to the West Coast to the globally renowned wine regions of Bordeaux.

Claire (Aurelie’s sister) 30th
birthday landed conveniently a couple of days after we returned from Part 1 of our tour de France. It was a dress up which made for a very entertaining night with some very creative costumes on display. 

Aurelie’s Cleopatra ensemble was definitely a highlight. Shane’s attempts at re-creating the original Karate Kid probably didn’t quite hit the spot, as the majority thought he looked more like a cross between a Chinese samurai and an English convict. In any case, it was certainly an entertaining night, with Claire’s better half, Fabrice, who turned himself into a Bob Marley replica, taking the votes for best dressed on the night.

Some interesting characters preparing to kickstart the festivities

The following day, we set off for the best part of a week in Malta, a beautiful little Mediterranean island off the Southern tip of Italy. The combination of Roman, English and local historical influence made for some very impressive scenery and architecture.

 Shane checking out some of the historical highlights of Malta

However, in all honesty, what we were really there for was for some R&R and indulgence. Profiting from the freshly cooked seafood, cheap local beverages and time on the beach or in the pool, was definitely at the very top of our itinerary. This, with the helped of Shane’s friend from Australia David (Kenno), we definitely achieved. Beautiful and relaxing location that we’d definitely go back to given the opportunity.
 Arriving at the island of Comino, an island just off the mainland of Malta

Returning to France, summer appeared to be finally on its way. The tourists are starting to arrive as Provence starts to flourish due to the warmer weather, long days, incredible landscapes and super fresh local produce such as cherries, melon, lavender and vino.

With part 2 of our tour de France only a couple of days away, Shane got a good warm-up cycling with Aurelie’s father Jean-Paul. 80kms on the Saturday, followed up with 105km on the Sunday morning with the cycle club, that included a trek up the Mt Ventoux. Aurelie joined in for this one to the dismay of the egos of the majority of the cycling club, as she quickly showed them up pedalling away from them as soon as the mountains arrived.

 Cruising past France's equivalent to the Collosseum, the main arena in Nimes

Part 2 of the Tour de France started with us setting off from Mazan on an afternoon that peaked at 37 degrees. Fortunately we had a pool waiting for us at the end of day 1, to help refresh and recover. Day 2 we arrived on the South Coast, halted for a moment by a snake that crossed our path that Aurelie was only moments away from running over, then arrived at our beachside destination with another 100+ kms under our belt.

Aurelie stopped in her tracks by a snake...this is France, not Australia isn't it!! 

Unfortunately this was when the weather, just like on Part 1 of our tour, took a turn for the worse! Coincidentally, it was the South West coast (which was exactly where we were) which was the worst affected, with rain, hail and flooding causing significant destruction around the area. Temperatures also plummeted and we awoke to rain, with a forecast of a maximum of 15 degrees, unheard in the South of France at this time of year!

Fortunately we avoided the worst of the conditions and soldiered on, still taking great pleasure in the history, beauty and diversity of this region. After another 3 consecutive 100+ km days as we traversed the base of the Pyrenees, we made it to visit the home of friends, who are living in what can only be described as a mini chateaux. The sprawling gardens, mountain top views. And extremely generous hosts, Diane and Tom and their two girls Lucy and Coco, made for a great couple of days and a great way to break up our tour.

 Aurelie, Diane and Tom are greeted by blue skies at the base of the Pyrenees

We then made our way up the West Coast to a very popular tourist destination on the West Coast called Arcachon, famous for its incredibly fresh Oysters, which we duly sampled. Only downside again was the weather, we certainly didn’t get the relaxing afternoon on the beach that we envisaged. It was then across to Bordeaux, our final destination of the tour to visit and sample some of the locally produced wine.

 Chateau du Pape Clement, just on the outskirts of Bordeaux

After the early morning train from Bordeaux to Avignon, we rolled back into Mazan, fighting fit but just a little tender around the ‘derriere’ region! Part 2 of the Tour de France took in exactly 963kms in 9 days and provided us with exactly what we were after in terms of getting a true insight into France, it's history and it's culture.

Part 2 of the Tour de France below:


Day
Depart
Arrive
Distance (km)
Cum. Total
(km)
Comments
1
Mazan
Gallargues Le Montueux
110
110
Nimes – very impressive historical city
2
Gallargues Le Montueux
Vias (Agde)
110
220
Coastal village, beautiful area
3
Vias (Agde)
Castelnaudary
129
349
Chateaux des Bezieres & Carcassone were big highlights
4
Castelnaudary
Saint-Gaudens
141
490
Cold, wet & windy. Beautiful landscape
5
Saint-Gaudens
Aubertin
139
629
Base of Pyrenees
6
Aubertin
Mont de Marsan
101
730
Longer day than expected! 1st puncture in over 2,500kms!
7
Mont de Marsan
Arcachon
133
863
Coastal town, very nice.
8
Arcachon
Bordeaux
73
936
Famous for its vino with good reason!
9
Avignon
Mazan
37
973
Train Bordeaux to Avignon

Our schedule continues to move along at a rate of knots. We fly to London, our first time back in London since 2006, then onto Scotland for a wedding and then back to France to see the professional cyclists in the Tour de France as they climb the Mt Ventoux on Bastille Day (Frances national day - 14th July).

It’s going to be another big couple of weeks….LG!!!

Friday, 14 June 2013

France - 'Le Tour de France'

2152 kilometres in 27 days of cycling our way across France...Simply an incredible adventure!


The tour included a combination of some the most beautiful scenery, varied landscapes, magical french villages steeped with history & tradition, and some extremely harsh unseasonal conditions.

It all seems a bit surreal, having navigated our way across the country in this way, and encountering what we encountered, but to be honest, we would not have wanted to have it any other way!!! We are certainly aware that there is a pretty popular bike race in this country, but for us, this was the real Tour de France!

A glimpse of sunshine peaked through the clouds as we set off. The first week was spent taking in the splendour of the Cote D'Azur.

The city of Nice made for a very impressive backdrop

We caught up with Aurelie's sister Claire and partner Fabrice, in seaside town of Le Seyne Sur Mer, before working our way through the glamorous and affluent villages of St Tropez, Cannes and Monaco.
Overlooking the opulent village of St. Tropez and its famous clock tower

It was then time for what turned out to be both a mental and physical test as we climbed our way up into the grand mountains of the Alpes. The difficulty and steepness of the climbs made things difficult, but we suffered just as much, if not more on the descent due to the unseasonal freezing temperatures!

Covered in snow at the height of our glories!

Our highest point of the tour was the summit of the snow capped Col de Lauteret (2058m). We found the Col de Turini to be the toughest of the Cols, steep, long and straight into the wind. The highlight of our experience in the Alps was the opportunity to climb the famous Alp D'Huez, renowned globally in the cycling world, for its mysticism, its 21 hair pin turns and its ridiculous steepness, it certainly made for a nice little test!

Shane tackling the mecca of cycling, the famous Alp D'Huez

We were also supposed to climb the Col de la Bonnette, the highest bitumen road in France (2715m) but it was closed, as was the case with basically all mountains over 2000m, due to the heavy snow falls that hit us. The road closure of the Col de la Bonnette caused us to have to take 150km detour on one of the days, not ideal! 

In the middle of it all we spent a weekend hibernating in the snow, again with Claire & Fabrice, who made their way up to visit us in the ski resort of Les Orres. We arrived, after a 15km climb, to a panoramic view over the lush green mountains. This however quickly changed, as we awoke the next morning to see it all covered in snow. 60mm of snow fell overnight, fresh powder everywhere, a skiers (certainly not a cyclists) paradise. Unfortunately all ski facilities were already closed for the summer so we made do with having snow fights, making snow angels and profiting from the heated indoor swimming pool!!

View from our chalet... Amazing how quickly things can change overnight!   

After finally making our way out of the mountains, the legs were feeling strong, so we had a couple of long days on the bike as we worked our way up into Switzerland. We had a great night catching up with friends, Will and Ophelie, who are based on the France / Switzerland border, before exploring the beautiful Swiss city of Geneva.

Le jet d'eau (water jet)...Geneva's iconic landmark

With the rain and weather still making things difficult, we headed North West across the country, en route to the iconic French location of Le Mont St Michel.

The countryside in this part of France was beautiful. Rolling hills filled the landscape, and there was no shortage of significant historical sites to give an excuse to take a break and jump off the bike for an hour as we approached the Loire Valley region.

Aurelie taking pride in showing off some of her countries beauty

The only downside from a cycling perspective was that we were heading in a North Westerly direction, and every day for a week, the wind was gusting from the North West, directly into our faces. Once again, not ideal!

We stopped to explore famous bigger cities such as Bourges (the former Capital of France in the 1400s), Tours and Le Mans, and were also captivated by the little French villages such as Bourg En Bresse, Montrichard and Fougeres.

Taking in the enormity of Le Chateau de Chonenceau

We also made time to visit some of the bigger Chateau's including Chonenceau and Ambroise, before finally making it to our ultimate destination of Le Mont St Michel.

Delighted to be greeted by blue sky at the magical Le Mont St Michel 

Shane decided to do the 15th stage of this years tour de france, a 33km time trial from Avranches to Mont St Michel, before working our way down to Rennes to catch the train back to Avignon.

We rolled our way back from Avignon to Mazan with 2152km on the clock. An epic adventure and a phenominal way to explore a big chunk of this beautiful country.

We have arrived back to Mazan just in time for Aurelie's sisters 30th. We are then off to Malta for a week before taking off on part 2 of our Tour de France as we head into the wine regions of Bordeaux.

Exciting times continue...LG!

Full details of the Tour below:


Day
Depart
Arrive
Distance (km)
Cum. Total
(km)
Comments
1
Mazan
Aix en Provence
120
120

2
Aix en Provence
Le Seyne Sur Mer
105
225

3
Rest Day - Le Seyne Sur Mer staying with Claire and Fabrice
4
Le Seyne Sur Mer
St Tropez/
St Maxime
110
335
The heart of the Cote D’Azur
5
St Tropez/
St Maxime
Cannes
67
402
1 day b4 start of film festival
6
Cannes
Monaco/ Menton
62
464

7
Monaco/ Menton
St Martin Vesubie
79
543
Toughest day of Tour. Up into the Alps, wind, rain & freezing cold. Incl. Col de Castillion, Turini & St Martin
8
St Martin Vesubie
Chateauredon
151
694
Spectacular gorges, lakes, valleys.
9
Chateauredon
Les Orres
70
764
Train Sisteron – Embrun. 15km climb to Les Orres (1650m)
10
Rest Day – Weekend at Les Orres. Covered in snow, where’s the sunshine!!
11
Les Orres
Briancon
82
846

12
Briancon
Le Bourg D’Oisans
100
946
Col du Lauteret (2046m) & Mystical climb of Alp d’Huez (1850m)
13
Le Bourg D’Oisans
Aix les Bains
140
1086

14
Aix les Bains
Divonne Les Bains
112
1198
Big 4 days of cycling!
15
Divonne Les Bains
Geneva
22
1220

16
Rest Day – Geneva. Train from Geneva to Bourg en Bresse due to rain.
17
Bourg en Bresse
Charolles
95
1315
Tough day , straight into the wind.
18
Charolles
Imphy
122
1437
Little village near Nevers
19
Rest day due to rain. We hear that we are in the middle of the coldest, wettest spring in France since 1949…just what we need!!
20
Imphy
Bourges (capital of France in 1400’s
84
1521
Once again, wet cold and windy.
21
Bourges
Montrichard
106
1627
Super Tough day. Straight into wind. Got soaked by a big Storm..not idéal!
22
Montrichard
Tours
53
1680
Day spent exploring castles of Chonenceau & Ambroise.Magic!
23
Tours
Le Mans
96
1776
Super tough into wind..relentless!
24
Le Mans
Fougeres
124
1900
Finally a cross breeze! Great day traversing across Normandy
25
Fougeres
53
1953
Iconic & magical location
26
Le Mont St Michel
Rennes
138
2091
27
Rennes
Mazan
61
2152
Train Rennes to Avignon. Finished back where we started..wow wee!