Across France- on a Bike!

I had been working in the French Alps for about two years; it was in many ways an ideal job. I worked not too hard, got paid for it (ok, that was a downside, the pay was not good) but getting to be in the Alps for 12 months of the year, and to see it in all weathers was just a memory in itself.

I worked as a chef in resort hotels, in the winter that meant skiing each day, in the summer it was a lakes and mountains programme, for me mostly that meant outside of work cycling.

I had lots of free time, not too many days off but plenty of free time during the middle of the day, I loved to go out on my bike and climb some of the famous cols in the region, mountain roads made famous by the Tour de France, I have cycled and struggled at times up and back down many of them.

At the end of a season most of the staff jump on a bus, overnight journey and 10 or 12 hours later and they are back in England and never get to see any of this fascinating country. One time when I was out there I decided that this time I would do something different, I would cycle back. I knew that the fitness and stamina required would not be a problem, I started to do research and most of the way back was well served with campsites, the biggest problem was time, I worked between seasons as part of the maintenance team upgrading hotels in the off seasons. My time off was very limited, so with some trepidation I set out on my hardest journey at that time knowing roughly what route I would take, and with most of life's challenges face each hurdle as it comes.

My first night I had planned ahead, another of the hotels was on my route, or close to it, so with three big climbs ahead of me that day I set off on a bike that I could not lift it was so heavy with the tent, sleeping bag, clothes etc I was carrying. My first real test came after some 30 odd miles on that first day, a puncture, a back wheel puncture. All my bags had to come off, and then fix the tube then load up again, then get going. That was my only flat of the entire trip.

I had a problem going through the city of Grenoble, the speed of the traffic, badly signed junctions, and once out of the city a strong wind against me. I was making slow but steady progress, following the river Loire for much of the way, before heading in a northerly direction and Normandy. The company I worked for had a chateau in Normandy, it was always my plan to arrive there, spend a day or two there and then head off to catch a boat across the Channel to Portsmouth, and then the few miles the other side and arrive at my fathers house.

On arriving at the chateau I was greeted with a message that I was due back in the Alps sooner than expected, so instead of cycling the 2 or 3 days across to Cherbourg I took a lift to the port, my ten day trip across the centre of France had given me a fresh taste for cycle touring and plans for more trips like this one.