Day Twenty

Orbe to Lausanne. Our last day on the road.

We woke to rain and were told it was going to rain this afternoon as well.
The sky started breaking up around 10:00am and never got wet for the rest of the day.
This was our last day of our ride and this leg of the Via Francigena for us this year.
Before hitting the road we wanted to get some last shots of this little town we stayed in.

After a few last shots, we got on the the road and tried to find our way. This would be the first day of our journey without a map. We don't always use the map, but like to check from time to time if the GPS has us on track.

One last look back

After about 5k we came across a cycle route that said it was going to Lausanne. We thought that mapless it would be a great way to go. I followed the railroad tracks that were also going there, so knowing that Railroad tracks are usually flat and the trail being hard packed, we were on the right road and had nothing to loose.
As it turned out, it only stayed with the tracks for about 2 miles and then made a sharp right hand turn. At that point it not only headed back to where we had come from but also straight up hill.
We figured it to be the pretty route and stuck with it for the lack of high speed traffic.

By that time it was 12:30 and best to look for lunch before everything was closed.
Around the corner we found this place.

They had 8 different types of potato's for sale and a little fridge with cheese that their farm had made. Sold by the honor system, we bought some cheese and packed it on board.

Down the road a bit we found a great little restaurant with a delicious roast chicken for lunch. The fellow who owned the place was very sweet, was happy to speak English and tell his story how he ended up in this little town.

After lunch we got back on "Cycle Route 5" I had us going North when we wanted to be going South and West when we needed to me going East, but it was the pretty route. Safer we thought and les cars. No trucks anyway.
No lack of climbing and a far cry from the flat of the tracks we first thought we had.

Back on to a dirt trail and rolling along listening to Django Reinheart, the rear deraileur cable snapped. No problem, we have a spare and it couldn't have happened in a nicer spot.

Over the past day we have passed 3 flour mills. The Rodynam mill in Orbe and two others along the way. We have never seen any in France during our past years of cycling, although we have ridden through field after field of wheat. The mills here are huge with tracks and trucks moving wheat and processed flour.

Their tall grain elevators can be seen for miles.

As we rode, the mountain range we crossed a few days back was looking smaller and smaller. In the distance we started to see what looked like real Alpine mountains. Jagged topped but mostly a dark silhouette.

The closer we got to Lausanne the busier it got. Lusanne is a city and getting into town safely we thought would be best done on Cycle Route 5. The route never stopped zig zaging along. Watching the GPS, the route was not at all taking us straight there.
Sunny and dry weather made it easy to stick with it, but after a while we decided to just go straight to town.
It was a good thing we did because our change of route had us at the hotel in about 25 minuets.

Looking across the street from the hotel is amazing! The mountains that we had been seeing are now in full view. One of the most beautiful places we have seen this trip. We both agreed that its a good thing that we don't have to cross them,,, this trip.

We will be in town all day tomorrow getting ready to come home. The laundry needs to get done and we need to figure out where we ar going to get a bicycle box to ship the tandem.

We are looking forward to a day off the bike and a chance to see this beautiful city!