So today we met the tour. It was hot waiting for it to arrive, but once the tour caravan went through and whipped up a frenzy of freebies, all was well with the World. We sat in front of a big screen while we waited 4 or so hours for things to happen - but at least we were in a picturesque valley at the pointy end of the race. Couldn’t get up to the finish - Road was closed too early in the day, besides which it would have delayed our return to Vizille even mor...

So it turns out they do have rain here ..... in for a wet Bastille Day celebration .....

So Ross, Henri and Joe headed off at 7.30am on their bikes, and we followed about an hour later after our host Danny had done the housework. Another beautiful day. We stopped at a local church, only built in 1846, but an insight into the local culture and community. Lisa our driver, has adapted extraordinarily well to driving on the opposite side of the road in the hired mini bus, although I expect being a professional driver at home is a good base to start from....

Today we awoke to a clear crisp morning, breakfasted and headed off before 8, for the town of Le Puy. Apparently it featured in a stage of Le tour last year, and it is so picturesque I can readily see why. It is a very old town and dominated by three peaks. One is the Chapel of St Michael, perched atop a steep rock volcanic plug, and originally built in the 10th century. A few extensions were completed in the 12th century, and the final result is a very moving Ch...

So the bikes came out today. A gentle 22km ride to Le Mastre where there were markets for us to browse. The support wagon carried the non-riders to Le Mastre via the swimming area of the river, which was picturesque. We found the riders having a restorative coffee in the market, which was otherwise full of stalls selling local cheese (a basil version of which was a deep green), home cured sausages, fresh apricots, peaches, tomatoes and melons. We found a bakery...