By bike over the Alps, 8.2024

The family vacation is over. I start my bike tour over the Alps:

9.7. Samoëns -> Notre Dame Gorges, transfer day. Even before breakfast, I sort out everything I don't want to take on the trip. Ulla and Katja leave without breakfast with the children in the Caddy. Shortly after 10 AM, Ingo has packed everything and sets off. I am the last to set off on my bike. My bike tour can begin!

But I spend another half hour uploading pictures to the blog, then I take a last swim in our lake and start cycling along the river. After Cluses, I need to go over the mountain once, and I notice that I can manage inclines of up to 5% with endurance. In the valley of the Arve, I take a break every ten kilometers at a lake and go for a swim because the heat today is enormous. The climb to Gervais is really exhausting. The Route de Laurin has an average incline of 8%. I can’t manage to ride that, and even pushing my bike is very, very difficult for me. I need more than 1½ hours for the 3.5 kilometers. After that, there are still eight kilometers and 400 meters of elevation. At half past seven, I reach the campsite in Notre Dame de la Gorge. The tent is quickly set up, and the shower is warm; I cook couscous with the leftover sauce from the day before yesterday.