Le Lais, France
I'm not really equipped for frigid temps. This is suppose to be a warm weather tour. This morning I awoke to a frosty tent. Hadn't doubled up the sleeping bags yet, but did have my fleece, cap, and sox on. Figure it had to be about 30*. Mornings are the toughest trying to keep my hands and feet warm while packing up. I have now only one pair of six. Lost another or stuck them someplace special...so special I can't find them:). And I have Seal Skinz to wear in my sandals biking. I only have sandals with me: biking, hiking, and flip flops. So with only one pair of sox and needing them dry tonight, I put just the Seal Skinz on. Not much warmth there. Keep jumping around. Oh my toes are frigid. And I have this thing called Reynaud's Syndrome which makes my fingers and toes shut down in the cold adding to the challenge. Gotta be tough, girl! No whining! And I knew it was not going to improve once I started biking. Toes in the air, out front, get cold! A ways along, when I knew I had to warm them and I found a patch of sun I stopped on the side of the road and pulled the sox off and warmed them with my hands. Then I put my fleece gloves on them while I had breakfast. Ahhh! Finally warm again!
Where I spent the night last night was like in a mountain bowl with mountains all around. It was a "one horse town" with old tattered buildings and one bar. Looked like it was trying to make a come back. Down this lane there was a picnic spot. They always cry out to me: Camp Here!
I had 7 kms (4 miles) to reach the top of the pass. It took me 5 hours! SLOW! I find a lot of reasons to stop when the pedaling is hard. I like to rest. Take pictures. Walk around. Eat. Eat some more. Pee. More pictures. I felt like I was out west somewhere, like California mtns.
(Photos tipped sideways won't upload otherwise...go figure!)
It was a fabulous climb. And I sure looked happier than all those folks grinding away on upright bikes.
Here's a scary way to go down:
But this sure looked fun:
Those are hang gliders. Doug, you'd have loved it!! There were so many. Got to see the landing spot way down in the valley, but of course couldn't get my camera out in time.
The ride down was fun, but had to bundle up. I kept it slow because it was too beautiful to miss anything. The mountains broke out into this expansive valley then steep rocks like the Wind River Range of Wyoming.
And then I was in a big town again and before I knew it, the sign for another Col or pass of over 7,000 ft. This one I didn't know about. So I have 2 more to cross. Ugh. I started to climb but my legs are beat. There's a mowed field. Just pass under this little rope. "They don't mean me!" Tuck in the corner. Good night!
Livin' the life,
BagLady
Facebook: Kathryn Mossbrook Zimmerman
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