5 July 2025 (sunny and hot) 48km

Well wouldn't you know it. I let Pete know last night that there was no point getting up early as our chosen supermarket didn't open til 8.30am and was only 11km down the road. But I woke up at 5.30am anyway, and so did Pete. So we quietly packed up the tent and then brewed up a coffee while we caught up on messages.

Set off at 7.30am feeling good and strong after a day of basically sitting round in the shade and just planning, and cooling off as needed.

We cycled out of Thonon-les-Bains to the next town on the lakeside, Evian-les-Bains. Whatever Thonon lacked, Evian had it.

The town opened out onto the waterfront with some beautiful big old buildings and impressive gardens. It was a pleasure to just cycle along the lake edge, admiring the architecture and the sunlight shimmering off the surface of the lake.

We were brought back to reality with a stint along the main road which had us upping the speed so we didn't frustrate the traffic too much.

Had to turn inland for our supermarket which meant a bit of a push up a 20% incline and the first sweat of the day. 

Our last French breakfast of the tour so we made sure we got raspberries as we won't be having them in Switzerland at $8.50NZ a punnet.

Came out of the supermarket and found a shaded bench in the next village where we enjoyed another delicious breakfast.

Straight after we had an uphill slog of about a km. We were that high up we passed a guy in a field putting his paraglider together. Got to the top, sweating profusely, only for the road to take us straight back down to join the main road.

Concentration back as we sped along with the traffic, but it did feel good to be travelling at speed.

After a time we came to a cycle path which cut uphill and then mirrored the main road, but you could barely hear it. It was a lovely little respite from the tension of riding in traffic.

We watched some sort of eagles or hawks, circling in the sky and calling out now and then. We have seen them frequently round the lake and yesterday when we were swimming, they would swoop down and scoop up a sardine with their claws. That's if they could beat Pete to it. Between them, the seagulls and the shags, there was a lot of competition for the sardines, but there seemed to be plenty.

We soon came to the town of Saint Gingolph, where Pete suggested we have a swim.

“Oh, not again!” I groaned. Yeah, right!

It was the perfect spot for a quick refresh. It had a shady place for the bikes and changing rooms right by the water, so soon we were jumping in the lake once again.

Back on the bikes to continue our ride along the main road to Le Bouveret. This was a busy little spot with a big marina, a ferry port and a train station. Plenty of lakeside cafes and restaurants spilled across the cycleway we were now on.

We had our eye on a few campgrounds in this area and came up on the first of these just after Le Bouveret. It looked like a very busy family camp, and with Aqua Parc 100 meters down the road, that was always going to be the case. So we kept moving.

Rode through a pleasant forested area with bike paths threading their way through. It was good to be in the shade most of the time as by now the sun was getting very hot!

The views became more impressive as the mountains loomed up behind Montreux and there was wave after wave of paragliders flying across the face of them.

On the edge of the town of Villenueve, we came to the Migros supermarket. Bought a healthy lunch of tuna salad and rice salad and an extra can of tuna. Upon opening the rice salad, we actually realized it was pasta made to look like rice. So Pete had to eat all that and I got most of the green salad.

We ate at a shaded park bench in a playground by the next camp we'd earmarked. So after lunch we went to see if they had any room there.

While we were waiting, we got chatting to a lady from Bern who is here for the Montreux Jazz Festival, which is on this weekend.

Uh-oh we thought, we'll be lucky to get in here. And lucky we were. We got a space, in full sun but at least we had a pitch, even if it did cost $75NZ.

Claimed our space by putting up the tent inner and chucking our stuff inside. Locked the bikes, got changed into togs and walked the 100 odd metres to the lake.

We sat in the shade and admired the view. The lake had a bit of flotsam and jetsam floating round the edge, but it was reasonably clear.

Ju lay down and fell asleep so I decided to put pen to paper…..

We cycled into Montreux 

On the Lake Geneva shoreline 

We needed camping in the shade man,

In that sun we were gonna fry.

Time to find a supermarket,

Without food I'm gonna go die,

We'd only been there 30 seconds 

But for Ju it was just in time.

Ju’s in the water

She went and dived right in

Home in the water 

Duh duh duh, duh-duh duh duh

Duh duh duh, duh daaaa

We got ourselves a lakeside pitch

It wasn't in the shade

Went to bang a tent peg in

When I looked Ju was not around.

I checked the toilets and the showers,

To see if she had gone inside 

Could not believe it when I saw her

On her back floating on the tide

Ju’s in the water

She's smiling up at me

Back in the water….

Duh duh duh, duh-duh duh duh

Duh duh duh, duh daaaa

After my performance went down so well the other night, how could I tell Julia that I'd been asked to perform alongside Neil Young (who asked me to perform "Like a Hurricane" with him) and Neil Diamond who wanted me on "Shilo". 

I’d already persuaded Ju to come to Montreux, in casual conversation, knowing full well the Montreux Jazz Festival was on.

I'd even turned down five star accommodation from the promoters, because I know how much Julia loves the tent and the whole lifestyle that goes with it.

The campground we are in knew we'd be turning up “nod nod, wink wink" and the owner told Julia we would be lucky to get a place.

This of course was a ruse, but he played his part well, so now we are set up in full sun and are staying in the shade for the afternoon, in any way we can. 

This is life when you're in demand and I know Julia doesn't understand it, so I'm happy to sacrifice the CHF (Swiss Francs) 100,000 in order to let her sweat it out under a hot, searing sun, just to keep her happy.

Some people say "What a guy", but that's just who I am. 

Back in the real world and at 6.06pm, we rocked up to the Migros, thinking they closed at 6.30pm, when in fact they closed at 6pm.

The girl wasn't going to let us through but I pleaded that we had no food and didn't wait for a reply, we took about one minute to collect what we needed for dinner.

Received a dirty look from the supervisor on the way out, but hey that's just the way I am. 

Took our salmon, salad and avocado down to the lakeside, where firstly we went for a dip before enjoying a lovely dinner, whilst listening to music drifting over the water from the festival. 

I'd had to pop back to the tent to get some other stuff and I met a couple with three young kids who are walking...yes walking from France to Italy, all dependent on weather and how the kids cope with it.

They are camped alongside us. 

The temperature in the shade is perfect and we'll enjoy tonight on the banks of the lake, before venturing into the city, first thing before everyone wakes up.