Day Six

Start: Semur en Auxois     Finish: Lons Le Saunier

Distance: 108 miles   Climb:  3,800ft Moving Time: 8:30   Average Speed: 13mph Max Speed: 33mph

Today was great. Long, very long, but great. We continue to be ridiculously lucky with the weather, and the route – once again – was beautiful. We cruised through the 108 miles at a nice easy pace so as to save some energy for the big climbs tomorrow – but it’s important to acknowledge Albert’s achievement: considering he’d hardly done any cycling before meeting me in Arras, to complete a tonne with a big climb in the middle, is very impressive.

As promised, we were up at 6:30(ish) and on our way by 7:15 – and it was freezing! The sun was barely up, there was dew on the ground and it was very misty – and in just our thin t-shirts it took a fair while to warm up. Albert, used to a Mediterranean climate, suffered the most and lost feeling in his feet!

Once warm though – the first 30 miles flew by. We were cycling along a canal path for most of it, so there were no cars and it was pretty flat. In went the headphones and we smashed it. It was while cruising along the canal that I was (safely) checking my emails – and saw that I featured in this morning’s City AM. Great news – despite them using the crappy photo of me with the horses, stealing my Bounty pun and, as a direct quote from my Mum – ‘making [me] sound like a complete wally’.

http://www.cityam.com/article/1377825855/ken-olisa-s-colleague-prepares-climb-mont-blanc-and-fly-down-it?utm_source=website&utm_medium=TD_article_grids_homepage&utm_campaign=TD_article_grids_homepage

A coffee to warm us up and we headed into the hills for the big climb of the day. It was my biggest climb to date – near to 1,000ft ascent in one gruelling long grind, but we dealt with it pretty well and enjoyed a rapid descent through vineyards back down to the canal. We were starting to get hungry and it was time for our daily collapse onto the tarmac. This time Albert actually fell asleep – twice – but I managed to get him up and moving to head into Nuit St George for a great lunch with Mum and Dad. 50 miles by lunch time – and feeling pretty good.

Just before lunch, I had a very embarrassing stationary collapse when my foot got stuck in my back wheel. Much to Albert’s amusement and shouts of ‘Sam, you are a moron’. It was just SO unfortunate that the same happened to him just after lunch.

I’m at my worst straight after lunch and it was a hard couple of hours – but a bit of fun by the river and on a bridge (that I was SO tempted to backflip off!) plus a milkshake and I was good to go. Unsurprisingly – the final 15 miles or so were pretty slow and demoralising, especially when my gps ran out of battery, but we arrived at the hotel by 7pm, ate a huge steak, and are hoping for an early night.

Tomorrow is HUGE. 75 miles, but with over 6,000ft (2000m) of climbing into the Jura mountains before a descent into Geneva. This is what I’ve been scared of! Breakfast is important, as within 5 miles we’ll hit a hill known locally as ‘the wall’, before starting the 12mile climb of the Col de Faucille around the 40mile mark. The forecast is great – and when we reach the top of the Col we should be greeted with amazing views of Lake Geneva and even Mont Blanc away in the distance.

Albert says:

Another brutal day in the saddle.

Today, Sam and I spent most of the day singing and perfecting a duet version of  “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon, much to the confusion of passing villagers. This gives you an idea of the mental toll this trip has taken on the two of us.

A wasp bounced off my chin today and landed in my shirt. It stung me three times on the chest before I could free it. Possibly trying to get us to stop singing?

Photos: