Day 22 - Excenevex to Châtel-St-Denis
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Today turned out to be a most excellent day! It didn't start that well - when I woke up, I felt really sluggish and just couldn't be bothered. But I soon snapped out of it, got packed up and was away on time.
My plan was to ride to Évian-Les-Baines about 15 miles down the road, then get the ferry over to Laussane. The ride was pretty uneventful if a little tedious on the bits with heavy traffic.
When I got there, I realised I had quite a wait until the next ferry. This was good, as it meant I changed my plan and headed to Montreaux instead!
I'm really glad I did, as not only was it an excellent ride, it also meant I wasn't just repeating the bit of Switzerland I'd done before - so it was all new territory!
I was still in France at this point of course, but the closer I got to Switzerland, the better the views got. The mountains got bigger and the lake somehow looked nicer too.
I saw what I think was a helicopter (well, I know it was a helicopter!) putting out a fire. It had one of those giant buckets underneath it and it kept dropping the water over the trees on the hillside before going back for a refill. I watched that for a while before deciding it really wasn't that interesting and continued on my way.
Whilst still in France I stopped for a couple of PACs and a coffee. They were lovely and fresh, so got a decent 7.5/10.
As I got to the border, I was on a cycle/foot path. The crossing was just a little bridge over a small river. I had a look up on the road (which was only about 50 metres away) and there was a proper checkpoint. There were men with guns and everything!
Once in Switzerland, the scenery really started to ramp up. I followed a brilliant cycle path through woodland with snow capped mountains in the distance. It wasn't long before things started to get more built up, but in a nice way.
Montreaux was really nice. I rode all along the shore of the lake, occasionally nipping up to the roads above. Lots of things going on and loads of restaurants and castles and stuff in general to see.
I stopped and had a look at the Freddie Mercury statue - which I must admit I didn't know existed until yesterday, then got a big sandwich and a bag of crisps called "Skippys" or something - they were shaped like Kangaroos!
Then it was time to head out of town towards a campsite I liked the look of. It was all uphill. Just gradually to start with, but after a while it really kicked up. You'll see that in the elevation chart.
It was really steep in a couple of places and I had to get off and walk for a bit, which to be honest was just as hard!
I got there in the end and am now at a really nice quiet site about 3000ft up. It was a slog getting up here, but means tomorrow will be mostly downhill 😀
The campsite has a really nice little café, but they don't really do anything other than snacks. So I've just ordered two meals! A Croque Monsieur and a Quiche Lorraine. Oh and a salad too.
There is also the small matter of the football! They have a TV on - currently showing highlights of the Japan Poland game. So it might well be on in here later. If not, I can always watch on my phone from the comfort of my tent.
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