CURRENT LOCATION: Camping Le Nant Matraz, Seyssel
Running a bit late tonight. It was a long day of cycling (although not the longest) but thoroughly enjoyable. I hesitate before I say this (as I would need to think more carefully about all the others) but today was up there with one of the best days so far; not just on the Via Rhôna but on the entire cycle so far. Another celebration of bridges as you will discover if you choose to watch the video. I hold back on the Hans Zimmer score but today’s video merited it…
The day started with a nice chat with a Swiss couple who were camping next to me. It was them who recommended the site where I am tonight. We also chatted about Switzerland. And the expense of Switzerland. €30-40 for a place on a campsite even as a cyclist. Bugger! I might have to max out on WarmShowers hosts if that is indeed the case.
I’m still only at 260m elevation here in Seyssel. I think I live higher than that back in West Yorkshire. The difference is that I don’t have views of mountains that reach to many more hundred – thousands even – of metres and that’s what’s beginning to happen here in the Rhône Valley. The highlight of today’s topography was Le Grand Colombier which features regularly in the Tour de France. It climbs to over 1,500m.
A comical lunch stop.
“What food do you serve?”
Cue anxious looks between the two women running the snack-restaurant and the lad preparing said food. They managed to deliver me a €7 platter of meat and cheese that would have set you back £20 in Marks & Spencer (or £2.99 in Wetherspoons had they not banned French food…). Then I went to pay. No card reader… I wasn’t the only customer having to make an IBAN bank transfer. Very bizarre.
More bridges. More beautiful scenery. A chap on a recumbent tricycle clad in a fibre glass outer shell (I just interviewed him for the podcast). And a decent enough campsite at the end of the day.
Tomorrow: Geneva in Switzerland before a rapid return to a France to finish cycling the French Via Rhôna. The EuroVelo 17 continues until Andermatt…
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Categories: Adventure, Cycling, Le Grand Tour, Travel
Hi Andrew. Just a word of caution that in CH there could be many more places that accept cash only, albeit EFT-POS has been more widely adapted in the past two years. Cheers, Claud
Thanks. I usually carry cash it was just that yesterday I hadn’t been to a cash machine. On a related matter… When I cycled through Switzerland in 2010 I took some cash from a machine in Basel. I then found that almost everywhere accepted Euros. I assume this is still the case, no?
Stunning, Andrew, in so many ways. You’re following rivers, of course, but is your route really as flat as the videos suggest – or do you video the easier, flat bits (and I don’t blame you at all if that’s the case)? Can’t wait for the book. Keep it up (as my headteacher, rather ambiguously, used to put in my reports)…and thanks! P.S. Keep the Brexit-bashing going.
So far the route has been very flat. I suspect things will change in the next few days…