June 2019 – RuslanY Bike Travel

EuroTour day 11 – To Basel, Switzerland

I’ve reached the Switzerland today! This is the first time ever I have crossed a European border by bike. It is a second time ever I have crossed a country border by bike (first one was during a ride from Seattle to Vancouver, BC in 2016).

The crossing of the border was not a big deal at all. There were not any border signs or anything that signifies that you are entering a different country. Just cross a bridge and you are in Germany. Cross another bridge and you are in Switzerland.

I’m taking a rest day in Switzerland. Also I’ve parted with Matt and Harry, whom I’ve been riding with for the past 5 days. They plan to take a train to Alps and then continue North on the EuroVelo 15 route along the Rhine river. The guys are super tough – they ride 70+ miles everyday without any rest days!

At the France-Germany-Switzerland border

Today was a longest ride of my tour but it was not so difficult because a large section of the route was downhill and with a tail wind.

I’ve booked an AirBnB place for 2 nights near Basel. I am planning to visit Basel tomorrow as it looks like an interesting place to see.

EuroTour day 10 – To L’Isle-sur-le-Doubs

The highlight of today’s route was the town of Besançon and the ride in the valley along the Le Doubs river. The landscape has changed and it is more rocky and hilly now.

It is still hot in the afternoons but the temperature is supposed to go down next week.

I am staying in a campground in L’Isle-sur-le-Doubs tonight. Apart from other bike tourers the campgrounds are usually filled with trailers from Netherland and Germany. I guess people from those countries really like to camp.

EuroTour day 9 – To Ranchot

Another 70 miles day in a 95-100 F degrees. But it did not feel so bad – maybe I am getting used to the heat. Also I’ve noticed that if I keep the heart rate around 120 bpm I do not get tired of riding. It is easy to maintain that heart rate because the area is mostly flat.

Today route passed some really nice and old towns. Here are the pictures:

I am planning to reach the Switzerland border on Sunday. The town on the border is called Basel. There I’ll decide whether to continue EuroVelo 6 or do a detour via Switzerland Alps.

EuroTour day 8 – To Chalon-sur-Saône

I did not put the rain fly on my tent last night because of the heat. As a result I had a great night sleep. This was the best camping place I had stayed in so far during my trip.

I continued riding with Matt and Harry and today’s destination was the town called Chalon-sur-Saône. From there the route will follow a different river called Saône.

We stopped at a bakery in a supermarket and bought some French pastry for breakfast. It was so tasty! And this was just some random bakery in a regular grocery store. Overall in my experience the food here has been really good.

Here are some pictures from today’s ride:

Tonight I am staying in a hotel in Chalon-sur-Saône. I needed to charge all my electronics properly and also buy a new bottle of “Essence C” for my camp stove. I rode my bike from the hotel to the hardware store in the center of the town and took some pictures on the way.

EuroTour day 7 – To Palinges

The three days heat wave has stated today. I thought of leaving earlier around 6 am but that would mean waking up at 4 am. I decided not to do that and so I left the camping place at 7:20 am.

Yesterday at the campground I’ve met Matt who is riding EuroVelo 6 with his 9 year old son Harry. They are from Canada. Matt writes about their ride at the blog here. They started from the Atlantic ocean a week ago. They ride 70 miles every day. That’s a very impressive daily distance!

Today I caught up with them at around 15th mile and we continued the rest of the ride together. In addition to the high mileage they also ride at a good pace. Harry trains at a cycling club at home and he is a super strong and experienced rider, especially considering that he is only 9 years old!

Selfie with Matt and Harry (and a photo bomb in the background)

Today’s ride was a mix of the paved trails along canals and just road riding. I actually prefer the riding on regular roads more because the roads usually pass through small villages and towns which are so interesting to see.

At the end there was a very nice campground near a lake. It was awesome to swim in the lake to cool off!