Travel
“Young, fit and crippled”, the unfortunate but accurate description of many of the finishers of the Annecy MaXi-Race resting up with their supporters in afternoon sunshine on the grass of Le Pâquier and the Champ de Mars bordering the Lac d'Annecy in Savoie. The 2000 solo runners had left at 3AM for the 85km solo race over a challenging mountain course. Other starts for shorter distances happened later on in the day. There are several,sports acadamies in or near Annecy so there is a lot of local support for the runners.
The massive walls of the medieval fortress at Aigues Mortes on the Camargue, the embarkation town for the seventh and eighth crusades in 1248 and 1270 AD.The Burgundian King of France, Louis IX ordered the construction of the fortress in the Camargue marches and also a causeway to a quay a short distance away where the ships were able to berth. Burgundian France had no navigable harbour on the Mediterranean Sea until a century later when Louis XI incorporated Provence in to France in 1486. These days, the walls enclose an attractive tourist town with restaurants, bars and boutique shops.
The ombragère (sun shade) is a cool and welcome escape from the full strength of the Mediterranean sun toasting tourists enjoying the Vieux Port of Marseille. The underside is mirrored, giving an unusual persepective. Also known as l'Ombrière.
A trip in the Quantock Hills and Exmoor, checking out the Black Cat route from Dunster (near Minehead) down to Tiverton, known as one of the top fifty bike routes in the UK. The Black Cat road is in good shape, it gets its name from the garage and cafe at the side of the road near Bampton; I'm looking to make an opportunity to ride it after the 2016 GLME Ascension bike camp, based in Salisbury.
Touring the Malvern Hills in a brand new Audi A1 hire car, just 17 miles on the clock when I received it. “Two wheels good, four wheels bad” (to misquote Animal Farm), but fun to drive on interesting roads, mostly clear of other traffic and with fine views of the Malvern Hills; the A1 was pretty good for the drive back on the motorways too.
