There was thunder in the night – not the ideal prelude to 5 days in the high alps. In the morning thick cloud covered the tops and, though it was still dry in Grenoble, it was clearly raining hard up where we were heading. Nonetheless we were keen to get going.

Sure enough, we were soon in under the cloud sheet in heavy rain – beside the main road up the valley. Coffee at Vizille brought some welcome relief. The town was in festive mood; having hosted the TDF yesterday, today was a Napoleonic festival. The townsfolk were all dressed up in period costumes, and we even saw Napoleon himself and his military escort ride through town on horseback. Fantastic! I couldn’t help noticing that the lack of Gortex in Napoleonic times was a serious drawback.

After coffee, amazingly, the deluge stopped and the sun almost came out, briefly. The gorge narrowed and the road began to climb. Most of the bikes that we saw were on the backs of cars.

Just after lunch we rolled into town and were happy to call it a day. There are spectacular views all round, the campsite is excellent, and Helen has just accidentally ordered a Duval (8.2% Belgian special beer) instead of du the verte. Oh well, I’ll just have to drink it for her. It’s a tough life.

Helen’s track of the day is
Running by John Newman, a track from gym sessions to keep the tempo up and no messing about.

This is a great place – enlivened by the TDF today. After breakfast back at last night’s Cafe de la Table Ronde (famous writers wrote here) we spent the morning watching the riders sign on and then leave town. Here are Nibali and G. If you want to see the other 170 odd then just ask!

Just don’t mention that the Col de Lauteret is the 1st of 3 today for them – whereas we are planning to take 2.5 days! But, as Helen says, they aren’t carrying camping gear (and Helen’s washbag that I have christened ‘Nemesis’ because it will probably kill me sooner or later).

Turning to other matters, we visited two museums – a rather conventional art gallery and a rather unconventional museum of local life including such diverse topics as skiing and lingerie! Both fascinating.

Altogether a good day’s relaxation. Sadly the weather is going off again and it looks as though the next few days over the Alps will be wet at times – perhaps very wet for 24 hours. Oh well. It’s been a lovely hot few days.

Woops – just realised that comments have been stacking up waiting for ‘approval’ and we hadn’t seen them. Sorry folks …. they should now be visible. Thanks all…

Helen’s track of the day:
I’m Getting Ready by Michael Kiwanuka
The next 5 days are the key cycling days on the trip so I have to have my brain in a positive frame of mind to get this done. Wish me luck.

This campsite beside the lake has been one of the best. Watching the sun set last night was lovely. This valley has surpassed expectations. Since it contains a motorway and a railway, and these show large on small scale maps, I was surprised just how quiet and rural it is – with great mountain views, including of Mont Blanc.

Surprisingly, there was no formal cycle route down the valley, but I managed to string together a series of tiny lanes that worked very well.

It is seriously hot today – 37C. We sheltered in the shade several times to recover. The scenery is spectacular!

But if you were watching the TDF this afternoon you’ll already know that from the helicopter shots. We have been cycling along under those cliffs all day. We arrived in Grenoble about 2 hours ahead of the Tour. Shame about Richie Porte, but I told you it was hot!

Just been in town for dinner. The place is busy with TDF TV crews and we shared the restaurant with TV Hollandaise. Couldn’t find Gary Imlach though. We’ll have a day off tomorrow and watch the riders sign on and leave town. It’s either that or leave tomorrow and join the peleton – since we are planning to head the same way over the Col de Lautaret and the road is closed except to TDF!

Helen’s track of the day:
Free by Rudimental (Emeli Sande)
Great song, great sentiment, the song played round in my head all day.

Whilst Andy is watching the end of the Tour on TV I will catch up on the blog. We are a day ahead of ourselves, having decided not to take the planned day off in Annecy and just push on whilst the weather is good. Tim was right – Annecy, whilst lovely, is incredibly busy! We will, as a result, meet up with the Tour again as it leaves Grenoble on Saturday morning, so look out for us on the TV.

We followed a cycle path from Annecy with beautiful mountain views on all sides, very warm day but very easy 46 miles of cycling.

We had 2 hours off for lunch in Albertville, a large salad and dessert of Isle flottante plus loads of cold water and then got to this quiet site for 3.30pm.

We are a bit sun burned but otherwise In fine fettle. Large beers now ordered.
Track of the day:
People Get Ready by Seal
We followed an old railway track for many miles out of Annecy making this the flattest day’s ride on the trip, so after a competition this one won. Andy’s suggestions of songs about little puffa trains did not get through panel.

Seyssel is a lovely town beside the river Rhone, with a peaceful campsite. Last night we had a good meal on a hotel terrace right by the river, watching the sun set. The longer we stayed the more we liked Seyssel. This is what holidays are for!

After breakfast by the river we set off again, first down a good bike track beside the Rhone (part of the Lac Leman a la Mer route that we had been following yesterday).

Then we turned off towards Annecy, up the spectacular limestone Gorge du Fier. There were tunnels and big drops – a taste of things to come in a few days time!

By coffee time the valley had opened out, Helen had relaxed again, and the temperature had hit 30C for the first time this holiday. There were superb views, including of snow-covered giants in the distance. We seem to be heading straight for them!

We had been following roads used on the Dauphine this year – and, on the run in to Poisy (a stage finish just outside Annecy) we passed the very pothole where Chris Froome first crashed when in yellow. The first of many, as it turned out. So will his forthcoming recovery be a case of form regained, or simply regression to the mean? Discuss.

The cycling ended at noon with another Plat du Jour, this time in Annecy. Since then we have managed to blag our way into the municipal campsite (the sign said COMPLET) in a spare corner of grass that isn’t an official pitch – and all the nicer for it. We are planning a day off the bike in Annecy tomorrow.

Helen’s track of the day:
Keep On Pushing by The Black Seeds
Steadily uphill in the heat, but did it without too much anguish.
(Andy has just finished a Maths book for goodness sake, which may account for his odd remarks about the mean. Sometimes he is the only one who knows what he is on about).

So off we set to follow the course of the Rhone, or at least a cycle route more or less alongside it into France from Geneva. We woke to clear blue skies, the first time for ages at home or on holiday so that was a bonus.

At coffee time we sat outside the village cafe in Cartigny and watched the world go by, that was 2 cyclists and a dog, all enjoying the arrival of sunshine.

I was keen to sample the menu du jour that M. Le Patron was cooking, smelling very much like the pork stew that was advertised. If I had been with my colleague Lindsey I think I would have got a portion or two, but Andy is made of stricter stuff and said it was too early for lunch at 10.45 so we rode on till 12.45 and had a picnic stop of baguette , smelly cheese and tomatoes, cherries and French jam tarts. Not exactly a feast but it kept us going and this is probably going to be standard fare from now on.

We came downhill as the course of the Rhone narrowed, very Lord of the Rings, with forbidding cliffs as the gorge narrowed, and obviously with me as fat Sam Gamgee following Frodo into danger.

But no, just as far as a pleasant campsite in Seyssel and an early finish today. Sunbathing to follow the beer I think.

Track of the day: Keep Your Head Up by Ben Howard.
A song I heard first in Lisbon in April played by a beautiful young busker. During our stay in Geneva I got chatting with a friend of our host who was Pedro a clockmaker (!) from Portugal who did not have a lot of positive things to say about his own country, especially Lisbon, and when I said I thought Lisbon rough and ready and very friendly he didn’t seem to share my sentiments at all, well not in a complimentary way. Well he is welcome to Geneva, too many suits and bling for me, even if it was probably the cleanest city I have ever been to and a public transport system second to none.

The trams are fabulous, and free to hotel guests, so we were soon back in town for a day off from cycling. The cultural highlight was the archaeology under the cathedral – going right back to the skeleton from 100BC of an Allobrogian chieftain whose revered burial started the cult of temple/cathedral building on the site that lasted the next 2 millennia. If only they had known!

We spent the rest of the day in parks and bars, getting some sun and relaxation between the showers. We also visited the longest bench in the world (well except for all the places with longer ones!).

Helen’s track of the day
Stay by Rihanna.
A track played at my spinning class during the warm down/relaxing/stretching bit at the end of the exercise. Perhaps not a surprise then that this was my head today after covering 225 miles in 5 days.

Today, Sunday, got off to a bad start as we were woken before 6am by very loud ‘music’ and clapping-along from just a few yards away on the lake shore. Bloody hooligans! A baptism party. So much for the peace and serenity of this beautiful place. But apparently you can’t get up and bawl at religious observance – no matter how raucous, thoughtless and antisocial. So we shook the dust from our feet and rode into town for an unnecessarily early breakfast at the boulangerie.

I had been looking forward to the next section for months. The road followed valleys, high in the Jura, gradually climbing from 1000 to 1350m, with pastoral scenery in the valley floor and wooded mountains above. It was cloudy on the tops and there was rain in the air. And there were cows with bells.

Mid morning we entered France and had coffee in a tiny border village where we were the main event of the day for the four old men well into their wine. Could this really be only a couple of hours cycling from Geneva?

The Col de la Faucille (1323m) is a spectacular spot. It is a notch in the huge limestone ridge that has, for 2 days, been separating us from Lake Geneva. The approach from the north gives no hint that you are about to be gobsmacked by the sudden and stunning view of Geneva and all the French Alps to the south as you pass through the notch. Sadly, there was cloud over much of the alps, but it was still superb. This col is also the first major watershed of the trip – from the N sea via the Rhine to the Med via the Rhone.

In the distance we could see the Jet D’Eau fountain in Geneva. After lunch on the col, we screamed down 1000m in 15 miles and were very soon beside the fountain. A fabulous descent – though slightly spoilt for Helen by getting stuck behind 3 Scottish cyclists on fast road bikes whom she lacked the killer instinct to overtake at speed! Helen claims it was concern for their masculinity!

Here is the view back up to the notch from part way down, just before passing the site of the CMS detector access point at CERN (no photo) and re-entering Switzerland.

After a pause for refreshment in Geneva beside the Rhone we continued to our b&b – a fabulous house with a fantastic garden owned by the campest exiled Algerian painter you have ever met! Day off in Geneva tomorrow.

Helen’s track of the day:
Not Perfect by Tim Minchin.
A sentimental song but it was in my head for a good part of the day, which was not perfect but pretty good. Going wheeee down the mountain into the warm sun of Geneva was easily the best bit!

What a great day out! It started with a pre-breakfast trip to see the Menhirs of Yverdon (in some woods on the edge of town). These are 3500BC standing stones that were carved into the likenesses of people – clothes and all. We had seen some brilliant ones in the Menhir Museum in Rodez last summer. Unfortunately the best carved of these were also in museums – but the rest were still good. They were discovered in 1910 when the lake level dropped and have been recently reerected.

Then a fantastic breakfast in a boulangerie in town.

And then the proper climbing started – up a nicely graded big road with no traffic because of the nearby motorway. There was the sound of gunfire from the woods by the road, and I was amusing myself by greeting each shot with a shout of “missed” when a man stepped onto the road in front of me with a huge rifle. I pretended to whistle! From a bit higher, the views back down the 300m of the climb were great.

We had ignored the easy, flattish route to Geneva in favour of a trip up to see the Lac de Joux, at 1000m above sea level. This had been just about our favourite spot on the whole of our ride in 2010 – a beautiful and serene spot at the head of the lake. But first we had to get up there!

After spaghetti in Vallorbes we set off up a much steeper road amongst limestone cliffs. It ran at over 10% for a couple of kilometres. Towards the top we reached the original Jurassic Park.

Animal noises in the trees were worrying for the next few miles. Here we are on the Col du Mont D’Orzeires at 1061m.

Then a very short descent to the beautiful head of Lac de Joux and well earned tea at Le Pont. My photo does not do it justice.

A final few miles of idyllic alpine meadows and here we are at a lovely campsite close beside the lake. Rain is closing in down the valley – but the tent is up and we are under cover – so all is well.

Helen’s track of the day:
Arctic Monkeys: Do I Wanna Know.
You’ve got some colour in your cheeks was a phrase said between us yesterday, reminding me of this song, and then last night I caught up with the news and learned that this band along with others has used a tax avoidance scheme. I am not impressed. Alex Turner is one of my favourite gobmeisters but he should remember that taxes paid for his education, which must have developed the lovely turn of phrase in his lyrics. So a medley of his songs was in my mind on today’s ride but the one that stuck most is track of the day. And pay your taxes lads, we’re all in this together.

No rain today – hurrah! It stopped finally just after breakfast and we left in the dry.

Our route took us round the south side of the Bielsee, with great views north. We came across the building of a big new hydro plant where the Aare canal enters the Bielsee. Huge diversion of water – very impressive. The photo has an artists impression of the project in the foreground.

Lunch was in a fantastic restaurant in Neuchatel – on the lake. Excellent bike paths in and out of town along the waterfront. It is a bike path – honest!

Then a bit of a climb away from the lake for great views

before descending to the lovely town of Yverdon at the head of the lake. The beer in the town square tastes particularly good tonight after 150 miles in 3 days. Tomorrow we climb up into the Jura alps.

Helen’s track of the day:
If I was home I would probably be at a Bellowhead concert this weekend so the track is from them:
Let Union Be
A joyful song about drinking and friendship and such like things.