T+3: Bellegarde sur Valserine to Maisod

Having learnt various lessons about the mountains, climbing, possible distances, the tandem's limitations and our own capabilities the previous day, we decided to ignore them and go far too far on the fourth day.

The day started with a long climb out of Bellegarde, which we completed with little complaint but some effort. We made quick progress through St-Germain-de-Joux (with its lovely mural) to Nantua, some 16 miles hence, which we'd outlined as a possible lakeside stop. However, we were feeling good so decided to eat a flapjack (still delicious) and press on. The next section was pretty warm, but pleasantly alongside the lake, before heading North towards Oyonnax. Again, not so bad.

Our first challenge came at the end of Oyonnax where the road we were expecting to take was fully closed. The only option apparently open was doubling back on ourselves down a dual-carriageway (which we're not allowed to use). Fortunately, whilst puzzling, a couple of mountain-bikers came out of somewhere and, when I asked (badly) they explained you could kind-of get through to a different route. So we ended up going a bit out-of-the-way, a bit off-road, and quite a lot uphill, through farming areas around Massiat, Bonaz and Senissiat to Dortan. Eventually we were back onto the originally planned route. Phew. Thank God for other cyclists.

Having pushed on further through Dortan, we were hoping for a fairly easy end to the day, taking us to a picturesque campsite near Maisod, the other side of Moirans-en-Montagne. What we'd failed to notice/comprehend is that Moirans-en-Mountagne and the adjacent Mont Robert both suggest mountainous terrain. Therefore, as we turned onto the D27 from the D436 we encountered around 7km of solid uphill. This almost killed us, and we walked quite a bit; this was still very difficult. The incline was some 9% and as we (literally) pushed the bike past our 40 mile mark, we felt like we'd overdone it a little.

When we finally got near to Maisod, there were still some up and downhills to navigate before we finally found Camping Trelachaume. There we found a reasonable spot for a tent, set up and I lay down inside to feel very sick. It had been pretty warm and neither of us had eaten, drunk or rested enough. Also our bodies were probably in shock from all the climbing and general physical exertion. After a short while, Rach went out to see if she could find some sugary drinks, or any kind of food. This search was in vain.

The campsite was very nice, but the whole area was still in "closed season" mode. Therefore there were no open restaurants or shops anywhere nearby. Fortunately, when registering at the reception after 7pm, they had a 2 litle bottle of fruity/sugary Oasis drink which had some restorative effect. Also, as we clearly had no food with us (other than the ubiquitous flapjacks) the campsite lady took pity on us and made us some plain pasta, which she gave to us with a box of "coulis des tomates." It was like eating bits of heaven.

A bloody long and hard day in the Jura. Got pretty sunburnt, even though there wasn't that much sun, and went pretty white with exhaustion at the end of it. More lessons learnt, and definitely heeded this time. More stops. More food. More liquid. Know your limits etc...

Still, at the end of this fourth day, we'd accomplished 150 miles of travel, mostly through mountains. Pretty good going really, aches and pains aside. The bike's holding up, but has significantly fewer gears than it started with: all the highest gears are gone, but at least the bottom ones work for climbing. Of 21 registered gears, only around 12 work and, of these, probably 8 work without making a horrible noise.

T+3 - Bellegarde sur Valserine to Maisod - 48.09 miles