Thones to Bellcombe-en-Bauges: Paradise Found

June 15, 2017

The rain came down hard and long last night and by morning, the skies were blue and the air was fresh again. The sheep in their hillside shack-with-a-view woke us with their morning b-a-a-a-ah's. This hotel, L'Hermitage, put on a beautiful buffet petit dejeuner with everything a hungry cyclist could want. We stuffed ourselves, then loaded up the panniers and headed for Annecy, to complete the circle loop.

Our hotel was at the base of a rock face where they offer a via ferrata experience, clipping in and scaling the face. Neither of us were tempted.

En route, we passed by the fromagerie where the famous reblochon cheese is made. Aptly, the name over the doorway is proudly displayed, 'Le Farto', a historic reference that has taken on a different meaning today. Step inside the boutique store, which is connected to the fromagerie and in front of the caves where the cheese is matured, and it will jolt your senses on first sniff but that is overtaken by the vast variety of artisan products for sampling and sale. My panniers are developing their own parfum so I didn't buy any reblochon.

Cheeses made here include reblochon, tome, beaufort and raclette, to name a few.

Our route was a nice easy cycle to the east side of the lake, then quickly descended to the bike path and the city of Annecy. We stopped for a coffee at a sidewalk cafe, then headed off for the second part of today's ride, up to the summit of the Semnoz which is the mountain flanking Lake Annecy's western side.

Little wire coat jack russell came to enjoy a pause cafe with us in Annecy.

Within minutes of starting the climb, we were riding through a gorgeous forest of conifers and hardwoods, the birds were singing, and there was not a single tourist in sight except David. The first section of the ride was in the 4% - 6% range, then ot eased off for a bit and even flattened out. Then the serious climbing began and it rose at a grade of 8% - 10% until we reached the summit, for a total climb of 17km. As the tree line receded, the landscape opened up and meadows of green grass and flowers covered the slopes. Here is where the cattle spend their summers. If I were a cow it"s where I would want to hang out. I was envious of their swishing tails and patience as the flies landed on their faces because I was travelling so slowly that the little buggers were swarming me. I swear these ones were armed with knives and forks too. It was motivation to keep moving to create air movement around my exposed flesh.

On the way up Semnoz is the ski hill. It must be fabulous skiing.

Cows spend the summer in the high meadows

While we were in the forest, it was manageable but above the tree line the continuous grade and the heat made it quite difficult for all of the cyclists who tackled the climb today. Just prior to the summit, we pulled in to the cafe and purchased an ice cold 2L bottle of water and a couple of orangina's.

View from the top of the Montee du Semnoz. Mont Blanc is there somewhere in the clouds.

We had booked a chambre d'hote in the valley below the Semnoz and were looking forward to the downhill reward. It was a 12km descent with long gentle segments so we were able to let 'er roll.

View of the Bauges Massif after descending from the summit.

After a little more downhill and a steep short uphill, we arrived at Les Perelles. It was almost 5pm. Joceline and Michel welcomed us to their beautiful, architect designed, post and beam home and told us all about their move to the Bauges and about the valley and the surrounding Massif, over some nice cold mountain water. The south facing view over the mountains of the Bauges Massif from their deck, and our room, is one I won't soon forget. It's paradise. There are trails for hiking in summer, and skiing or snowshoeing in winter, and I can't recommend it enough as a way to de-compress from whatever keeps you wound up.

They do not offer dinner here but they do provide a taxi service to and from one of the local restaurants in the valley. They made reservations for us at Les Clarines, across the valley, about 5km away. We had another lovely 4 course dinner seated on their outside patio. The food is simply prepared from quality local ingredients and knocked our socks off with its flavour and presentation. We have noticed that the French people proudly acknowledge their local food producers at every opportunity, as they and we should.

When we had finished dinner, the server called Michel for a pickup. It's been quite a day and we are both in awe once again at what can arise in a single day on a cycle tour. As usual, we floated off to sleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

Our patio at Les Perelles, Bellcombe-en-Bauges.

Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 1,281 km (796 miles)

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