Biking Day 10

• Length ridden: 77 km
• Ascent: 950 meters
• Rating: 7.5 out of 10 - good start for France
• Highlights: French hospitality
• Lowlight: Suffering with my cell-phones and charger
• Map of the day

Karin, Sarah and I had a breakfast just next to the hotel - for CHF 5, we got a croissant, a coffee and an orange juice and we bid our farewells - probably the best price for a breakfast in entire Switzerland. The ladies were to leave town around noon towards the east to Vienna by train and I had the West to conquer on two wheels, leaving around 10 am.

Still in town, I got to a nice residential area, full of proud villas - even from here one could see the water flow of the famous fountain. There I spotted an impressive orthodox church, it was closed, though.

I was now riding on smaller, scenic roads, heading south. Why not west?, one might ask. Well, my parents made me promise to visit Annecy in France and as it was just 40 kilometers away, I thought it would be a good idea.

After about half an hour, I crossed into France. It was not a major crossing, not even a classical crossing, as similar to the Kleines Deutsches Eck, it was just a sign proclaiming that I had just crossed entered into a different country. Back then, I did not know that I would spend the next four weeks in France, marveling at its beauty.

The road became increasingly scenic, it was a roller-coaster ride. In a small village I spotted a fruit stand and bought a couple of kg´s of fruits, excited how little they cost. The prices were even below those in Vienna and significantly lower than in Switzerland. I was also happy to be using my Austrian data plan, as the Swiss one, which I purchased a week ago, just finished the previous day.

A bit later, a sign proclaimed that the white thing is the top of Mont Blanc, with 4,809 meters above sea level.

Thereafter I got to two bridges, an old one used for pedestrian traffic and a new one, called Ponts de la Caille, spanning over the Gorge of the Usses. The old bridge was inaugurated in 1839 and is an example of mid-nineteenth-century engineering. It is one the oldest suspension bridges still in use today and at 142 meters above the gorge, is also one of the highest in France. I was very impressed by the view of the gorge, that of Mont Blanc and the lush green surroundings.

I had the feeling it took forever for me to reach the historic center of Annecy - it was a town that was stretched quite long. Yes, it was an impressive town, but also very, very touristy. I had the feeling that two out of three buildings were an ice-cream parlors and that everyone came here to lick one portion. While it was worth a visit, I did not fall in love with the place. Still, the canals of the old town were really very nice.

Annecy lies on the shores of Lake Annecy - and I decided to take a quick plunge there. The public beach further up the road looked overcrowded, so I went in at a spot officially kept for boats - it was good enough for me. There I started talking with people from Vietnam living in Belgium - they were on a 3-day trip there - of course I told them about my bike trip to that wonderful country back in 2018 (here is the link to my blog of that trip).

I visited the first Office de Tourisme, and they gave me maps and tips. The network of tourism offices in France is extensive, it is to be found in almost every town with more than 100 inhabitants (OK, just kidding, but it´s not even joke) and there one always is greeted by friendly, helpful, multilingual staff. There are road signs leading to these, so if I wanted to find the center of a town, I just had to follow the Office de Tourisme sign.

With my goal reaching Ireland still active in my head, I now turned towards the northwest. I found a rather romantic bike road leaving Annecy - though I did get lost once or twice on it - it wasn't always clearly marked.

In all, I got to a rural area, with little traffic and Google was leading the way. 95% of the time it is doing a great job, but now we were in the 5% region - it took me off the main road, towards a few country houses - and the pavement ended. A lady was hanging her clothes to dry and I thought a guy showing up on his bike in the evening hours at the edge of civilization would scare her - quite the contrary, she smiled and explained that the road would soon be a disaster to carry on and she would recommend me to turn around. She offered me some water, which I accepted and even invited me to sit down - but I wanted to carry on. French hospitality.

Now I noticed that the battery of my main phone was dying and even the external battery was drained. I did have a back-up phone, which Karin handed over in Geneva, it was charged all right, but now the question was how to swap the SIM card to that one. The issue was that the map I had received in Annecy only contained the immediate surroundings of that city and that without battery, I had no idea as where to go to. I did find an inviting pizzeria, called Pizzeria Le Fournil Mons, where I ordered a beer, started to charge my main phone and the external battery, but that takes time. I tried getting a needle for opening the SIM compartment, first in vain; then a pretty lady guest saw me struggling - so she reached to her ear, removed her earring and offered it as a pin - it worked perfectly! Now I was back in business, having a charged phone with a SIM card in it.

At the restaurant, I asked if they had a room, they did not, but told me there would be some accommodation after I had crossed an ascent, which was just around 3 kilometers long. I checked on Google and apparently everything was full and that there would be no campgrounds either. I spent at least an hour at the restaurant, so it was getting dark. I started on the incline and got to the top, where the road levelled off. There I spotted a field at the edge of a forest that already had been harvested - and there seemed to be a patch of green grass near the trees. A perfect spot for wild-camping!, so I pitched my tent there. I did see a car suspiciously stopping, maybe he spotted me and wanted me to leave, but he was probably minding his own business. I plugged the earplugs I had gotten in my Geneva hotel into my ears and I had a relatively uninterrupted sleep - except for a thud sometime in the wee hours of the next day.

I rode around 77 kilometers that day.