Day 21-21 4th & 5th September

Chambery to Susa, 65 miles

Your previous reporter has returned temporarily having been in climes south.

Edith and Gerard have had a torrid time in the Alps. The route from Chambery to Susa in Italy was always going to be tough. However, yesterday the day was halted prematurely due to heavy Alpine thunderstorms which completely brought the Savoy side of the Alps to a standstill. They had to curtail their ride due to the very inclement weather – lightening, thunder and torrential rain for a whole day.

Today thought they started off from St Jean de Maurienne at the base of the Col du Mont Cenis and the crossing over to Italy. This is the route that Hannibal took over the Alps with his elephants. More recently it is one of the famous mountain stages of the Tour de France!! The day started off quite well with clear skies after yesterday’s storm. But they had a crash at a railway level crossing. Gerard has grazed one knee badly and Edith has a slash to her thigh. Their helmets saved them from further injury as they hit the deck going quite fast. This did not deter them and they picked themselves up to face the steepest part of the climb. They had a gruelling ascent over the worst 32 kilometers which took them 4 hours on interminable hairpin bends. They had plenty of company from other cyclists who regularly do this on racing bikes to emulate their Tour de France heroes. But the parental did it on a tandem with full panniers and cuts and bruises – truly heroic and showing true British grit to the frogs!! The descent though easier was also steep and down more hairpin bends. This phase is actually more dangerous than the way up.

They, as ever, always had time for the scenery which they found really beautiful. They are now in Italy at the pleasant town of Susa, which is roman inn foundation and still has a triumphal arch and other relics of the period.

So far they have travelled 643 miles (over 1,000 km) and still up and running.