Grenoble to Pont en Royans

We had a rest day in Grenoble before setting out for Pont en Royans this morning. It is a beautiful city and the best place we have visited so far. It is very cycle friendly and they are used extensively throughout the city centre. 

We used a guide from the tourist office and walked around all the main historic sites, spending sometime in the Musée des Beaux Arts and the area around the Bastille that is reached via the cable car. 

The views from the top are remarkable. 

The main occupation of the residents seems to be eating or drinking at the cafés or sitting in the parks and there are secluded, traffic-free squares that come to life at night.

Our ride started off down the voie verte by the river for around 35km so it was very easy riding and, as the clouds were forecast to clear later in the day, we made best use of these ideal conditions. The area we are travelling in is called the Vercors and to the east of our route were high cliffs and mountains. At Cognin-les-Gorges we cycled up the village as far as the road would go and I walked up the path to get a good view of the gorge while Julie stayed to look after the bikes. It looked to be a good walking area a bit like Malham in the UK.

We pressed on towards Saint Romans using the main road and surprisingly there was little traffic. When we turned off we passed through more of the many walnut orchards that are in this area. 

Perhaps it is because the French school holidays are over this weekend. In any case the cycling was great, especially as it was mostly downhill. We arrived at Pont en Royans around 3:30pm and at first is did not look anything special apart from a nice village by a river, but when we walked into town after checking into our hotel we were pleasantly surprised by how interesting and scenic the place was. 

The river above the town passes through a narrow gorge before spilling into a wide, clear river. The buildings are incorporated into the rock and suspended over the water. It is a great place for everyone.

 Children play in the shallow water and dive from the rocks into the deep gorge, fishermen angle for trout and cyclists and bikers love the area for its winding roads and dramatic scenery. 

Others just walk around and neat ice creams or sit in the cafés drinking wine and beer, looking out at the amazing scenery. Julie could not resist walking up the old medieval steps to the top of the village  to get an even better view. She may pay for this tomorrow as it was a steep climb.

Our own hotel looks over the river and we ate our evening meal on the terrace as the sun set over the river. It was a really nice day.

Chambery to Grenoble

This was the best day so far although it got very hot and sunny in the afternoon. We planned to go up into the Chartreuse mountains and having seen the weather forecast we made an early start to miss most of the heat going uphill. It was quite a long drag and the road was used by large lorries, however, there was a cycle lane on the uphill side of the road so we felt quite safe. 

The area is mostly forest and there were sawmills by the roadside. As we approached the first col the view opened out and there were mountains on all sides. We had to stop plenty of times to take in the views when freewheeling downhill as they were majestic. The road passed through a tunnel so we donned our hi-vis vests and put the lights back on our bikes. Some of the cars travel exceedingly fast and it would be dangerous otherwise. The mid section of the route was undulating, but not very steep, and made for a pleasant ride. We stopped by the river in St Laurent du Pont to eat our sandwiches under the shade of some trees as it was 29C by that time. 

We also wanted to rest our legs for the second col of the day. This section felt much harder as we were now very hot and the descent was described as dangerous by the tourist office. (They were not wrong as there was a car crash just in front of us on the way down and we had to stop while the car was cleared away. Some of the cyclists go down at breakneck speeds but we tended to brake a lot and stop from time to time to look at the views.) 

We took another rest at the top of the col and drank plenty of water. There was quite a pretty park on the top with a sculpture, surrounded by lots of wildflowers.

The view on the way down was remarkable.

The latter part of the day could not have been more different as we joined a voie verte around 15km short of Grenoble and had an easy ride by the river right into the centre of town. 

I have never been anywhere with as many cyclists as there are here and cycle paths are on most streets in the city, often at the expense of cars.

Albertville to Chambery

Fortunately the rain passed overnight and the forecast was for a sunny day. Whilst getting our cycles out of the shed we got talking to a group of cycle tourists who were preparing their bikes for the day. As they had a pump with a gauge we asked if they would check our tyre pressures. Before setting out on our trip we had purchased new Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres which are highly puncture proof. We bought them online and had them fitted at Halfords in Boston, Lincolnshire. Our tyres we around 50psi too low and should have been inflated to 150psi min! Whilst happy to get them up to the correct pressure they did cause a slight problem for Julie as they rubbed slightly on the underside of her pannier rack and we had to lift it.

We followed the route of the Isere river down the valley where the cycle path went through farmers fields and apple orchards and then cycled up to the mountainside on the West Bank to get better views.

 These roads also follow a wine route through lots of Savoie vineyards and small villages.

The road was undulating and harder than the low route but it was very scenic and worth the effort. 

Some of the vines looked quite old and most only had a few bunches of grapes on each branch.

As we neared Chambery the roads became very busy so we diverted again along the mountainside. Some of the minor roads in the vineyards were very steep and we had to get off our bikes and push them for a while.

The countryside in these parts is very beautiful and there are lots of old buildings and chateau.

Annecy to Albertville

It was wet today, very wet. In fact it rained all the time we were cycling. On the good side, most of the day was spent on the voie verte away from traffic and we only came across a handful of cyclists. The route was also fairly level as the cycle way was formed on an old railway line.

 The tunnel came in handy too as it was the only dry spot on route.

 Despite the rain we had some fun but we would have preferred a clearer day, however, as I think the mountains would have been spectacular.

 

Our opinion of Gore Tex has gone downhill though. All the jackets we have bought have eventually leaked, particularly where backpack straps have come into contact, and Julie's arms were soaked the skin. Even the simple plastic jackets seem to be more waterproof.

 We stopped off in Ugine for some lunch and nearly missed out as most places were full. Eventually we went in a bar and had a Croque Monsieur and a coffee. When we arrived at the hotel,most of our clothes were soaking wet but we had put our others in bin bags inside our panniers so they were all dry. The proprietor has kindly taken our shoes and placed them in a warm room so they should be ok for tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon the rain stopped and we ventured out to visit the medieval town close by. It is called Conflans and was the original hilltop town that eventually developed into Albertville. Situated on a hilltop it has great views, even when it is a bit cloudy, and you can see for miles down the valleys. There were also a lot of cats about.

There is a museum and art gallery so we had a look at both. The museum is quite varied and contains roman artefacts, craft items from the region, furniture and a temporary exhibition relating to the Great War. I expect that on sunny days this town is very busy, but not today. Tomorrow the rain should have gone and we will be heading for Chambery.

Aix-les-Bains to Annecy

We seem to be getting into our old cycling routine now. It takes a few days to remember how to best pack the panniers and set up the bikes, particularly as you have to carry everything between the two of you from the hotel each day. We usually wake at around 7:30am, have breakfast at 8am and aim to get on the road by 9am. We try and buy sandwiches and fruit for lunch in the town before we leave, especially on Mondays as most of the shops close. 

This morning was overcast and perfect for cycling. The route we took was not direct to Annecy but via Cusy and Gruffy and entailed cycling uphill for an hour and a half after leaving Aix. it was not too steep though and we took it easy. After a long downhill stretch we came to an old bridge built in the style of Eiffel which was suspended over a deep gorge.

 It was a perfect spot to take lunch before heading down to Annecy. As it was a relatively short ride we arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon and walked into town by the lake. The hotel was a little way out of town and up a steep road, probably the steepest climb of the day!

 It was as busy as ever with thousands of tourists on the foreshore and by the canal. They call one area little Venice and it is certainly as busy as the real one.

Having been here in 2007 it does not seem to have changed much. It is a very picturesque place with lots of flowers everywhere and plenty of parkland for children to play.

There are dedicated cycle paths  everywhere and areas of the lake reserved for swimming and boating. There is a music festival on this week and so there were groups of musicians playing in front of the church and on the bridges over the canals. We have been lucky so far with these summer special events; usually we just miss them.

Tomorrow it is going to rain all morning and into the afternoon so we are going to start out later than normal and hope to miss the worst of it. We are cycling from Annecy to Albertville via Ugine on a voie verte that goes around the lake and then follows an old railway line. The last stage is hilly so I hope the weather is reasonable by then.

Chanaz to Aix-les-Bains

The route we took to Aix was the high one around the west side of Lake Bourget, taking in part of the Col du Chat. After an easy, flat road out of Chanaz we climbed uphill for an hour or so onto the 'balcony' where there was an excellent view of the lake and outlying mountains. We were passed frequently by other cyclists on lightweight bikes, as the route is very popular, however we made it to the top without resting using our next to lowest gears. The added weight of the panniers makes such a difference and I would love to tour this part of France without them. 

The road down to Aix was very steep, with lots of hairpin bends, and we took it very easy, stopping off to look at the view and other cyclists. One young man had a rope tied to an older cyclist's bike and they were going up the Col du Chat in tandem (photo below),

By the lake we stopped for lunch at one of the many cafés near the marina. 

There are two options for the ride into Aix when you pass the airport runway: the voie verte by the lakeside, which is shared with pedestrians and roller bladers, or at the side of the main road in a marked cycling lane. We took the lakeside route which was very smooth and, being Saturday, was being used by joggers, roller bladers, dog walkers etc. Families were picknicking and sunbathing on the grass by the lake and the occasional aeroplane took off from the airport at the end.

When we had checked into our hotel and showered we explored the town. There was a 'tea dance' in the square outside and men were playing chess on several tables provided by the city, so we sat down for a while with a glass of beer and wine to take in the view. There was also a wedding and they had some nice cars to drive away in!

Choosing a restaurant is not always an easy thing to do in a large place that you have not visited before but we have found trip advisor very useful. We struck lucky this time at a small place just on the edge of the city centre called Comedie des Pates. We got the last table for two on the terrace and there was a group of three singers playing outside. The pasta was homemade and I had my first crême brûlée of the holiday. Most of the diners obviously knew the songs as they sang along to most of them and then got up to dance. Not something I have seen in England or Australia. Everyone seemed very happy and it made the meal a little special. It only cost us 49 Euro for a three course meal with a 1litre bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water, two apéritifs, a demi pichet of wine and two coffees, plus the normal free nibbles and bread.

Today, on our rest day, we met up with an old friend who lives here, had a walk in the park and visited the Musée Faure, a small gallery that has some excellent impressionist paintings and a room full of Rodin's sculptures. Tomorrow we leave and will be heading towards Annecy.