I had a really nice chambre d"hote about 6km from the border, run by the lady below. I had as fellow guests six French people (two had not got up from breakfast when I took the photo). Great food and company with the chap on the right telling me about all the things I should be worried about (snakes, bees, hornets, lightning etc). They were from Normandy and fine compamy. Weather forecast was bad but I left after a good breakfast in high spirits. Sorry about the reverse order but I have not used the kit for a while.
When you see clouds like this and you are 9k from the hotel you've booked then it is time to get the weatherproofs on.
The weather also changed with the hot days giving over to thunder storms in the late afternoon. Luckily I got to the accom before most of them and only got one soaking. The roads are also a bit dodgy with rock faces one side and crash barriers on the other. This space one shares with French drivers and it is not pleasant.
The town of Pantarlier was great and very laid back as befits a town which was the centre of the absynthe industry before it got shut down. It was after that that the real climbs began. Just outside town there was a climb of 250m, a descent of 240m a bit of flat then anther climb of 300m (all in about 9KM) It gave a great view of the Chateau Joux and the castle across the gorge.
The weather also changed with the hot days giving over to thunder storms in the late afternoon. Luckily I got to the accom before most of them and only got one soaking. The roads are also a bit dodgy with rock faces one side and crash barriers on the other. This space one shares with French drivers and it is not pleasant.
The town of Pantarlier was great and very laid back as befits a town which was the centre of the absynthe industry before it got shut down. It was after that that the real climbs began. Just outside town there was a climb of 250m, a descent of 240m a bit of flat then anther climb of 300m (all in about 9KM) It gave a great view of the Chateau Joux and the castle across the gorge.
It It was a bit difficult to get back into the missed bit but the first morning got off to an exciting start. I went under a bridge by the river in Besancon and got the attention of three dogs owned by some people sleeping under the bridge. Two had wagging tails but the third was nasty. I just kept thinking that my INR level was a bit high. A rapid moonwalk down the bank whilst threatening the dog with a poke in the eye with a sharp stick (in a soothing voice) resulted in him going off to bite something else. I was really scared. The next three days were great but the walking was hard. Approaching the Jura is a bit like walking from Pontardulais to Blaenavan, but across the valleys. The weather was pretty good and it loooked like a Heidi set with high meadows and cows with bells.
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