Stage 10, Tallard - Marseille, 229 km, Monday 9th July

We are not in Belgium anymore.
Another stage staged....this time we have arrived in deepest France, in Marseille. It is sunny, but not too hot and we read with interest the reports on the internet of the real TdF stage 2 in Belgium today...it was raining ! Good, we had lots of rain in Belgium and the pros should suffer like we did.

We left Tallard (in a brief rain shower ironically enough) and were soon whizzing down through the countryside, through a beautiful looking Sisteron, past Digne-les-Bagnes and into the department of Vars, holiday land. I can't believe we have cycled the length of France and gone over the alps in doing so.

Obviously the landscape is very different now.....dry shrubs and the very loud sounds of the cicadas (crickets) as we powered through rocky gorges. Chips and mayo land is a long way away.

The long distance and the hotter weather meant our fluid intake increased today, Brian was again excellent stopping the van in good spots so we could refuel. The route took us over a couple of climbs near the coast at the end, the cat 4 col de Gineste being particularly tough as we battled into a massive headwind that sapped strength, as if someone had attached a giant parachute to the backs of our bikes.

But we were rewarded with a fantastic views of the med and the port town of Marseille as we swung down to finish the stage.

The transfer 'au campervan' through Marseille city centre was predictably awkward with a seven berth campervan...indeed at one point we seemed to be trapped in the extreme centre, during rush hour with every exit involving bridges or tunnels that were too low for our 3.3 metre high vehicle. But we made it, and have plonked the van down at a campsite next to a boules pitch which is being enthusiastically used. Pizza delivery is on the way.

So we have ridden 10 stages of the Tour de France and crossed the alps and are now almost at our most southerly point (think the brief excursion into Spain on stage 16 goes further south).

I think that although we are pleased, even a cursory glance at the several dozen Tour de France magazine specials we have stockpiled reveals a horror show to come in the Pyrenees....stages 14, 15 and 16 could result in us becoming unstuck.

So there is no sense that we have done this yet, we need to wait for quite a few more stages yet before we can realistically see ourselves riding up the Champs Elysees in Paris.