A rainy start of the day, the afternoon was fabulous!
The route
Today we entered the Vosges Mountains, France, with the literal highlight; Le Grand Ballon (1424m).
From our starting point, Neuenburg am Rhein, we crossed the Rein into France. There we did a round trip of about 128 kilometers via Le Markstein as the furthest point on the route, over the Grand Ballon back to the hotel.
The day began rainy, but would clear up from late morning. So we were able to have a nice long breakfast, and in between the showers go into the village to buy some souvenirs.
During breakfast we made a nice but short route for the afternoon. The showers moved away to the east, so our route headed west. In the early afternoon we got on our bikes.
The route had mixed characteristics; from long straights, to twisty roads, hairpin turns and dirty roads with rocks, gravel, branches and grass.
The highlight of the route was the Grand Ballon. This is the highest mountain in the Vosges Mountains. The mountain is located in the southern part of the ridge. Iconic is the radar station on the summit.
Around 16:30 we were back at the hotel, where we had a refreshing drink. Afterwards, we also had dinner here. I had very tender veal spareribs; delicious!
In the evening our Dutch soccer team played in the semifinals of the European Championship against England. Unfortunately, we just lost. Our opponent scored a goal in the very last minute, so we eventually lost 2-1.
After the game we had a beer to drown the defeat and sorrow. Then we slept like royalty to start fresh tomorrow! The soccer game was soon forgotten….
