We added a second rest day in Domblans because we wanted to delay our arrival in Geneva to Friday so we could meet up with Gaby and Verena (my cousin and mom) for dinner. Not a problem in such a nice place (Chambres d’Hôtes Le 49) as we had in Domblans.
On rest day one, I cycled south to Lons-le-Saunier to see if I could buy a new back wheel. No dice, but I got a haircut (11€ cut and 3€ shampoo) and bought a nice water bottle and proper bike chain tool. Which we used right away to replace our chains.
On rest day two, we hiked up to Château-Chalon for a vin jaune tasting and lunch. I was not super motivated at first after my 35km outing on the bike the day before, but it was very nice in the end. And I discovered the liquor wine Macvin, which is a mix of Marc and grape juice and quite tasty. Oh, and of course I watched the Germany disaster and not-so-nice but effective Swiss game.
With well-rested legs, we set out for the first stage of the tour with some proper climbing: The highest point today would be Col de la Joux at 1035m.
Out of Domblans, we cycled down a valley to the Baume-les-Messieurs abbey, where we had to do a first climb to get out of the valley.
Apart from the limestone ridges, the landscapes looked quite like Swiss countryside. Before the climb, we refueled with peaches and Petit Écoliers. We did the 10km with 5% average grade in just about an hour.
After our usual picnic lunch, we rolled down, or better, due to the strong headwind, pedaled down to the small D126 road that is basically a cycle lane and which brought us all the way to Morez, the stop for the day. I checked if I could get my wheel fixed, but no luck.
Tomorrow we’ll be back in Switzerland for one day, so will try there!
Total distance/elevation to date: 2747km/16’990m
Rest days: 9
Day 35 Route and Stats
Relive Video
The 1948 Tour 
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