We are now on day 11 of our adventure. We are in Chamonix, where the sun seems to be perpetually shining and the sky is a special kind of blue you only find when set against the purity of the snow.
Today is another first for both me and Oscar - we are going down our first VTT downhill run at Col de Balme. Neither of us are properly equipped for the adventure; I have a hybrid road/mountain bike with thin tyres and a survival instinct that keeps my hands always hovering over the brakes, while Oscar has a hand-me-down bike with dodgy stopping ability.
Our journey starts in La Praz, a few minutes' cycle from our campsite, where the brilliant VeloBus will collect us and our bikes and transport us 25 minutes up the valley to the cable car at Le Tour. What's more it's free. How cool is that? Here we are waiting for the bus in the pristine village of La Praz - incidentally, could there be a more pretty setting anywhere for a bus stop?
The cable car ride up is another opportunity to marvel at our surroundings. The view from the lower cable car shows off the whole valley through Argentiere towards Chamonix.
Once off at the cablecar station we transfer onto a gondola, with our bikes hanging off the side. At the top Oscar has a wobble - indeed, it's a bit steeper and more twisting than I was expecting too, and I find myself almost hoping he backs down so I have an excuse to give it a miss. As it turns out it is brilliant fun - Oscar has the odd hairy moment and one epic tumble, but we all emerge unscathed. He's really proud of his achievement; I'm just pleased to get off. A bike saddle is no place to place a bottom for long.
Oscar and I sun ourselves in the mountain sun on a terrace which also has a hot tub (if only we'd remembered our swimsuits!) while Felix and Richard do the same route again, although instead of taking the best part of an hour they are down in 12 minutes.
They spy out the blue route which goes from the base of the easier green route we have just completed down a steep hillside and into the valley. To my dismay they are toying with the idea - everyone else going down it is in full body armour and full faced helmets and they seem horribly scantily dressed by comparison - but in the end the imminent arrival of the last velobus takes the decision out of their hands. One for another day, I think.
We arrive at the bottom, slightly burnt from the intense sun, but exhilarated from yet another escapade. Chamonix is brilliant.
Back at the campsite Felix is still a bundle of energy so he and Richard cycle into Chamonix and take the cable car up to Planpraz and then across the impossibly steep ravine to Le Brevent. Their reward is a new perspective on the valley, the chance to watch some parapenters take off and to log some more locations to revisit in the winter. Me and Oscar meanwhile do what we love best - we snooze, read and chill out in the shade.
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