Toujours Briançon

While climbing to the ‘Col de l’échelle’ on the bike yesterday and minding my own buisiness a group of cyclist approached all dressed in black, red and white, chatting away then suddenly one of them as he came past me headed towards me and for no apparent reason roared at me! Fortunately the acquisition of firearms is restricted in France. Had I had a pistol it would have been one of the occasions where I would have taken it out and shot of the lot of them! There was no reason to be aggressive towards me. Young fools!

I thought I had done at least 5 kms on the was up only to find out when I got back down that the whole climb had only been 2,7 kms!!! As I was huffing and puffing up this never-ending slop I could hear and feel the flies around me. Unlike other cyclists who are a little fitter than I, at every stop my friends the flies flew about me licking up my sweat! Well I suppose if I can help the ecosystem.

One of the problems with the new DC/AC converter is that is screams all the time. On the box it was clearly marked that it could recharge a pc, well mine it can only recharge when I am on the move and at the moment that is not so often! At the moment I am stopped with the motor running – very good for the environment and my pocket!!

I spent last night on the ‘Col du Laurtaret’, just over 2000 metres. It was a great afternoon and evening. Sun, a breeze, a couple of people were out with kites and I read. At the moment I am reading a book by Stephen Fry – the Liar. It is only during the vacations that I actually manage to get any reading done. We talk a lot of climate change but are not really aware of the effects of the warming of the planet. I am no alarmist, but when you are sitting at what must have been the base of a glacier, probably 100 years ago, and look up only to see a smudge of snow on the top, well things are changing. Although I do have a picture of what is left of a glacier in the same valley and lower down.

It leaves me now to say ‘Happy Birthday’ on my blog. Yesterday was his birthday, 4^th August but I couldn’t get the net to work! Let’s hope I’ll have a better chance today.