Day 1 – Seyssel to Genix sur Guiers

Mural as we left Seyssel showing the bridge across the Rhone

We had to be out of the hotel for 9:00 to avoid parking charges / a penalty ticket so we decided to miss breakfast at the hotel and head to an out of town shopping centre on our way for coffee / croissants and an impromptu visit to Decathlon to stock up on yet more kit. This included a very nice waterproof top for Mike which did get tested out (successfully on our tour) and I may need to purchase one for myself! Unfortunately Mike tripped in the car park and badly grazed both hands. As luck would have it there was a big supermarket nearby and we were able to get wound spray plasters etc.  Despite some discomfort he was able to handle the tour and ride successfully without getting the gouges infected! Poor lamb.

On getting to Seyssel the Monday market was in full swing and the bridge crossing to the railway station was shut so we decided to park in the main town car park which in hindsight was an excellent choice. We had plenty of space to sort out bikes out and enjoy the shade, another hot day in store. Our ride today was about 60km with just over 500m of elevation and descent. We had decided to use our gravel/ road bikes, my Cannondale and Mike’s rejigged Triban on its last outing before being retired and replaced with a Giant Defy carbon road bike. We were both interested to see how they would perform on a touring set up. To keep weight down I was using just 1 Ortlieb pannier and a handlebar pannier. On reflection this was a bit of a mistake as the bike was unbalanced.  One lives and learns.

On our return to Seyssel we read the information boards at the bridge which were really interesting as this was a main defensive line for the French forces in WW1 against the German invasion. The boards illustrated the strategic positions taken by the opposing forces. It was hard to believe that this site where we had just enjoyed a croissant and coffee in spring sunshine had such a brutal past not that long ago.

Key memories from our ride:

• The riding today was the least interesting of our 3 days, however what I did like a lot were the cliffs / ridges we followed that framed the valley

• It was hot and thunderstorms were forecast for the late afternoon so we focused on making good time rather than detouring to explore some of the nearby towns (eg Belley)

We struggled to get hold of Christophe, the owner of the hotel we were staying in when we arrivied in Saint Genix Sur Guiers. No answer when we tried to ring the bell or call him on his phone so we decided to have a quick scoot round the village, look at the church and have a beer / glass of wine in the local sports bar and catch the end of that days TdF. We locked our bikes in an open wood shed next door to the bar, fortunately, only to each other.Alas with the stress of still not being able to raise Christophe and worrying about where we would spend the night we clean forgot the combination code. Decided during a lull in the thunderstorm to walk up to the hotel and see if it was now open, well him upstairs was smiling on us and Christophe was there. He said if we could walk our bikes up to the hotel – easier said than done, he would call a friend to see if they could cut the lock.  Success and we followed that up with a really nice evening.

Christophe can best be described as kind but eccentric. He decided to leave the rat race of high end dining a few years ago and open his own small guesthouse. His approach is to try and locally source most ingredients and prepare things himself. So he makes his own goats cheese, bread, wine, apple juice and the list goes on. We had a lovely meal and totally relaxed after an eventful and at times stressful day. It was nice that there were some other guests to chat to from the US and UK.

See below for a video of our ride. Note to see the full controls click on the < control on the progress bar. This will allow you to watch the video full screen.