Catching up ... we're off to Switzerland tomorrow...

We apologize for not being able to keep everyone up to date a bit more. We've not had as much access to the Internet as we initially thought we would have. We finally are changing our schedule a bit and are taking a rest day, catching an evening in a hotel in Pontarlier, France, (on the far eastern side, near Switzerland) and catching up.

First, things are going better. Since our gas/diesel experience, we've not had much to report in terms of that type of "excitement," thank goodness. I think there's only so much excitement a trip can take, and we may be at the peak of it!! We retrieved the mo-ho from the Renault repair shop in Muret for much less than we initially thought it would cost us. The engine was NOT damaged. They just had to drain the gas and clean the tank and a few pieces and then we refilled with DIESEL!! My dad told me that he heard of someone doing the reverse (filling gas with diesel), so I'm hoping this isn't the most uncommon thing.

We left Muret (near Tolouse) late Friday evening and traveled to Limoges. We made an agreement with Dave that he was going to try to do 5 stages (Stage 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14) in 4 days, adding about 50K to each day. Gerry and I were supportive, but worried that it would take too much of a toll on him before the high mountain stages in Switzerland, but we said we'd give him a shot. We all did agree, however, that his start time needed to be early - like before 8 a.m. each day in order to finish before dark and that we would transport him through the larger towns, at least the ones that we could ascertain. On Saturday, he left Limoges for Issoudun - leaving around 7:45 a.m. He had a fantastic ride, finishing in Issoudun by 3:45 - 194 km. We got him in the car, fed him a bit and traveled the short distance to Vatan, intending for him to ride 60 km to Menetou-Salon. Unfortunately, we encounted a roadblock at Allogny, about 44 km into the route. The French National races were being held in that town and the tour route was actually part of the race, so the route was closed both Saturday and Sunday. Since it was getting to be around 7 p.m., and we weren't certain where we could drop Dave, he climbed in and we traveled the way the officials pointed to get us around the route. We found a great campground in the next town (Neuvy sur-Barangeon) and decided it was destiny. Dinner was in a tiny hotel and we were entertained by a bachelor party where the bachelor (who we found out was 40 and getting married in 8 days) was walking around with a cart and passing out vegetables from his garden for drinks and serving wine that he made from his own grapes. It was quite hilarious and Dave really got into it, getting sprayed several times by a fire extinguisher filled with wine.

Sunday we traveled around the detour and dropped Dave at the corner of D-20/D-25. He only missed about 6 km (but he makes that up every day on reroutes!!) at 8:41 a.m. Another great day and he finished this stage (the final 158 km) in Saint-Fargeu around 2:30. Jerry and I had found a little bar in the middle of town and were enjoying the Tour as he arrived. No time to waste ... OK, a little, as it was difficult to pull two avid Tour enthusiasts out from in front of the TV ... we loaded Dave in for the transfer to Stage 12, starting in Tonnerre - about an hour away. He started the second half of his ride at 4:35 and we stopped him when we saw the cool Charles de Gaulle monument in Columbey-Les-Deau-Eglises, a little over 102 km into the stage and a little after 8:15 p.m. Again, another town with a camping area and some cool monuments. It's the town where de Gaulle died, though we couldn't find his burial plot (I tried!!!). Dinner was in a nice hotel, but we arrived at 9 only to be told that they were closing by the waitress, but the guy behind the bar (owner?) said to serve us anyway. THANK GOODNESS as we were all famished! And, besides, the dinner was excellent - we all had the same thing ... salad with cheese and mozzarella, fish with rice (or it might have been barley) and dessert.

Monday we ferried Dave around Chaumont, a little bit larger city, and dropped him at 9:45 in a small town called Le Puits-des-Mezes. Time got a bit later as Dave was getting a bit more tired, but still ready to continue. Once he got on his bike, he trekked on the final 72 km to just outside Vittel with no problems. We took him to the other side of Vittel and he took off on Stage 13 at 1:35. This was a tough day with several mountains in the stage. We decided just to see how far he could get before it got dark and we'd stop there. He got through a Cat 3 (Cote de Xertigny), Cat 2 (Col de la Schlucht) and a Cat 1 (Col du Platzerwasel) before it started to get dark and we were a bit concerned. There was also a good area for parking and a small crepery for dinner. We stopped at the top of Platzerwasel (a ski hill)- Le Markstein - and settled in for the night. Again, as we approached the dinner area, we were told they were closing, but they would make crepes. Fine. The menu was just dessert crepes - fine with me, but Dave needed more protein. Ham and cheese crepes? Perfect. So dinner was ham and cheese crepes and fruit crepes (Dave and me) and chestnut creme (Jerry) for dessert. Awesome.

Thunderstorms and rain overnight made getting up Tuesday morning a bit difficult. The rain was coming down really hard, visibility was difficult and it was cold. Dave was already tired and becoming worn. We decided to pack up and go down the mountain to see if we could drive out of the rain. We got down to the bottom of the next climb - Cat 3 Col du Bannstein in Schweighouse and it cleared up enough for him to get going. We dropped him there at 10:57, unfortunately at the bottom of the climb. After a slow start, he got going and not only finished that climb, but the next, a Cat 1 Col du Firstplan, and finished that stage - 37 km - at 12:20 in Colmar. Colmar to Besancon was, thankfully, a bit flatter and would be his final catch up for his "diesel" day. He climbed out on the other side of Colmar in Sundhoffen at 1:10. Since it was Bastille Day in France, the streets were basically rolled up and no one was out. Gerry and I were able to just bomb through towns. We checked in periodically, but he kept a good pace throughout the afternoon and arrived in Besancon at 7:25 with daylight to spare. Not much energy to spare, but daylight!

We convinced Dave to take Wednesday off, as the exertion was incredible and he was extremely tired, so we had a good dinner in Besancon (Gerry had mussels and crayfish in a casserole- a fricasse that he said was fantastic and I said looked fairly gross; Dave had an omelet; and I had a burger in a crepe - didn't taste anything like an American burger!! Much better!!) and found a parking spot just off the highway.

We made a good decision as we awoke to thunderstorms overnight again. We got up and drove to a little place in between Besancon and Pontarlier (called Ornans) that was along the river, and had some coffee/tea. The place was so neat - it was an adventure park where kids were launching canoes to travel up the river and others were arriving with camping gear, I assume to travel upriver and camp. They also had zip lines and other gear. We arrived in Pontarlier, the start of tomorrow's Stage 15, around noon and checked intoa Campanile hotel. Free Wifi, wonderful rooms (we got one room and a second room for an additional 10 euros!!), hot showers, we got the laundry done downtown, we watched the Tour (though Dave actually slept through the final!) and caught up on the blog.

Dave starts the final third of his trip tomorrow. High Mountains await - the Alps. We head into Switzerland. He's not let us down yet and we don't expect him to give up any time soon. The trip has gotten better, thanks to Gerry! It would never have been possible without Fred and Jerry helping to salvage it (thanks, Judith, for loaning Gerry to us for 2 weeks!). As noted above, I'm eating again. Desserts here are fabulous! :) Liz, I've followed your instructions to find a patesserie and get something sinful. You DID say to do that daily, right?

Thank you ALL for your good wishes, prayers, thoughts and support. We've needed them and will continue to need them.
Merci
-Julie