Well, today certainly had its up\u2019s and downs. I think being tired had a lot to do with it. So let\u2019s start with last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We stopped at a very busy campsite by a lake beach. We put our tent up and a couple of cycle tourists about our age parked their bikes next to us, draped their tent over their bikes, then went to the camp bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also went to the camp bar restaurant for dinner and the couple were still there when we went to bed at 9.30pm. When we got back to out tent and noticed they still hadn\u2019t put their tent up. I thought great, they\u2019re gonna wake us up when they put up their tent in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anyway, I fell asleep only to be woken up at 10.30 by clunking, talking and laughing. But it stopped after only a couple of minutes. I thought they got their tent up quickly in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then they proceeded to snore, talk and giggle through the night. So I didn\u2019t get much sleep. But when I got up to go to the toilet, their tent still hadn\u2019t been put up. It was lying flat on the ground with the couple inside it, their heads poking out. It must have been freezing. Either they got too drunk to put it up in the dark or their tent is broken. Weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was a stunning day cycling through a gorge with a river running through it, hills looming on either side. It\u2019s starting to feel like Switzerland with the scenery and chalet style houses. We even heard cows with bells!. Switzerland is about 40 kms to our right and if we keep up our Current pace of 60kms per day we should be in Basel in a couple of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We stopped at a town called Besan\u00e7on for lunch. We were going to look around the town but both felt really claustrophobic. It didn\u2019t help that we had to push our bikes through road works with jack hammers hammering away. But we found a small shop and grabbed a couple of salads and ate them by the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suggested staying in the town, but the weather has been so nice for cycling we\u2019re keen to keep moving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We arrived at the town of Baume les Dames where there is supposed to be camping according to our Cycle route map, but it was not showing up on either Google or the Garmin. When we got to the turn off where the camping was supposed to be and studied our maps, Google and the Garmin. There weren\u2019t any camping signs pointing us off, so we figured it must no longer be there. Our maps are quite old and we\u2019ve had it before where the campgrounds no longer exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No problem we thought, there are a couple of hotels in town. I navigated us to a chamber d\u2019ote nearby but they were full. So I found a hotel only 1.2 kms away so we navigated to that. But the maps didn\u2019t mention the giant hill we had to climb to get there! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was 5pm, we were hot and tired, neither of us able to make a decision. So we thought our only option was to push our bike up this steep hill. It could easily have been in Wellington, it was such hard work. Walk a few steps, stop, breathe, repeat. We cursed our way up the hill, eventually reaching the top before realising we had to go down again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We took it easy on the downhill, both exhausted by this stage. We found the hotel but the front doors were locked. I found the chef in the restaurant at the back as asked if he had a room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Oui,\u2019 he said and we both collapsed in relief on the seats of the outdoor restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five minutes later he came out and said, \u2018sorry we are full.\u2019 Our euphoria deflated like a balloon, wondering what we do know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Are there any more hotels?\u2019 Mike asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018There is one, 6 kms up this road. Want me to call for you?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We looked at the main road leading up a steep hill, trucks barrelling past and thought there is no way in hell we\u2019d be riding up there in the state we were in. I decided to ask if there was camping, knowing there wasn\u2019t but trying my luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Oui, just 2 kms from here.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He showed us on a map and it\u2019s in the same place as our map. So why the heck does Google not know about it! Geez, it knows what time I have a shit in the morning, surely it would know where the campgrounds are!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both feeling relieved but very pissed off, we followed the main road back down to the river thankful that we didn\u2019t have to go back up that steep hill. It was 7pm by the time we found the campsite and after a shower we felt much better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This town had a decent supermarket but we were too tired to stop and shop so we cooked macaroni with a pepper sauce and dipped our baguette in it . It was actually really nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, today certainly had its up\u2019s and downs. I think being tired had a lot to do with it. So let\u2019s start with last night. We stopped at a very busy campsite by a lake beach. We put our tent … Continue reading