VOSGES & JURA REGIONS 2001
continued................. 03/06 Giromagny to Glere. Cold day with some squally showers. 117kms
Wet overnight. Goretex and longs on for 90% of the day, and gloves at times. Into Belfort, interesting town centre and quiet on a sunday. BPF stamp for monuments, museum and celebrated Lion de Bartholdi (don't ask - I don't know either!). Diverted to Cravanche (the old Faubourg of Belfort) for another BPF stamp before taking minor roads to Grandvillars for a coffee stop. The local PMU bar was jam packed (as is sometimes the case with these bars - everybody placing bets and doing lottery), found a quieter one. Main road with cycle lane onto Delle and another BPF stamp(for ruins and interesting houses). Large organised cycle tour group coming the other(German, Dutch or Swiss?). Into Ferrette for a coffee(to get out of the cold) BPF stamp (chateau, 16thC town hall and old houses). Liked this place - had a lot of character. Into Switzerland and Porrentruy and then a quiet 8km climb up to 858' and a cold descent back into France and a campsite full of permanent caravans - busy with weekenders. Missed all the squally showers today. My reserve large tin of saucisson in beans came to the rescue for tea - with some left over bread. Must get this shopping lark organised! 04/06 Glere to Pontarlier. Cold start becoming sunnier and warmer. 118kms
Awoke to solid mist, then climbed out of it very quickly and had some delightful riding undulating between 600' and 900', meadows, pastureland and forests, and some good views as well. Lots of flowers, cows with bells on, farmers cutting grass. Just beautiful with a crispness to everything and generally very peaceful until I reached the popular tourist place of Villars-le-Lac & Saut (french for waterfall) du Doubs by the Swiss border. Pentecostal holiday today - everyman and his dog was out. To get a BPF stamp I had to take a brute of a narrow road for 5kms to the waterfall area - the tourists could go by boat! Worth the effort though - a lovely spot. I was in France, the other side of the waterfall was Switzerland. Busier road down the valley then but with a cycle lane at times and very pleasant scenery - liked this region a lot. Coffee stop at Montbenoit and a BPF stamp (nice abbey). Went past a Grotto chapel with a service going on. Spent an age going around in circles trying to find the campsite at Pontarlier - the signs were hopeless. It was 2kms out of town, on a hill naturally. Got there by 17:00hrs. Needed a nice hot shower, but they were useful - dribbling water. Could I be bothered going back into town for a meal, should really, I needed some food, so I did and was glad I did. Excellent meal and I killed a bottle of wine off as well and wobbled back up the hill. A good satisfying day and by eating out I had something left for breakfast - isn't life good sometimes. Out of the mist above Glere
Lac de Chaillexon
Doubs waterfall
05/06 Pontarlier to Salins-les-Bains. Warm, sunny day after misty start. 110kms
Lac de St Point
Cool,misty start meant Goretex and longs on for short ride to Lac de St Point with the mist starting to clear. BPF stamp for the lake and area. Some climbing then through this cross country sking area, wooden chalets and forested hills, up to les Hopiteaux-Neufs at 1,000' Coffee stamp and BPF stamp (BPF for the panorama du Mont Morond). Long descent on main road (not very busy) back to Pontarlier to pack the tent up. Bought a new gear cable, had slipping problems. Quiet roads eventually onto Ouhans (BPF stamp for source of River Loue & gorges) then raced down the road to get to Levier and a restaurant for late lunch (a very good one at 60frs). Embarassing time: walked into crowded restaurant and madame owner shouts across the room 'ah monsieur cyclist, bienvenue' - you just don't know where to put yourself do you. Pleasant riding after this, helped the lunch go down, to Nans Sous Ste Anne(BPF stamp for source of River Lison), gentle climb then descent to Salins-les-Bains and a good small campsite in town and with the best showers to date - so strong they gave you a massage as well! Lovely warm evening and a pleasant walk around the town. 06/06 Salins-les-Bains to Pont de Poitta. Cool,cloudy & windy. 104kms
Lots of ups and downs today (more ups than downs), headwinds, sidewinds and a couple of cloudbursts; into the Jura mountains now. Predominantly forrested hills and plateau areas up to and around 1,000' Nozeroy after 32kms for coffee and BPF stamp(fortified village on hilltop - nice place) Into Champagnole for restaurant lunch - good enough but staff shortage meant very slow service - was there nearly 1.5hrs. Got caught in a real downpour - sheltered briefly in an old wash house at Crotenay: 1850 fire engine on display here. Superb view down to Baume-les-Messieurs: unfortunately I need a BPF stamp down there, quite a climb back up! Undulating, pleasant roads to finish at small village of Pont de Poitta. All washed and sorted by 17:00hrs. Baume les Messieurs
Pont de Poitta
07/06 Pont de Poitta to St Claude. Cool & cloudy, some sunshine. 105kms
Typical Jura scene(but not a good day)
Raced to Orgelet and back(24kms) for BPF stamp - old village and church, then packed up and carried on to Clairvaux-les-Lacs for morning coffee. Some lovely narrow quiet roads then past wooded gorges through St Maurice and forests and over Col de la Joux 1025' . On the high Jura plateau now with mountain villages, pastureland, rocky areas etc. Short easy climb up to Chateau-des-Pres (BPF stamp for chateau ruins) then splendid long descent, with good views above gorges, down to St Claude and campsite 2kms outside. Tent up by 14:00hrs and I then rode up to Col de la Croix de la Serra 1049' and across to old mountain village of les Bouchoux for another BPF stamp.Good cheap meal out at nearby restaurant rounded the day off. 08/06 St Claude - nowhere in particular - rain and more rain. 15kms
The weather has changed. Rain off and on all day,heavy at times and forecast for next few days a bit dismal. Late up, looks like planned trip up to Col de la Faucille is off. Rode into town for coffee and some food. Large fair being assembled in the centre. St Claude is the 'pipe-smoking' capital of France(the world?). Lots of related shops and a museum. Got chatting to 2 French cycle-randonneurs who were doing the Tour de France ride (around the French periphery:4,000kms in 30days) -they were going well. Got a short walk, in between resting in the tent, listening to the rain fall. Towards Col de la Faucille from St Claude(on a different trip)
09/06 St Claude to St Etienne du Bois. Cool, cloudy & wet. 74kms
Abandoned the idea of going up the Col de la Faucille, waited for the rain to stop, packed up quickly and retreated into town for a coffee by 11:00hrs. Hung around for awhile before I retreated further and took the main road away, luckily there was a cycle lane for most of the way, rain heavy at times. Never really cold, but definitely wet. Lunch in a bus shelter at Dortain, no suitable restaurant available, unfortunately. Rain eased off as I tackled the ups and downs through the normally picturesque Ain Gorges - didn't look too clever today though. Another coffee stop before deciding to stop at St Etienne - local small hotel had a small single room available at 100frs - hot shower and wet clothes hanging everywhere and then a good evening meal at a nearby restaurant. 10/06 St Etienne du Bois to Macon. Early rain, becoming brighter.64kms Late off after a leisurely breakfast, I was in no rush - wasn't catching the coach home until 23:00hrs. Spent a frustrating time in the rain trying to follow minor roads which weren't going in my direction. Found my way eventually to Macon by lunchtime - all the supermarkets were shut; it was sunday. Decided to pack this game in and booked in at a Formula 1 place near the pick-up point and showered, rested and watched TV. Uneventual trip back home. Total distance: 1350kms and 34 BPF stamps - I need a rest!
