Made it!!

the view from our campspot, pretty incredible. constant paragliders coming over the mountains as well. We love Chamonix and will have to come back to ski soon!

The view here isn't bad!!

random words of encouragement near the pass to Les Houches and the Chamonix valley made it slightly easier to get to the top

all kinds of good stuff happening in the alps. climbing at our lunch spot

due to the extreme sunshine we encountered its hard to recognize the glaciers on mount blanc.

we followed a nice bike route along the valley. ducked the highway a few times and ended with a pretty big pass! fortunately around every corner the view got better

Thursday 10:25 am... in the Alps

So there we were, riding along enjoying the views.... look, up in the sky.... a crazy bastard with a wing suit jumping off a cliff!!!! Yup, just like in the movies. Three crazy fellows hurled themselves off a mountain, flew for a moment with their flying squirrel suits and landed safely between a set of high speed rail tracks, a very busy road, a highway, and two sets of powerlines. what else would you do on a Thursday morning?

river in the valley to Chamonix

This morning we started early and left our secret woods hiding spot in search of the big mountains... they were absolutely stunning right from the start!

our original destination is just to the left of that mountain. this picture taken at 430.... not happening!

On the way to the mountains, up in wine country once again. Absolutely gorgeuous day with beautiful countryside the whole way. Rode 55 miles to a secret camp spot on the side of the road. wanted to make a real campsite but it was simply too far and too high into the mountains!

Geneva Switzerland

After a night in Morges Switxerland at the base of lake Geneva we rolled through Geneva Switzerland without much fanfare.... no 75 dollar lunches, just a nice picnic on the waterfront, watching the people walk by. pretty sure they have one of everyone in Geneva.... rich/poor, dark/light, business suit/bikini. Everyone was well represented! as with most big cities it was difficult getting in and out on bikes, but due to some good navigation by Heather we made it. from there we rolled on to the Alps

Here's a pic of Lake Neuchatel...very nice!  Now we are on the shores of lake Geneva, looking across to the Alps - amazing view!  From here, we are headed down the west side of Lake Geneva toward Chamonix (back in France) a good old mountain town where a bunch of our friends go to ski every year...then onward to the Rhone river valley, hoping to take a ride out toward Zermatt and perhaps a few other mountain towns (depending on how torturous the riding is with 80 pound bikes!), do some hiking before going over a pass through the Alps and into Italy...hope our legs are in shape!  Feeling good, though and loving every minute of it.  Just wondering what we will do when we return to the real world and can't sleep 10 hours a night:)

Hey look, a walled city! Switzerland rocks!

Sunsets here do not suck!

Roadside animals always want the good grass thats just outside the fence. offer them a bit and you've got a friend for life. these particular sheep love the yellow flowers!

Best lunch spot yet? Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland. Crystal clear water, that was a deep blue color. life is good.

Evolution

Swiss people understand evolution better than us!!

Are you sure that's all?

Felt more like 10 thousand feet, but I guess 3100 is a good start - the alps will be about double that! Oh geez. So far, no walking, but that may not last the whole trip....let the downhill begin!

I hate switchbacks!

Heather grunting her way up the first mountain pass switchbacks!

Beautiful scenery here in Switzerland...almost makes the climbs worth it! Here, a castle nestled into the hillside, not to mentiona gorgeous day for a ride!

Early morning fishing stream

Mitch's early morning fishing quest - skunked again! He "can't believe there aren't fish in here!" - then further upstream, we saw a fish ladder...I'm pretty sure they just don't like those American lures:) Beautiful spot, either way!

Basel, Switzerland

Oh, Switzerland, how ironic is it that you have towers covered in gold? Everything here is sooo expensive! In fact, Mitch and I have decided to suspend our pastry tour - yep, that's right, we've eaten a pastry every single day while we've been in Europe - until we got to Switzerland. We stopped into a bakery, and first of all there were no pastries left to speak of, the tart cost 10 bucks, and Heather's coffee cost four dollars! We're protesting. But otherwise, Switzerland is absolutely everything we thought it'd be...gorgeous countryside absolutely unmatched thus far on our trip. We're headed toward the Western lakes, then onward to the Alps - we got our first real mountain pass experience today. Climbed for about 2 hours - the last half hour up switchbacks marked with triple chevrons on the map (translation -Heather felt light headed, like she might puke) and she heard cowbells egging her on towards the top (like they do on the Tour). She thought she might have been hallucinating because of the altitude, but nope! the cows here in Switzerland actually do wear cowbells.... they must have had the fever baby... and the only cure is MORE COWBELL!!!!! (SNL reference for those of you who missed it, and those of you who have never spent a night at the Mills residence in Greenwood:)

More from Switzerland to come.... and more pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/104484993780229620201

Heather and Mitch