Bike ride day 1 - June 16

After a lapse of four years[!], the four of us [Tom, Gérard, Roger, David] were about to start on our annual bike trip through a part of France.  This time David had been given the task of coming up with ideas as to where to go.  The area chosen from among the alternatives presented involved taking the train to Geneva, Switzerland. We would then bike to an overnight stop on the Rhone, and then around at least part of Lac de Bourget.  We would stay overnight in Aix-les-Bains, a famous 19^th century spa town on the lake.  From there, we would bike to Annecy, an old, scenic town on Lac d’Annecy.  The next day we would bike around the lake, and with luck, take a train back to Lyon. This trip was a bit less ambitious than in the past, as we were careful not to attempt too much after our four-year hiatus.

Lunch at Roger and Dominiques the Day Before

Monday morning, we were scheduled to meet, with bikes and saddlebags, outside Lyon’s Part-Dieu station at 8AM, for our 8:38AM train.  Anna came along to take the required photos and see us off.  Weather forecasts were a bit concerning, as there were predictions of heat and thunderstorms, both of which can make cycling unpleasant.  But we figured that each day’s trip was only 50-60km, so we should be able to start in the morning in cooler temperatures.  The short route would allow us the time to wait out a thunderstorm under shelter.  

The Four at Lyon's Part Dieu Rail Station

Ready to go at Geneva Rail Station

In two hours, we reached Geneva and unloaded our bikes and got ready to set out on our adventure.  The first day we would be following part of the Via Rhona, a marked bike route down the Rhone River to the Mediterranean.  Gérard’s cell phone has a GPS Ap on it that allows him to program our route, and even to select from such options as lighter automobile traffic, and amount of elevation gain.  This generally worked well, as it prevented us from ever getting lost, but in Geneva, led us on to some bike trails that were steep, narrow, and winding.  After that, a good part of the route wound through small neighborhoods with little car traffic.

Once out of Geneva, we descended on a 3-4 kilometer, gently sloping, paved bike path that more than made up for fighting our way through Geneva.  We crossed a small dam, and wound our way through the Swiss countryside, passing through small villages.  We stopped in one for a snack, where we paid in euros and got change in Swiss francs! 

Bridge over the Rhone at Seyssel

Eventually we reached the town of Seyssel, on the Rhone, where we would stay for the night.  It turned out to be the same hotel Roger and David had stayed in in 2012, the second year of the annual bike rides.  Covid, European regulations, and changing habits among the French have led to a decline in the number of these small-town hotels.  This one had changed its name and the front desk was only open at certain times.  So, we went into town for a drink while we waited for the reception desk to open about 5PM.

After checking in, we took our bikes down to the secure bike-storage area under the deck.  As we removed our batteries for charging that night, David had a difficult time getting his battery out.  It turned out that the plastic case on the lower battery-mount had cracked!  The concern now was – would the battery fit back into place and would everything work if it did fit?  Luckily, Seyssel had a train station if David had to drop out, as did the other overnight towns on our itinerary.

Gorgeous View over the Rhone at Seyssel

Dinner on the Terrasse at the Hotel in Seyssel

That night, we had dinner at the hotel, outside, overlooking the Rhone.  Distance for the day - 66 kilometers.

Day 4 continued - Back to Lyon, or, the excitement waited for the last day!

The train ride back to Lyon turned into its own adventure, as weather stopped our train by cutting powerlines feeding the electric engine and dropped a tree across the tracks.  After sitting on the train for a couple of hours, watching wind and strong winds beat against the train windows, we were glad to be inside.  Eventually, the rain stopped, and we were directed to exit onto the ground.  Luckily, we were only a couple of hundred yards from a railroad station in the town of Rumilly, and the ground was flat enough for us to push our bikes to the station.  Railroad maintenance crews had appeared, but passengers got very little information as to what our options were.

Roger and Gérard Waiting out the Delay

David and Tom Waiting at the Station in Rumilly

After another hour and a half or so, we were informed that another train would arrive that would transport us to Chambery, a bigger town where we hoped to be able to catch a train for Lyon.  At the very least, there would be hotels where we could stay the night.

After the rescue train arrived, our research told us that we would have about 30 minutes in which to catch the last Lyon train of the evening.  All went reasonably well, although it was a challenge fitting one person and one bike at a time into the elevator to get us access to the correct station platform.  We managed it with 15-20 minutes to spare, but almost as soon as we got ourselves and the bikes on board, station personnel announced that the train was going to leave immediately!  So, we departed Chambery about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to leave.  We guessed that the storm had disarranged crew scheduling such that it was imperative to get to Lyon earlier than originally scheduled.

This part of the trip was without incident, and we finally pulled into Lyon at 10PM – an hour and a half trip had become a six-hour adventure!

Distance for the day - 45 kilometers.

Total for the trip - 215 kilometers.

Day 4 - Around Lac d'Annecy

Everything had gone well so far – no serious rain, not too hot, no serious mechanical problems, no crashes.   The plan for Thursday was to ride around lake Annecy and catch a late afternoon train for Lyon, thus saving a night’s stay in a hotel.  We had discussed leaving our saddlebags at the hotel and picking them up after we rode around the lake. We decided instead to take them with us in case we were pressed for time between finishing our ride around the lake and catching the train. The distance was 40-43 km with no real climbing to be done, so it should be easy.  Once again, David’s battery went back into place and the power flowed to where it was supposed to.

We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and started off, planning on a clockwise tour around the lake. David took the lead and headed out of town along the lake, along a well-defined bike trail – no cars!  After 45 minutes or so we were again sharing the road with cars, but traffic was light.  We rode through narrow streets in a lake-side town for a while, before returning to the main road and a largely separate bike path.  After reaching the top of a modest hill, David noticed that no-one was in sight behind him, so decided to wait for the others.  After several minutes no one appeared, so David retraced his route and met Gérard coming up.  Gérard said that another cyclist had pulled out in front of Tom, causing him to crash.  He was all right and would be appearing with Roger soon. Tom’s wounds were not serious but did require a few bandages, giving him quite the scarred-veteran look.  

Lac d'Annecy with a Storm Approaching.

With storm clouds approaching, and strong gusty winds with spatters of rain beginning to appear, we took advantage of a bus shelter to gauge how serious the storm might be.  After 15-20 minutes and more rain spatters, the clouds thinned and the winds moderated, so we pushed on.  While stopped, we re-posted a map in the bus shelter showing the bike route around the lake.  David put on his new poncho, black with orange spots, that Gérard announced made David look like a Ladybug. 

In the Bus Shelter, Re-posting the Map - Tom Pointing at our Location

As we rounded the south end of the lake, we transitioned to an old railroad right-of-way – flat, paved, no cars, lots of scenery.  We stopped at a history display, with a very nice restroom built in the style of an old railroad station.  The stop also displayed an interesting old compressed-air powered locomotive that had once been used in an ammunition storge base, to avoid the presence of flames inherent in a steam-powered locomotive.  Similar locomotives were once used in underground coal mines around the world.

Compressed Air Train Engine and History Display

Gérard and Lunch in Annecy

David and Lunch in Annecy - in his Ladybug Disguise.

We passed through a couple of towns and returned once again to Annecy, where we found a restaurant and ate a late lunch.  After lunch, we headed for the railway station, as were planning on taking a train that left at about 3:56PM, with an about 1-1/2 hour trip to Lyon.

Day 3 - Aix-les-Bains to Annecy

 The next day was a fairly short ride to Annecy, but was over the hills on narrow, winding farm roads, luckily without too many vehicles.  The morning began with breakfast at the hotel, after which we finished packing and brought out the bikes.  Once again, David led a charmed life, as the battery went back into place and all systems were ‘go’.

When we first biked into town the day before, we looked up and saw the fantastic structure shown below.  Built as a private house at the turn of the last century, it fell into ruin and was purchased and recently restored by another private owner.  It is a French historic monument, and as such must be preserved in essentially its current form.

Chateau de la Roche du Roi from the Web

On our way out of town, we first went to a bike shop in downtown Aix as Roger’s bike had been making worrisome noises.  On consulting with the shop, it was determined that much disassembly would have to be done for a diagnosis, so it was decided to continue on.  We wound up into the hills through Aix, guided by Gérard’s excellent electronic routing, and came out into farming country. 

We climbed further up into the hills on narrow switch-back roads, admiring the scenery, and noting the number of new houses being built, or older homes being extensively remodeled, evidently for a vacation or retirement home.

Gérard Approaching the Top

David at the Top

We stopped at the top of the hills for a short breather before descending into Annecy, admiring the views along the way.

We located our hotel, in the outskirts of town, checked in, and biked off to old-town Annecy to look for a dinner spot.  It was the night of the Fete de la Musique, so the streets and restaurants were already packed.  We eventually found a place to have a drink, before pushing on to a dinner place. 

Dinner in Annecy with the Crowd

Note: The Fete de la Musique is a nation-wide, one-night event in June whereby live music is available in many bars, restaurants, music venues, parks, etc., and LOTS of people turn out for a very festive evening.  As we ate dinner, we could hear music coming from various locations nearby. 

Distance for the day - 42 kilometers.

Day 2 - Seyssel to Aix-les-Bains

We arose the next day and breakfasted at the hotel.  After packing and bringing our saddlebags down, we unlocked and brought our bikes out of storage.  David installed his battery, and everything seemed to work!

Right before leaving Lyon, David had discovered an itinerary out of Seyssel to Lac de Bourget the took in an old 5km canal, the Canal de Savieres, from the Rhone to the lake.  Gérard, our principal navigator and bike-trip expert, pronounced it a good idea, so off we went down the Rhone to the small town of Chanaz at the Rhone end of the canal.  This town turned out to be quite the tourist draw, both for boaters and walkers.  We stopped outside of town for a water-break, and to orient ourselves to our next direction.  David was instructed to lead the way, and off we went, past the pleasure-boat moorage and along the canal.  After crossing over the canal, we found ourselves on a scenic country road that paralleled the canal most of the way to Lac de Bourget.  After arriving at the junction where we intersected the road that went in both directions along the lake shore, we stopped for a quick conference. As it was noon, and there was an interesting restaurant across the street, we decide to stop and eat.

Tour Boat on the Canal

Lunch by the Canal de Savieres

After a fun meal, we headed off along the right bank of the lake, with the idea of visiting a famous former abbey, Hautecombe Abbey monastery.  It is the burial place of the former rulers of Savoie, and a religious community has been located there for a thousand years.  

Photo of the Abbey from the Web

After riding along the lake for a while we headed up the hill towards the road to the monastery.  After climbing for a while, David came to a road headed down to the monastery, about 5km distant. Just after reaching signpost, Roger got a phone call from Gérard, stating that the monastery was now not open for visitors.  Roger yelled to David to stop and return.  David did, but climbing half a kilometer is not nearly as much fun as zooming downhill for the same distance. 

After Gérard and Tom arrived, Gérard said that if we continued up, we would reach a great viewpoint over the lake, after which we could resume our tour.  After climbing for a few kilometers, Gérard re-calculated and determined that the climb would be long and that we could not just continue on around the lake but would have to return the way we came.  We decided turn around and go back around the lake on the other side.

Although none of us liked back-tracking, the scenery was still wonderful, so we had an enjoyable ride to Aix-les-Bains, on Lac de Bourget, the largest and deepest natural lake in France.  Aix is an old spa resort town where royalty and many of the rich would go to ‘take the cure’, so there are many fabulous old hotels and houses.  We got see a number of these as our hotel was on the other side of town.  What we neglected to do was take pictures - so, we are reduced to finding photos on the web.

Web photo Showing Aix and its Setting on the Lake

Aix Casino from the Web

After finding our hotel, we parked our bikes in an unused conference room.  Tom had the idea of using tape as a temporary fix for David’s cracked battery mount, so Gérard talked to the hotel staff and obtained a role of box tape.  He and David then wrapped tape around the cracked case after David removed the battery for charging. 

We ate dinner that night on the terrasse – it had been a pretty hot day, but evening and the proximity to the lake produced an evening that was reasonably comfortable.

Distance for the day - 62 kilometers.