July 12, 2023
Annecy to Thônes
Some mornings are smoother than others. This morning Tobias poked a frozen pea into the fan which inspired a 20 minute meltdown about not being able to get the pea back out. Nevertheless we did make it out eventually and Tobias recovered from the distress of losing his pea. Our route took us to the shores of the lake and then on a busy cycle path around the lake. It is summer holidays now so we've noticed lots more kids around.
About 4km in a lady drove past in a car and asked where we were going then invited us for coffee. She parked at her work and came back on her bike to guide us there and gave us cold drinks and coffee and was genuinely very very lovely. It was perfect timing for a break and just nice to chat with someone about bike adventures.
Sustained with some coffee we actually managed to cover 95% of the main climb of the day before lunch. The climb was a great gradient and we were able to do it all without dropping into our small chainring. Unfortunately we were a bit late looking out for a place to stop so we had to settle for somethong right in the bright sun. It had a nice view though.
We lost about half our elevation just after Bluffy then gained it slowly back over the next 12km with a few lumps. We had a good shoulder but it was a pretty busy road with some big trucks. The shoulder disappeared as we got into Thônes and we were holding up traffic through the construction but there wasn't much we could do about it.
We stopped in Thônes for groceries and a coffee. Because it is school holidays now there is lots more stuff on for kids so we could enjoy our coffee while Tobias did some puzzles. He had his first go on a bouncy castle when we were done and thought it was the best thing ever.
Our campsite is just a kilometre out of Thônes. We hoped we could get a cabin because there is a fair bit of rain forecast for tonight. Actually it was due to begin around 4pm so we raced to get the tent up and ready, but it didn't eventuate until dinner time. The campground has a covered communal space though, so we could cook there and can sit there tonight. That's the main disadvantage of rain. If our only dry space is in the tent we struggle.
We are coming across more cycling fans as we get closer to the race (or rather, it gets closer to us) so there was a good crowd watching on the communal TV this afternoon. Since the rain didn't come we also had some time to take turns riding around the campsite and down to the creek with Tobias. He likes fishing for leaves with a stick but he got a bit excited and sat down in the water at one point.
Originally we thought we'd go a bit further today and get all the climbing done in one day, but we decided to split it to a shorter and longer day with about equal amounts of climbing. None of the climbing was too brutal though. It was a bit cooler, and the gradient was quite reasonable.
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Today's ride: 26 km (16 miles)
Total: 2,320 km (1,441 miles)
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