In the Jura

I actually had a difficult couple of days in the Jura. Some climbs were ridiculously steep and went on for miles. My knees hurt, my neck hurt, my back hurt, the flies were so frustrating and annoying & I ended up with another bad reaction to an insect bite which took over most of my left calf. Luckily, I'd got plenty of wonder-cream left to slap straight on it and the swelling had already reduced considerably. It was annoying me that everything in Switzerland was so expensive. There were so rarely any shops. In La Chaux de Fonds (actually a large town but the campsite was on the outskirts in a beautiful wooded area - up a very, very steep hill - and I couldn't pedal another inch let alone face the 3 lanes of traffic for however far it was into town), I used my emergency food with no access to shops. It was even time for the emergency chocolate pudding that Adele so thoughtfully bought me before my trip - thank you hugely, Adele! The stodge & substantial portion of chocolate meant my happy face returned!

And I recognised I was having the traditional half-way-through-the-tour-wobble emotionally. Quite a normal experience. Although I was still happier than if I were at work!

I seem to have come through the other side of that now, thankfully. What a difference a rest day makes especially when it is in glorious hot sunshine. St Ursanne was a fabulous rest spot and the photo is of the River Doubs that runs alongside it. The village of St Ursanne is stunningly pretty, all higgledy piggedly pastel coloured houses protected by the castle walls. And we were in a deep valley, like a big basin, surrounded by the forests and hills of the Jura.

Best of all, I got my laundry done. Ahhh, the smell of freshly laundered clothing...dreamy to a cycle camper!!

Last night, an Australian couple turned up who were nearly at the end of their 2 year round the world tour. That put my 6 week trip into perspective!! Any homesickness vanished. It was so nice to have a conversation in English again. My French has improved a lot whilst here but it is limited & sometimes it's hard not to converse much.

On saying that, whilst eating lunch yesterday, a chap was sat nearby and was delighted to chat in English. He was so enthusiastic and said he'd visited Yorkshire and the best thing about it was Yorkshire Building Society (what?!!) And the brass bands!!! Yorkshire Building Society!!! It was a bit of a surreal conversation!

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2