Vosges on the way

I didn't mean to ride to Vosges. Although I didn't end up there by mistake either. Either way, I'm glad I did, because my short visit to the area confirmed my suspicions that much good riding hides in this unassuming provincial region of France...

- Mikko Nieminen

The day started up in the Swiss Alps. I was staying at the delightful hostel at the top of the Grimsel Pass, with snow-peaked mountains everywhere I looked. I wasn't in a rush to leave the place, but I had been on the road for a long time, and it was time to start heading home.

The morning ride down the north side of the Grimsel Pass was lovely. My trip coincided with the heatwave, and just the day before I had been in Italy in 40 degrees C temperatures. Here, at the top of the world, it was 11 degrees, with no wind, just the gentle embrace from the morning sun, promising a warm day again.

I headed to the lowlands (relatively speaking, this is Switzerland, after all) with Interlaken as my initial goal. I had been there before, I knew the route, and I knew that the morning's ride was just long enough to justify another coffee when I got there, but not so long that I needed lunch yet. I tend to do any planning (however loose) of my rides based around meals and coffee stops - we all have our weaknesses.

When I stopped for a brew, I remember my brain registering that every sip that I took from my coffee in the quaint little café on the shore of Lake Brienzersee cost me around a pound. That's Switzerland for you.

To distract myself from the pending personal financial ruin, I started thinking about where to go next. It needed to be roughly on the way home, and it needed to be worth stopping for a night. I didn't fancy riding all the way back in one go. I had done that before, and it wasn't fun.

A quick study of the map revealed the perfect option: Vosges Mountains in France. I can't say that there was any particularly strong reason for the choice. Just that it was on my route, kind of, and that I had heard positive noises about riding there. So, that's where I headed.

To France