A failed start

Everything is ready. We are Monday, the 3rd of June 2024, my bike looks almost new, repaired (thanks Dad!), my bags were cleaned, my staff packaged. Last check up, everything is okay. Not me. I am tired and cold. Just thinking about riding makes me tired. It doesn’t smell good to do 80kms.. I decided to start later, at 1pm. At 1pm, I decided to start the next day. This trip didn’t start very well. We are Tuesday, the 4th of June 2024, this time, it is a good one! After a good night, I feel much better. 

Like something I already seen…

After 2 years, I am happy to travel by bike again for a “little” trip of 3 months. Same destination, Turkey, but not the same roads. Just à little bit, at the beginning. Little bit boring because I already saw it 2 years ago but I am very happy to see my friends and my family on my way, like last time. So, again, I start my travel along the Rhone, a river. I just try to go fast. But like last time, I can’t do the first part from my parent home to my friends in one day. So I stop to a campground in half way. Not the same prices, last time I paid 6€, this time 9€. Everything is growing up. But I don’t have regrets, I met some others travellers, Australian and Germans, I can speak in English again!

To do something different than last time, I choose another road to go to see my friends, my first stop. Less climbing, I can go near a lake to eat my lunch. And just when I was eating my rice salad, “psssshhht”!! My back tire was flat in 2 seconds ! First I finish my lunch and then I take the time to look at what happened… There is a big hole in my inner tube ! I know what happened, with my dad we changed the rim tape, with a tape.. it was not a good idea. In the same time, my friend Remi call me. We should to meet each other on the way and finish to ride together until his home. At this moment, I am stuck. Because I didn’t have time to buy one before I left, I don’t have a spare inner tube with me.. I try to fix the hole, but it is too big. So I have to wait Remi to come to me with a new one. After that, when my tire is fixed, we have to ride quickly to his home, he is working during night time. For me, the day is finished. I just have to enjoy my evening with Claire, put some cream on because I burned this afternoon. My 2nd was EXACTLY like 2 years ago : a flat tire and a sunburnt.

The next day, it is a little day, 15kms to go to my cousin’s home, near my uncle and my aunty. Little stop on the way to a bicycle shop to buy a rim tape and inner tube. I arrive just in time for lunch, I put my feet under the table. I can have a rest during the afternoon and fixed a little bit my bike.   

After spending time with my family, I am on the way to Annecy the next day. I know also the road to go there. But someone advised me to take another road, less dangerous but longer. So after few turns and climbing, I arrive in my friend’s home, Momo and Lucas. And same, I arrive just for lunch, I put my feet under the table. I started to have very bad habits as a guest… we are going for the afternoon and the evening to the parent’s Momo house. We can enjoy a jacuzzi, which is good for my legs and homemade pizzas from Coco, another friend who wants to become pizzaiolo. Lovely night. 

And some new climbs !

After 2 nights in Annecy and a good rest, I am very motivated. And it is good because I want to take the nice road of Les Grandes Alpes, which is nice but hard (there is a pass). So I climby first pass, 630m. Proud of myself, I keep going until I can see the road closed. There is the Critérium du Dauphiné, a famous bicycle race, and they decided to start in Thônes, where I am supposed to go… I want to cry, I just done a pass for nothing, or just for fun. So now, I have to find another way to go to Taninges where another friend, Gaëlle, lives. And I want to be there before 4pm, after that the rain and thunderstorm are coming.. So let’s go for another pass, and after 70km, I will arrive dry in Gaëlle’s home ! Lucky because after that it will rain ! She has so nice and warm house, it is nice to see and hear the rain from her home.

After a nice burger around the lake in the evening with Gaëlle, and a good night, I say goodbye to Gaëlle and go to see Gwen and Benji, other friends who live in the mountains, in Praz-de-Lys, just on the top of Taninges.  

I know well Taninges and Praz-de-Lys because it is where I worked last winter in the ski station. I met them there. And because I know very well the road to Praz-de-Lys as well, I can’t imagine to do it by bike. No, no, no my legs wouldn’t be happy to do it, me neither. So Gwen come to picke with her car, we put my bike and bags inside and let’s go up !

I spend the day with Gwen and her mother, we hiked in the mountains, the rain stopped and picked wild flowers. And after a nice evening all together and a warm night, I am on the road again ! 

Going down from Praz-de-Lys was not a problem at all, I just need good breaks and a good windcoat because it is not so hot. Today I have only 50kms to arrive in Vacheresse, where live the parents of Lucas who host me for the night. So I take my time, I stop in Montriond lake for lunch. But the rain comes and I finish with rain coat. I try to stay dry and stop when I can. And to stay warm, I do a little pass, 1230m. I needed one hour, so I deserve to have my picture on the top. Michel, a man who lives there saw me and offer me a coffee in his old restaurant/cafe who close in 2018. Inside, there are a lot of things, all his life is there I think. There are not so much place but lucky, I stop in the counter where we drink a Ricoré together. I don’t really like that but it is nice to have a chat with him and get warmer. Now I have to descend until Vacheresse. It is raining so much.. thanks to the advice of Michel and his newspaper, I am protected from the wind and the cold in my chest. I arrived wet but happy in Richard and Jacqueline’s home who hosted me like a princess for the night. 

And after a very nice evening with them and a night dry and cozy, I am going to Switzerland under the sun! I discover the Abondance valley under a beautiful blue sky (and not under the snow like last winter) before doing my last French pass until the Pas de Morgins in 1369m. 

Voilà, I am ready now to discover Switzerland by bike, hoping to take with me the sun and a little bit more heat… These 355km and 4760m of positive elevation were good training. Thank you to all my friends and family for their help, their host, their motivation, I leave with my heart full of love and good memories. I am more than motivated to start this new adventure and I don’t want to spoil it, but it won’t be so easy…