Today was supposed to be an easier day but Brian and I let Phillippe determine our route - the result was over 8,200 vertical feet of climbing on two passes around Annecy, in only 48.5 miles. The first pass, the Col de la Forclaz, was incredibly steep, with grades above 15% and a sustained grade of at least 10% for what seemed like several miles. Here's a photo from the summit, with Annecy at the far end of the lake.



The second pass was the Col de Leschaux. After climbing this beautiful col we stopped for lunch at this little restaurant above the col, La Margeriaz, on the road to Mont du Semnoz. Lunch was unusually good (and plentiful - carpaccio, salad and potatoes, with an apple tart for desert), probably because we were all famished!

Below's my computer's data for the day - note my maximum speed of 56.8 MPH! Tomorrow we'll do the most difficult route of the trip, so I hope I recover quickly. :-)



Au revoir for now.

Jonathan