GERMANY, CZECH, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY,

GERMANY, CZECH, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY,

AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE – Part 3

August 15, 2012

And then…back in France…home to the baguette, awesome cheese, and in-town foot-high speed bumps to slow drivers down for the 30kph zones. Plus…most of the campgrounds here provide no toilet paper (so BYO-TP) or toilet seats on said toilets. Oh well…at least France also has some of the best mountain scenery in the world in the form of the Alps.

Before leaving Areines we had booked a small (and we do mean small) apartment in Samoens in the highest region of the Alps. We arrived two days early but after contacting the owners they happily told us to go ahead in. First job was to get to a laundromat since we hadn’t done any washing since we left…about fourteen odours ago.

 

Since arrival the weather has been mostly warm or hot and sunny. Which means the days for riding our bikes have been plenty. The road cycling in this area is flat (to the end of the driveway) and steep (after that). The riding can be tough and as you can see by the shape this poor bike is in, can be hard on the machine. Note the seat in particular!

Some here are seeing the scenery the smart and lazy way…they take the gondolas to the tops of the mountains and jump off with a wing shaped parachute. Floating. Falling asleep. Exerting zero effort. Looking down on the rest of us. But I have to admit that having tried it a few years ago in Chamonix…it is AMAZING! And the landings are as silky smooth as they get.

Samoens is a mountain playground with parapenting, mountain biking, road cycling, rafting, kayaking, hiking, climbing in stunning mountain terrain on the roof of the French Alps and so attracts tourists from everywhere. Winter sees cross-country and downhill skiing and ice climbing. As a result a large weekly market selling all sorts of food and clothing hits town every Wednesday. Some products are sold very directly from the producer to the buyer. Here even the cows sell their cheese and meat directly.

Dawn has been going to the outdoor pool here and doing some biking. I’ve stuck to the road biking…for the most part. One ride was over a pass running 13 kilometers at 8.5% grade. It hurt! But the scenery was stunning topped off with a straight-on view of Mont Blanc, at almost 16000 feet, the biggest in the Alps.

Then it seemed a good idea to take my mountain bike up the gondola on the edge of town followed by a 6-person chair to the very top of one of the local mountains. This area is well known for its bike descents usually done with a specific type of bike and lots of armoured padding in case of falls at breakneck speeds on steep sharp-stoned routes. My mountain bike is not specific to this sport and I own no Thunder Dome gear. But up I went anyway. The rides up the lifts were…long and steep which my fear-filled brain was quick to note meant that the ride down would be equally long and steep…over sharp stones. Now at the top it was another stunning view of Mont Blanc on a warm sunny day. And down it was….slowly…with both brakes on…and me ready to bail. For the first couple of kilometers things went relatively well…a bit squiggly…like the feeling in my chest and shorts. Even passed somebody…though they may have been walking. And then it was onto a very steep slope. Stopped. No choice. Go. Not for long. Soon the bike was out of control which meant I soon was as well. I got ejected but landed on both feet. The slope was so steep there was no way to gain control of my legs spinning wildly. Finally fell hard and rolled on sharp head-sized rocks. Eventually stopped and got up…the brothers “throbbing and burning” showed up. Lots of scrapes and bruises but that was it. Damn! Now I had to climb back up to my bike and slide it down to a less steep section. What went through my mind as this was all happening in slow motion? “Dawn’s gonna give me shit! Dawn’s gonna give me shit!”. Once back down and in her presence, I got…shit. Oh well, it was fun. But the next time it will be with a proper bike for descents and I will give the Thunder Dome look a try.

After a couple days of heavy rains the skies again turned that beautiful “I’m gonna do something fun tooooday!”  blue with temps in the high 20s C. After getting a few groceries at the large Wednesday market in Samoens, we headed over a hairy driving road to Morzine in the next valley some 25 km away. The scenery was absolutely stunning with great views of Mt. Blanc, one valley over. In Morzine, Dawn putzed around the large overly busy touristy downtown area while I went for a ride. It was then time to take Dawn to the restaurant at the top of the pass between Morzine and Samoens. A few days early, it was to celebrate her 6X birthday. The view from the patio was breathtaking with food to match. The service was horrible (they may have been from Paris) to the point that a number of people walked out. At one point we gave a British couple next to us the rest of our fries which got lots of laughs. To top off the scenery and the food, the cows wearing large Swiss-style bells chimed Dawn a “appy birthday” (remember, the French can’t pronounce the letter “h”).

With this weather the parapenters were out in force some going for the moon. At times there can be over twenty in the skies making it look like a blue field of spring flowers.

Four weeks in the high French Alps went by all too quickly. With the weather, the scenery and the riding it was an amazing time.

We drove straight through from Samoens to Areines, 7 ½ hours. Now we’ve got to get ready to leave…AGAIN…in a short three weeks!!!