Basel tues 10 june

Still very hot after 37 degrees yesterday. Purchased maps and new speedo as the old one was misleading and killing my legs with it's inaccuracy.

Caught bus to VitraHaus which is like walking inside Domus. Thr design mag. They are watering the trees as I await the 11€ tour. ICOM for once not totally gratuit. I'm watching a man make an Eames chair by hand. Funny how often I sat on them at the nga over the years and here they are being handmade. They provide brollies for the two hour tour which I'm looking forward to as a contrast to the ruins of Rome hopefully to come. Should'a brought my bike. This place is huge.

The guide is Taiwanese and speaks many languages although fortunately for me conducts the tour in Anglais. We set off under white brollies to check out the working Vitra furniture companies many architect designed immense factories. So much in Basel comes from elsewhere. An enormous almost circular storage area with a cool white plexiglass curtain wall shining white in the extremely hot sun....suddenly emerges at high speed a forklift, .....the operator grins wryly as we all jump back in a tangle of parasols. Funny how my feet react to forklift noises. We ended an educative two hours in the watered cherry orchard. Well worth it.
I returned via the hotter than hot town to cool my eyes in the lovely Tinguely spouting pool...the crying my eyes out one was great. Beside up grand steps Richard Serra's marvelous  waves of core ten steel.
Then abricot pie and perrier and cafe noir in a church full of young soldiers anti war screens. They invited me to eat it inside the church but my Jesuit conditioning made me afraid of inviting divine badvibes. Walked to get more maps, a hat and see more of this beautiful and happy place. If only I'd spent a bit of time learning swisse or german.

Tonight as I await a perfect gruyere omelette and salad washed down with an Italian chianti I am given a story. First the Beyerlers sold not one but two Picassos to finance the Renzo Piano rebuild (and every zhilling well spent) but before that....
In Basel, democracy apparently works..the residents get ballot papers about  every two months....decades back they wanted two picassos for the Kunstmuseum and made a special petition to the artist himself who donated accordingly....Who knows all I can say is neutrality makes for great art collections and expensive omelettes.
Tomorrow according to the map I climb 700 metres towards Zoncolan. Use me like a camera and get some alpine zephyr zpirit.

Basel mon 9 june

What a great rest day in so many ways. Artwork, architecture, trams, so much I've always wanted to see. Chagal, Pisarro and  a cool black on black Rothko today at the Basel Kunstmuseum. Along with a ubiquitous set of Rodin Burghers and a simple black Calder floating over a magnificent staircase. A Cranach and Peter Breugals. Then 6 Chaim Soutines a dour and bitter discovery of his subjects innards. His sculpture stands outside  hotel du parc en montparnasse. Apparently there is a well written life narrative. A free coffee too as I waited opening. Very rich collection. It is 35 degrees today so arthouses are cool. Two profound hours with textbook art saved from wartime destruction by a neutral country.

Next stunning Beyerler foundation has its own tramstop and a simply beautiful Renzo Piano building. Subtle air through the floor lighter than air ceilings glass glass opens everything to the wonderful garden. Talliessen stone against white walls. Too good. After our macho nga it was a revelation. Especially with Gerhardt Richter's studied work on display within. 3 metre square glass sheets over the most subtle of differentiated greys. He supervised apparently and used a laser theodolyte with demountable frames according to the guard. Liked the whole show tremendously. A subtle and powerful experience. The Bayerlers were surprisingly unassuming for billionaires with an old kitchen full of prize art. Wore great linen. I gained special permission to take a pic of the family photo humbly framed  next to the vestiare.
Then back to tourist info for cheery anglais and directions to the Tinguely musee. Remember its a holiday and she is the sole bureau du tourisme for so many desperados like I was yesterday.. Cannily she gives me a form to register a complaint and get her better air con. Liked her style.

Jean and Niki What fun they had with kinetics. I've always been fascinated by Jean T and today was a great opportunity to actually see a meta matique drawing machine in action and all that papier...and the worthy pics it made. Simply brilliant. Gotta say today was so profound art wise. Loved it. After all the farmyard camping it all came back into focus. Also to again realize the nga collection while sparse has gems. Our Tinguely, Courbet, Monet, Juan Gris how underated he is, Modigliani. .

So today I found the bike shop, map shop and the exit route a la alps. Have decided to stay another night even though at a 100 bucks it is pricey to get to the Vitra and do me bibs and bobs. Today was a real visual explosion and so profoundly worth it. 

Basel sun 8 june

Spent the day in 3 countries after 80 ks in 31 degrees along a well signed canalpath. Only got lost once which must be a record. Rode with or past between 2 and 300 cyclistes. EV6 is a phenomenal thing.
Wow. Sophisticated Basel. Was welcomed in an enormous open square cobbles everywhere... to this large and populous city by a well dressed fat old man yelling at me in a foreign language. When I responded with pardon "I'm australian"....again the tirade in whatever.....then without any hesitation in perfect English " Get off the path. It is reserved for pedestrians. You must ride in the street over there." Angrily walks off. I was avoiding tram lines having fallen on one in Geneve once and was trying to find a hotel as the tourist bureau was closed for the long weekend. Eyes raised for signs and no doubt yet another tourist.  First rudeness all trip. Probably the heat. Found a hotel 3 star and the shower was sooo good. Trekina worked perfectly today. I tried to force a crunching noise out o her without success. All day, hills, heat, rapidity ,every gear change ,and form, what a perfect bike she was today. Looking forward to bike shop tomorrow as my odometer is on the blink. Of course it is a bank holiday lundi like the queen's birthday at home. Tomorrow also Vitra musee for all the architects and their furniture at Pete's suggestion....so I catch a tram and then a bus....and no doubt cross 3 borders unknowingly. Now I'm eating an excellent Italian pizza washed down with a Feldschlossen. A field castle beer amber. Very refreshing after no lunch but a magnificent Montbelliarden brekkie. Nadal and Jokavic are battlin it out and my legs are sunburnt and tres tres fatiguee....rest dat tomoz ....everything is good.

Montbeliard sat 7 june

61 ks and pooped by 2 o clock as it is 31 and I raced it a bit to keep up with Andy Rivett?
Awaiting the Hotel balance to reopen at 3 in a petit parc.
Woke from a dream of snow to the toot toot of the baguette delivery. A pack of chained turkish hounds kept me awake so slept in the morning cool.
Re-met a silver haired bloke also recently retrait who was euroveloing it to Sicily. Cheery buonjornos all round. Found a super U which are great because their air is free....gonflage libere. Bought some soya milk which was to come in handy.
Felloff the signed route near isle sur doubs and who should emerge from the rapidly dissappearing forest path but a very well kitted out englishman on a very fine fixie.....yup and whats more had 140 miles yet to do in his ride home to switzerland. He is a vtt champ and his dad I think has been in TdF. So we start to chat. English is a relief and I wanted and received good info as regards the gotthardt pass through the alps. He reminded me of my freind and inspiration Greg Cunningham who thinks nothing of a 200 mile ride into the night. So I dutifully bust ass keeping up not wanting to delay. When Andy politely said goodbye wishing me well I realised I was sweatball and trembling for my pint o soyamilk and a long delayed pain o ch.
Then in the parc waiting along come two Vancouverans...very gracious and friendly Donna and Warner. We may meet again at the hotel or on the path as we are in the same direction. An excellent hotel with a very hot shower and 1600's oak staircase and a bike parking area.....so glad I stayed here after a rridiculously hot 63 ks. 

Post shower went to local chateau musee to find a very macabre range of images...floor 1 a series of old lifesize1890's photos with the signatures of the stiffly posed subjects above in neon and some plaintive music.... floor 2 I could not stomach a vast array of taxonomy.

Then down the road to the contemporary musee with a videa assemblage by Jean Pierre Bertrand around Borges Baudilaire and Pinochet victimes. Powerful and moving.

Baume-les-dames friday 6 June

A beautiful hot 27degree 96ks along the doubs river or canals. Began the day searching out Louis Pasteur's house upon which he'd had inscribed " to you father and mother to whom I owe everything". I wish I'd done that. They were tanners and slaved for his higher education.
Then increasingly steep sided Jura foret along the very well paved piste cyclable. Magnificent Besancon. No cedilla on my phone. I was here before but camped municipal out of town  and never saw its beauty. Gave us veloistes a tooonnell in order to skip the town and meditate on the river banks. Lovely.
I rode through two well named towns today...Beure where the Camambert coloured cows rang their bells as I passed clutching my heart...and grandbois which would have been good to wake up in.
To arrive at surprisingly pretty Baume les Dames. The tourist office lady spoke good english and told me of a monument to the inventor of the steam engine used in a boat on the Doubs here...Jouffroy d'Abbans. History has stolen his work and defaced his monument which rather aptly has a befunnelled boat atop. So I simply had to divert and add him to my lifelong tally of the underdogs and maligned. We all owe you Jouffrey.
This weekend is Pentacote and c'est beaucoup des gens en vacances. I hope to be in Basel by monday and here everyone will be cooling their feet en Doubs as it is predicted 30 degrees. Bottom bracket is making funny clanks intermittently so maybe 2 restdays en Basel. Made up 3 so far so on track for Rome and Pompeii.

Dole Thursday 5 june

97ks and finally in the Jura. The mountains are near. Today dawned cold 7* and after a nearly amorous chat with Sheila, I had a glorious 12ks shady canal start to the day. Simply lovely.
Breakfast at la ferte hotel (they'd have surely heard all the laughing retorts) was filling and entertaining enjoying a discussion about M Duchamp with a local artist. Comfortable place with a stable for a velo garage. Yes. I've been pushin it a bit on the eurovelo itinerary. It is easier to keep riding through lunchtime and get two days done in one. My itinerary is based on a publicized eurovelo event and there is a deluge of veloistes who have set off from Vienna against the tide of which I've based my daily regimen. 
Yesterday in the cold wind and rain I was very grateful to a french speaking rider who assisted me to find and then have confidence in the veracity of the little green panneau. He rode light on and I soon lost him into the developing mists. 
Then unexpectedly this morning au cote de Seone I pass him telephone to ear in animated francais. Pascal is quick and before I know it we are deep in conversation. Thankfully he seems understanding as I murder his native tongue.
A Parisian journo Pascal is actually being paid to ride his carbon forked velo to Basel. Also he has visited Australie to cover les Bleus in the Rugby.He has an appointment with a gentleman at an eclus or lock on the Seone and I plough on after friendly adieus and a rather formal card exchange....
To find within 10 ks an WA aussie Elizabeth Pye running a bar tabac in Lechatelet creatively cooking a cherry pie who  gave me a good hoy as I surprised her at the oven. The 3rd compatriot in 15 days she made me a very nice petit noir and Perrier which jolted me into the last 25k leg into Dole. Which is also a very wonderful place. Peter V my colleague recommended I visit and I will take in the best of it tomorrow.
There is a famous Franciscan monastery and Louis Pasteur, who I admire for his persistence in the face of complete disbelief,  was born and lived here. Steep streets over an important river junction. L'eglise looked rich and powerful.
It is hot now 25 and I'm camping 3 star on the Doubs. For so long on my eurovelo map as a junction between the loire and rhine and also ev6 and ev7. The hefty Dole bell is ringing out nearly seven, the indian minors are chatting to me, fellow park residents are talking and  crunching gravel on the way to the excellently hot showers. All is well in the world.

Chagny wed 4 june

Rain as predicted all day. Warm not cold rain and mostly from behind. Took the easy route along the canal centre rue D197. Decided to keep riding and have saved a day now en francais. The canal paths are easy to ride especially if as today they are roads.
Staying 2 star. Met a dutch couple who'd ridden 100ks today in the rain and planned to reach Avignon by next week. Amazing must be crack o dawn types....anyway very friendly.
Long day's ride for me just shy of 90ks in the rain...glad of a hot shower  I can tell you.  Mostly dry thanks to M ortlieb. Sun predicted tomorrow and maybe even blue elephants who knows?