Mesnay

It was a mostly downhill ride from La Cluse-et-Mijoux to Arbois, but the headwind certainly made the riding more challenging mentally. After we passed Pontarlier we were on very rural roads, and eventually on forest roads between hamlets. We were surprised at how flat and rolling this part of the Doubs and Jura were. We descended a last steep hill to Arbois and the mid-afternoon heat at valley bottom hit us like a ton of bricks. We were camping on a farm just outside of Arbois set up for guest stays, and once we had the tent set up in the shade it was hard to motivate ourselves to move! Finally we cycled into the town centre to pick up groceries, then explored some waterfalls our hosts had recommended - the frigid water was so refreshing on a hot day! After quite a few late nights, we ate and got to bed early, catching up on precious sleep. In the morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast with our hosts, Patrick and Bénédicte, former cyclists and adventurers, who had walked from central France to Israel with a horse and cart and two toddlers when their now-adult children were young!Read more