France Stage Seven Report finale

Although we ran out of days, we didn't run out of spectacular scenery

The final day started warm and while we could have opted for a long sufferfest, we were in France and this was our last day; so we chose to savor our last ride without having to hurry.  Hottie confirmed by missing bag had been delivered to our home.  I wondered what (if anything) was missing.  I figured I had spent enough energy on this trip worrying, so I put it out of my mind and went riding.

France baby, FRANCE !!

We climbed and descended. We regrouped and strung out.  It was a fine day.

We climbed up through a forest and enjoyed the cool air as we knew the day would be a hot one.

We were feeling lighthearted and tried to make up words for the French version of the Beverly Herbouillies.  "Come and listen to the story of a man named Pierre, a poor French farmer who enjoyed his cheese nice and fair..."  The climb was steep enough that the singing dropped off pretty quickly.   After hitting to top we paused.

Bill looked good here at the top.  

In Geneva he was coughing and sounded sick so I avoided him as if he was radioactive.

 Way cool

We rode through the Goule Noire (black ghoul)

We were able to ride through this canyon. It was downhill and we just rolled it.

The river to our left smelled so fresh it was invigorating to us as we rode past.

We saw signs for the town of Rappel everywhere.  This wasn't a route to drive with bikes on top of your car.

We stopped at a cafe and I snapped this pic of my bike below the mountains. The trip was coming to an end and though our bodies were tired, our spirits were renewed. The culmination of months of training and preparation.
We returned to our hotel in Chappelle en Vercors. After a shower we dissembled our bikes and packed them for the return trip. We wandered through town and relaxed for a bit before dinner.

This was the potable water in our village de jour.

Once again we had dinner outside and talked of home. I will post a wrap up with some insights and lessons learned in the next few days.