Troyes-Montigny le Roi-Pombieres Les Bains-Munster-Freiburg (Days Four to Seven)

The second block of riding consisted of four days which can be summarised as (so far) – in order of occurrence: the Longest Day (147km); the Hottest Day (38C); the Most Continuous – more or less – Climbing Day (15km to 1139 metres), Hungriest and Best Downhill Run Day (17km); and lastly the Easiest but Wettest Day.

N.B. From now on the link to the map and other data on the day’s ride will be in the sub-headings i.e. Starting and destination locations as per below.

Troyes to Montigny le Roi

The ride from Troyes to Montigny le Roi was a substantial 140km but for some that wasn’t long enough and we added a few extra kms. Some did do so in search of ice cream and cool drinks en route but others, like the small bunch I was with at the time, did so inadvertently when we missed a turn. In our case it was only 6-7km but a few others added 20-25km of off route exploration.

I hooked up with with Trond (from Norway) and then later in day with Tone (also from Norway). This proved good on at least two fronts: Trond is a stronger rider than me so riding with him encouraged me to ride faster and more focussed that I otherwise might have (thus improve my riding fitness). He is also a far superior navigator and like to check out the route well in advance (which proved a boon two days later).

Undulating hills on quiet roads with very little traffic – much of it agricultural e.g. tractors and combine harvesters. At one point Trond and myself got covered in wheat chaff when we passed a harvester in operation too close at an inopportune time.

When we realized that we had missed a turn and had gone off route we had the choice to retrace our steps and locate the correct turn or work out an alternative to rejoin the route further along. With Trond’s competence with the Garmin (GPS) we took the latter. Shortly after he stated “There are two things I’m sure of: one we are not on the correct road but two that we are heading in the right direction”!

By this stage of the day temperatures had warmed up. Though the average for the day’s ride was 26C it peaked at 37 before we had finished. There were frequent patched where the road ashfelt was quite soft with spots where it had liquified. I could see bike tyre tracks from Trond and a sticky popping sound could be heard.

Towards the end of the day’s route we met up with Tone and the three of use trundled along – stopping occasional for photographs. Trond and Tone were very patient as I had slowed to a crawl over the last 15km or so – a result of the combination of my level of fitness, the distance (further east I’d ever ridden in a day by some 20 km though not the hardest day’s riding I’ve done), the heat, running on empty energy wise and probably a touch of dehydration.

Though the day was already long enough in my exhaustion I forgot to turn off the Garmin for probably a good half an hour or more after I’d finished.

Montigny le Roi to Pombieres Les Bains

Day 5

Started the day with slightly tired legs from day before but the rolling hills and keeping pace with Trond soon got them working. Roads were slightly busier than the day before.

Corn was becoming the predominant crop of choice and there were more patches of forest to vary the view.

 Most of the villages/towns we passed through were very quiet – you could find garages open but rarely a cafe.

Lunch is provide each day normally somewhere past the halfway mark or at least 50km.  

  

Like the poppies along the side of the road – the memorials in the town were poignant reminders of the First and Second World Wars.  

There was a good steep incline up from the valley to the camping spot, and just to add an unnecessary (or so I though at the time 😀) degree of difficulty it was also 38C 😡

Pombieres les Bains to Munster

This turned out to be the best day’s riding so far for me in terms of how I felt during and at the end of the day’s ride. The secret was in part a good cuppa of coffee taken (I normally don’t drink coffee) to counter the effects of a disturb night’s sleep. The caffeine countered the usual morning tiredness in the legs at the start and then Trond’s invitation to take part in a little (but well researched) off route adventure paid off big time when we had a good 25km on a beautiful new bike path that largely converted from old railway tracks – gentle gradients and smooth curves plus the ever desirable shade. I’m sure it will be included in the official route in 2017 as it was a similar distance to the given route but more pleasant riding conditions.

 

  
 We had two pits stops in the morning to fuel up for the impending extended climb. The second was in La Bresse, where a helpful waiter offered to fill my water bottles before I’d got around to asking him.

The challenge of the day looming large in our minds was the 17km long climb up to Col de La Schlucht (1139m – from around 500 metres). This was a Tour De France climb in 2003. The climb started with a gentle 2-3% gradient (in fact we were a few kilometres into the climb before I realised the actual climb had started),  then the gradient increased to 4-5% before hitting 8-9% (occasional 10%) for the last few kilometres. Fortunately the serious part of the climbing coincided with some welcome cloud cover as well as decline temperatures as we gained altitude – a brief period of light rain was the icing on the cake.

Personally I was pleased that despite a lot of huffing and puffing I resisted the temptation to stop and even had a couple of spare gears in reserve at the end.

The pay off was a 17-18km downhill run with a near perfect 4-5% gradient and not too sharp curves. With just an occasional feathering of the brakes I average a controlled but exciting  45km/hr.

  

  
 Munster to Frieburg

A flowing start to the day with a steady downhill gradient aided by cooler weather. After the hot days and nights (no need to use the sleeping bag) getting wet in the rain that came mid-morning was welcome for the most part.

Today we crossed  from France into Germany – almost a non event – no border post just the mighty Rhine river.   
  

Priorities on arrival – get the chores done whilst the shops were still open and before the rest day: e.g visit bike shops (in a group like this no one is going to question you buying more bike gear😀) and the laundromat (we are becoming multi-lingual in laundromat instructions).

Increased metabolism has well and truly kicked in – had breakfast this day at 7:00am and was hungry again by 9:00. Had a pastry and flavoured milk at 09:30 then lunch at 10:30. 12:30 was kebab time. By 3pm could easily have a decent snack again.

Much more to write about (including answering your questions) but need to get to bed as back in the saddle tomorrow. Will do a post script to this section in the next day or two international data access allowing.