Mom
Bike: Geneva to Motz, 41 miles, 3000 feet of climb
Accommodation: Auberge de Motz (http://www.hotel-chautagne.com/). Double room with private bath, no wifi.
Dinner: hotel dining room menu of the day: gaspacho, mushroom pasta, and apricot pastry
Sad news from home early this morning. My mother, who has been struggling with dementia, strokes, and falls, is in the hospital and not doing well. My sister is visiting her daughter on the East Coast, and my brother lives in Montana. We are all three making plans to get to Minnesota as soon as possible.
I found a flight from Geneva early Monday morning, and a return flight arriving in Geneva early next Saturday afternoon. As it turns out, we have rented an apartment in Aix-les-Bains, on Lac du Bourget, in the French Alps, for the next week, from Sunday through Saturday. Aix is only a little over an hour from Geneva by train. Ken has decided to stay in Aix while I travel back to Minnesota. Our bikes need some minor repairs and adjustments, and there are a couple of good bike shops in town. There’s the lake (the largest freshwater lake in France), and some nice bike routes, and thermal hot springs, and an old abbey. He’ll have a good five days there.
Next Saturday, we have a room booked in Annecy, about 25 miles away, on another lake. Because of train schedules, I’ll get back to Aix about 18:00, too late for us to bike to Annecy, but there is a train that will get us and our bikes there in about 45 minutes. Lots of pieces to put together, but it looks like it will work. I’ll get to Minnesota to spend time with my family, Ken and the bikes will rest and repair in Aix, and the two of us will continue our tour of France at the end of the week.
The ride to Motz was another wonderful one, with just a little hike-a-bike at the very end. (We seem to always find places to stay that are at the top of a steep climb.) Motz is just a tiny village on the hillside above the Rhone River, with an old stone hotel where we stayed, a church, and a few houses. The concierge gave me a glass of cold water when I checked in—I think I looked pretty rough. The heat index on the road climbing up to Motz was about 114 degrees. Boiling.
Cool showers, a fan, and glasses of Coke with ice made us feel much better. We had dinner reservations at the hotel (the only place to get food for miles around), and we rested while we waited for the dining room to open at 19:00. After dinner, about the time I was falling asleep, I got a text from Joshua saying he and his cousin Travis were with my mother. She was heavily medicated because of pain, and not responsive. I called Joshua and asked him to lay the phone by her ear so I could tell her I loved her and hear her breathing and feel a little connection, though she likely was not aware at all.
My sister and her oldest daughter will be with her late tonight. My brother will be there tomorrow. We don’t expect her to make it until I get there Monday.
It was soothing to be in a lovely, quiet place for the night.
 |
| Someone played with the sunflowers☺. |
 |
| Our first view of Lac du Bourget as we drop down into the valley. |
 |
| A tiny town on the lake. |
 |
| View from the lane below our hotel at sunset, looking down the valley in the direction we will head in the morning. |
