JURA

This is the day that we’ve been preparing for: 100 km with 1,400 meters of climbing ! You’ll ride hard and see a lot today!

There will be fog on the lake this morning and you may need a jacket, but the slow and steady gain in altitude means that you’ll be plenty warm by 10 am!

We start at 800 meters today, but finish at 1,300. However, our total elevation gain is 1,400 meters. That means lots of up and down valleys, so make sure that you’re clicked into your pedals and carrying some snacks !

The French Jura mountains are in the region of Franche-Comté, France’s cheese-making heartland ! There are over 50 protected regional cheeses in France (AOC) and six of them are made in these hills. You’ll see cheese on every menu, at every market and at small cheese shops along our path. Stop and sample them, and if there room: the yogurt, crème brulée & ice cream. Dairy is king in Franche Comté.

At kilometer 45, we’ll have a long descent into the twin factory towns of Morez and Morbier. These dark industrial hubs are in deep, shadowy valleys and you’ll be happy to escape them…even if it means 15 kilometers of uphill ! No worries…the climbing today averages 5% and never goes over 7%.

Once out of Morbier, you’re back in the arms of mother nature…cycling through high moonscape pasturelands. The twisting roads will eventually take you to a large isolated auberge in the middle of a region well-known for its scenery, micro-brews and local cuisine.

Images of today