After my usual manic summer term, plane and train have brought me back to this magical place. Thanks to non-alignment of different calendars, I find myself with seven weeks here this summer. With four different groups of friends coming to stay, I know that the time will fly by. But for now, it’s time to savour each day.
Jon, Mark and Emma have been in the house for nearly a week prior to my arrival, and after various morning activities (including Wednesday market in Die, of course), I took Mark and Jon on a ‘lasso’ route to Crest and Saoû. Mark is a speedy time triallist, and it showed on this 68-mile route, as he often sat on a cracking pace at the front. I’ll admit that my legs had had enough 10 miles from home, and I took the scenic route home, at a ‘warming down’ pace.
I’ll console myself that I’ve got more time here than I did last summer, and I certainly rode myself to fitness then. On the other hand, I am a year older…
The first photo is from the Route de Romeyer, on the (leisurely) way home, and the second of the Quint Valley, from my first short ride after Jon, Emma and Mark left this morning. The last picture is the view from where I sit to get a good data signal: it’s my ‘internet café’.