Chambery to Voiron

September 12, 2024

A Little Bit of Everything Today

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Pierre EhingerHello Kathleen & Keith 🤗
Nice to follow your adventures.
The road to "Les Échelles" and "Voiron" is not so cool (steep hills gravel 😝) , but you are such two good warriors that nothing can frighten you, 👍.
I see that the lemon pie heeled your muscles pains 😂.
Excited to read you forward.
Regards
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2 months ago

We started our day checking the weather. The forecast was for dry but cool. Meteorology predictions in mountains aren’t always accurate though, and today was proof of that.

When we left Chambery at 9:45 AM it was a chilly 10°C. We were dressed for it so it wasn’t really a problem.

This fountain as we left Chambery was eye catching.

We were climbing immediately on a D Road with more traffic than we anticipated and it was fairly steady. Some of that traffic was semi trailer trucks and I find I really need to focus when they go by. It was a route generated by Komoot. If you take this route be ready for traffic. The scenery was beautiful though.

Going up. It was a steady climb for about fifteen km.

A beautiful house at the side of the road.

Not sure which kind of biker they mean!!

We followed this for a long way and it was so pretty.

Going through a small town Keith spotted a bakery. Purchases were made to supplement our picnic lunch.

Great bike shot by the chief photographer.

Shortly after this the CN routed us off the D Road for a bit and it was wonderful. We stopped at a bench for a snack and the sun came out. We were both so delightfully warm until it disappeared again and then we were both feeling the cold. It was time to get moving. Of course that is when the descent and the rain began and we hadn’t gone far before we were adding more layers.

Geared up and ready to continue. We both even had our full finger gloves on.

We arrived in the adorable little village of Les Échelles

Suddenly the rain became very dramatic. We ducked under this awning.

It was the right awning. It was Restaurant Le Bouchon and we met the most lovely people and had a two hour lunch. Absolutely one of the best meals we have had in France. We blew in the door, wet and chilled and left happy, absolutely stuffed and ready to face Mother Nature again.

The main course. We forgot to take a picture of dessert.

Chartreuse as a final delicious end to the meal.

David helping keep the bikes dry from the deluge. I couldn’t believe how hard it was raining and for how long.

Should you ever happen to be in the neighborhood.

What a great meal and experience this was.

We didn’t leave until just before 3 PM, and then headed straight to the campground of David’s friend Mary to check out the cabins on the property. However, improbably, the weather had improved considerably and we decided to continue to Voiron. The Chartreuse was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The weather was mercurial, but the route was now quiet and low traffic and there was only one more brief downpour.

For quite a distance we were on a marked bike route. Not paved but a great surface.

Sheltering under trees waiting out the cloudburst and booking a room.

We carried on and descended into Voiron, only to climb back up to the hotel. We didn’t take as many pictures as we should have…but take our word for it, this is a stunningly beautiful part of France.

Gravel riding again. French gravel is really not that much fun.

We did have brief moments when the sun came out.

But mostly we had dramatic skies like this.

We are headed to the Vercors tomorrow and really looking forward to it. Today was a pretty dramatic day in terms of scenery and weather. We are hoping for a little less weather drama tomorrow!

Oh, and those tarts? We were so full from lunch, dinner was a lemon tart at 9 PM. We have a raspberry tart to look forward to tomorrow.

Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 410 km (255 miles)

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Rod BlastBad weather you had. We were pretty lucky today.

How are the bike paths on your route. Can you follow just one a day? Are they easy to follow?
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2 months ago

Keith ClassenThe bike path today along a canal was very good. It was nice to get routed off the busy highway. We just followed the Komoot generated route for the most part. We took a few side roads when we could. The Komoot view on the screen as we ride is excellent so you can pick your opportunities as they arise. Hope that answers your questions. Safe travels!
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2 months ago