More Rain along the Rhone

(Due to lack of WiFi for a couple of days, the following report was written on June 15th and not posted till Jun 17th)


It was all my fault. Yesterday I threw out a challenge to Fate that she couldn't resist!! On Instagram, I stated that there was more rain the in the forecast,  but that our tent hadn't leaked yet. I should have known better!! Last night the heavens opened and our grassy camp spot became a shallow pond, and we had to abandon ship at 2.30am. Luckily there was a great big unused event tent with a nice wooden floor on site, so we laid out our sleeping pads there, and in our still-dry sleeping bags, had a comfortable rest of the night.
By morning, the sun was shining and we got everything more or less dried out.

This is where we ended up sleeping, sans tent

Two days ago, we had another interesting experience on the Via Rhona (EV 17). There are a few sections of this cycle route that are still being developed, so in certain places you do have to ride on real roads with traffic. On the ride between Seyssel and the Champagneux dam, part of the Rhone goes through the very narrow La Balme gorge.

The narrow La Balme gorge where the tunnels are

Here you ride on the road which has been built through the cliffs via three short tunnels. We were cautious and made sure we had our rear red flashing lights on, plus our high-viz pack-cover (Frank) and jacket (me). Even in the tunnels, there was a small marked shoulder lane.

We got through the first two tunnels no problem, and were passed by several vehicles while inside. Then on the third tunnel, as I was concentrating hard on keeping a straight line and hugging the wall, an almighty roar seemed to fill the tunnel, and try as I might, I could not keep my focus as this echoing noise built. It was quite terrifying. So I came to a stop and leaned against the wall, hoping that Frank, who was behind me, would have enough time to react and not crash into me. It turned out he was far enough behind and he came to a stop too. In the tunnel dimness, a big truck then passed us, and we proceeded to the end of the tunnel with adrenaline coursing through our veins! It’s amazing how a tunnel intensifies sound, and how scary it is. Frank felt the exact same as me.

Topping up at a vilage fountain

Today, we hit the road again, heading towards Lyon, but knowing that there was a severe storm predicted for the afternoon. Hail and lightening were possibilities. On our way, a mountain biker even stopped to kindly make sure we had heard about this impending storm. So at about 3pm with lightening flashes filling the sky ahead, we sought out a campground. Just as we hoped, this one had little cabins. The lovely non-english-speaking keeper of the campground understood my poor French well enough to get that we would like a cabin in preference to our tent, and that there was a fair degree of urgency!  Just as he showed us in the door of a perfect little cabin, the thunder rolled and the heavens opened once again! Talk about good timing.

I know this looks strange, but as the sheets of rain flow down the cabin
 roof, we disrobe to dash out and retrieve our bikes and panniers!

Cosy and dry inside our cabin

In spite of our rainy adventures, we’re still enjoying the various sights along our route. I've noticed that the town’s and villages, as  well as the roads are very clean. There's no rubbish along the roads, and recycling is a big thing, including in all the campgrounds.

Here are a few shots from the last few days.

Lunch break

This seemed to be a village community kitchen and stone oven.
 We saw them in several villages in the last few days

Hard to believe that just a few days ago we were swimming in
 warm weather at our campgroud, the best value yet at €12, with great facilities

Geligneux Falls

Along one of the canals near the Rhone

I thought this was interesting - back in Ireland we used to call cattle grids
" American gates". Here they call them Canadian gates.