We knew today was likely to be tougher, courtesy of the extreme weather forecasts in France currently.

We are not hot weather riders, period!

We had a nice French breakfast hosted by our lodge owner, a really friendly chap who has tried super hard.

He saw us off still smiling, surprised that we were turning left, not right.

Left goes up to Col de la Schlucht. We had to get over the Vosges to get back to Switzerland.

So we started climbing and kept climbing for 19 km. The first half far gentler than the second half.

Here’s our graph.

The weather was already a warm 21c.

The start, just a few hills at the back.

We climbed past this confectionery makers place.

Agricultural fields.

Forest.

A video Tony took early on.

Climbing comfortably.

Nice little church.

The first half were gradients under 5%. I could see from the graph that the second half would be tougher as the graph was yellow and read, so 5-10%.

The road was in good condition.

About 2 km from the top you reach a large junction, we turned left.

There was a shady spot and it seemed to be where all the cyclists rested before finishing the climb.

The last few km were easy and here is the sticker infested sign. A real shame you can no longer read it. It is at 1,139 metres. Certainly not as high as the alp climbs, but a 19 km climb and still good altitude.

We stopped at a cafe buying cold drinks and glasses of ice.

It was now 28c.

Over the road, a variety of outdoor activities including toboggans.

An awesome descent on an even better seal. Lovely Vosge valley views.

Rock tunnels.

Tony taking photos at a lookout.

Getting low now.

Munster is the first larger town. Lots of cobbles that were not laid on a flat surface. Terrible rollercoaster through one section that rattle your teeth.

Some nice buildings in town.

A big cow!

Further on we pulled into Turckheim and spent about an hour in a shady spot we found.

We could not check into our accommodation until 3 pm. Bit of a quandary given the heat forecast. We trimmed our ride back 20 km or so to minimise the impact.

After an hour, the sun was hitting our legs, and a pigeon had schat on my head. Tony’s aunt tells me that is good luck!

We rode on through a few villages getting closer to our destination.

The village of Wettolsheim was quiet.

So quiet, it has a silence office!

Riding in through vineyards to the next village.

Eguisheim is larger, cobbled, narrow and dead end alley ways but some lovely buildings.

At the church, there are a few strategically located stork nests, with the chicks peeking out.

Here I am in the shade. It is now in the high 30’s. We are only about 5 km or so away but a hill to climb. No avoiding it.

Back through more vineyards.

Climbing up the 150 metres ascent in 38c. It is very hot in the open with no shade. Tough little climb.

Thank goodness. I could almost sit under that water.

We have more time to kill so check out the village of Vœgtlinshoffen. The bakery has closed, and the only thing around are wineries. None of those seem open to buy non alcoholic drinks.

Dinner is looking sparse. How many snickers bars and nuts do we have?

3 pm we check in. The unit is air conditioned and cool. We shower and use the washing machine, drying our clothes in no time.

I go over Internet maps and see the possibility of a pop up pizza van at 5 pm, but alas it did not appear.

The owners tell us it should be there at 6 pm. It is still stinking hot as we walk up the short hill for the second time.

It was there and we ordered two pizza and four drinks, had to collect 30 minutes later. A third walk up the hill in the heat.

We ate half the pizza and the remainder tonight, but hopefully can bring some other food back that won’t spoil.

We have now ridden 3,121 km, two days remaining.

We are likely to modify the rides and start times to cope with the continued heat warnings.

Thanks for reading.