My Tour de France

Day 6 – Les Rousses – Geneva

41km

The day starts with drizzle and I hide, zipped up in my bivvy bag chewing on haribo for breakfast. I suddenly hear a dog barking a few metres away. Clearly not used to seeing giant green slug like objects sleeping on the fort. I then hear the owner berating it as it jumps on the bag. I stay silent and undercover. It’s way too early for this. I eventually rise and pack my wet stuff away. Today will be a short day to Geneva. I make my way along the D1005 to the top of Col de Faucille stopping to watch some ski jumpers practising on a jump with no snow. Lunatics. A steady climb to 1323m along pine tree lined roads felt like a pretty savage start to the day, especially in the wet. I had already been through this day in my head. Except in my head I get to the top and see the majestic alps, crowned by the mighty Mont Blanc massif across from the azure blue lac Leman. What I actually got was very wet, and a vista consisting of grey cloud and a town far below peeking through the mist every so often. Descending from the col felt pretty treacherous in these conditions and it took some heavy brake application to negotiate the hairpin corners without making acquaintance with the crash barriers. I was glad of the fact the air got so much warmer the further down the hill I went.

Once in Geneva the weather was at least dry if a little chilly. I checked into a hostel and walked around town in cycling gear and flip flops. This was not a commonly done thing judging by the baffled looks of other people. Lightweight touring certainly doesn’t leave room for luxuries such as dignity. I had a refreshing swim in the lakes beach. There was a small bouldering wall in the middle of the swimming area. I climbed up an easy route and back down. Tried a harder route, fell off into the freezing water and my head briefly pulsed with extreme brain freeze. That was my cue to get out and continue wandering to the old town and more bohemian areas with Juliet balconies adorned with colourful window boxes. I made a mental note to return and check out some of the museums and CERN one day. Before returning to the hostel I stopped for a cold beer and for the second time in the same day ate the most calorific food I could find, feeling slightly guilty that I could be eating fine cuisine rather than a fast food burger. You get a lot of ‘bang for your buck’, is always my excuse. I picked up some chain lube from a bike store and blew the owners mind when I showed him the map on the side of my hat. But then, I was in an electric bike shop.

Back at the hostel I washed my cycling gear and laid out my bivvy gear to dry before promptly falling asleep, ready for the first day in the mountains.