Day 7 St Sorlin to St Jean de Maurienne "The possibility of failure. . ."

It is the possibility that something might go wrong that makes the thing worth doing in the first place. There would be little excitement in climbing if climbers never fell or motor racing if cars never crashed. The actual going wrong is a different kettle of fish altogether. The crashing or the falling do not enhance the experience of the participant. It is an interesting philosophical point but not one that concerned me greatly as I left the Chateau d'If with a spring in my step and ne'er a backward glance.'

The bike had done everything asked of it without complaint until towards the end of the previous day when there began an ominous clicking from the rear mech. Adjusting gears at the roadside is not easy especially when the bike is filthy and there is a large bag on the back. I was not too concerned when I could not sort it out at the time. I seemed to have fixed it that evening. It was something of a disappointment when I set off to find that the gears were still jumping all over the place. Adjustments made no difference so, in the absence of a better explanation I put it down to a sticky chain. For the next 40k or so I looked out for somewhere that might let me have a bit of oil. As I started the first climb of the day there was still nothing in sight. Luckily I met a couple of local cyclists at the top of the Col. They told me how to find the ironmongers in the next village. I was slightly anxious about what I should ask for not knowing the French equivalent of WD40. It's WD40 by the way. Big spraying left oily gunk all over the pavement outside the cafe so I moved on and tried to adjust the gears again at the foot of the next climb. Instead it all got worse. The chain was falling off the small chain ring and wedging itself against the frame. I couldn't use the big gears I was counting on to get me up this and several more mountains.

I spent at least an hour on and off the bike trying to sort it before flogging up to the top of the 989m climb in the wrong gear. I felt like throwing the bike into the hedge, like frustrated pros do on the Tour de France but what is the point of histrionics if no one is watching. Anyway it was quite expensive and there was no team car coming to pick me up . The next 60 miles were like having splinters pushed under your finger nails with gears jumping all  over the place. The bike shop man in St Jean thinks he's fixed it. A 2000m col tomorrow should prove whether he is right.

The body is also starting to crack up. Some sort of swelling has appeared at the bottom of my right shin as if I had been kicked playing football. If anyone has any idea what this might be do let me know. There are the usual aches and pains in the usual places. The Sudocream is about to run out so I had to go into the French pharmacy tonight and explain to the smart young lady what I wanted and where I intended to put it. Pointing was not an option. I also bought some sort of potion for my shin. If only I could remember which is which.

On a happier note the scenery today has become increasingly spectacular. The Rhone valley soon gave way to typical alpine scenery with small areas of cultivation and high pasture. The two climbs up the Col de la Cussille(573m) and Col de L'Epine (989m) were pleasantly tree lined. The view from the top was spectacular across Chambery to the snow capped mountains of the Haute Savoie.

All set for Italy tomorrow. I feel as though I am starting a tour of countries eliminated from the world cup. I will be back in England shortly. I am surprised Slovenia didn't put them out of their misery. Let us hope that further bike problems remain just a possibility.