To Annecy: Over Mont Saleve

May 24, 2015

Well, rats. Typical first night/day overseas - it's 1 AM and I'm suddenly wide awake, eyes burning and head feeling like mush from jet lag. Already finished yesterday's journal entry last night so I may as well set up today's.

Today's ride to Annecy begins with a pass-like challenge - the 3,000' climb to the top of Mont Seleve, the impressive ridge that backdrops Geneva just to the southeast. The views from the top over Lake Geneva and south to nearby Mont Blanc (the highest peak in Europe) are famous. Most visitors enjoy them by hopping on the tram that starts from the edge of the city and climbs straight up the cliff. That's not what we came for though, so after a five mile flattish warmup we're taking the 'easy' climb to the top by switchbacking up the northeastern edge of the ridge starting from Annemasse, reaching the top in 10 miles with a maximum grade of 10%. Today's road not taken is the more serious ascent up the northwest face starting from Collanges, which does the deed in only 7 miles and a top grade of 15% - this seems a bit much for our first day out so we'll ease into things a bit.

We're in luck with weather though - today's forecast is for clear skies with a decent northeast wind - we should get the views, and with luck we'll get a nice shove on the way up. Now, if I can just get a few more hours of sleep in first.

I finally made it back to seep, just as Rachael awoke for her own hour or so of jet lag hell. After that we slept until about 7:30 and then spent a few hours over breakfast and packing, finally hitting the road at about 10. Packing up for the first day is always a bit stressful - we have to sort out what travels with us and what gets left at the hotel, and there's always the worry of a sorting error and the discovery down the road somewhere that we left something behind. Today though, we discovered that we'd left something way behind, at home - a component of the handlebar mount for Rachael's videocam. This is beyond frustrating - it's the same mistake we made in last fall's tour of Taiwan - after being so careful to locate everything this time, we (most likely me) somehow screwed it up again.

Finally on the road though, we headed due east of Geneva and were soon nearing Mont Seleve and the beginning of our first climb. The skies were the clear blue promised, and we anticipated some stunning views at the top. We paced ourselves on it, but the climb felt surprisingly easy, heartening us both - it really feels like we'll do fine on this tour.

By the time we reached the summit though, the sky was starting to haze up - and to the south clouds shielded the mountains in the distance. The views down over Geneva and the Rhone valley were great though. We camped out for lunch (cheese, bread, a bit of ham) on one of the grassy meadows at the summit, but before long were driven back to the bikes by a brisk, chilling northeast wind that left Rachael shivering.

Geneva and its surroundings, from a viewpoint on the ascent to Mont Seleve

After dropping a few hundred feet from the summit the road rises a bit to a second summit, Col des Pitons. From there we enjoyed a long, 2000' drop from this ridge before veering eastward to Thorens-Gliers, and then back westward again to Annecy. These last 20 miles were a beautiful detour, rolling along quiet roads under the nearest, dramatic formations of the Prealps. The nearby mountains charge us up - we're here! A month of awesome rides lies ahead.

Some frustrated young beggars. A minute ago this corner of their pasture was empty - these kids all stampeded up to the fence as I approached. Must be feeding time.

We didn't know we'd bag two summits today! This one hardly counted from our direction - after dropping a bit from Mont Seleve there is a small climb to this second summit.

Overlooking the Bornes Plateau. On the horizon is the Bornes Massif, a collection of ranges and peaks that form the northernmost group in the French Prealps. According to the nearby, cloud-free pan aboard, Mount Blanc on the Italian boarder would also be visible on a clearer day.

On the descent to Annecy. I think this is the Parmelan Range, one of the formations in the Bornes Massif.

We arrived at our hotel at about 6. Perfect - just enough time to clean up and then walk into town for a meal. We both were starving so we really enjoyed our fondue feast along the bank of the Thiou River, one of the shortest in Europe. Annecy is a remarkable town, and it will be great to explore tomorrow afternoon when we have more time on our hands.

The start of the Thiou River, one of the shortest rivers in Europe. It begins at the outflow from Lake Annecy, passes through the city (barely), and empties into the Fier about two miles later.

The Palais de l'Ile, a former palace and prison, guards the mighty Thiou River.

Today's ride: 53 miles (85 km)
Total: 53 miles (85 km)

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