Orpierre, day 4, Franck's

I got up early for another burn on "Comme un Oiseau sans Ailes" with new route details (including the fact that it has gotten 1 grade harder because of a broken hold at the crux), but unfortunately was still too weak to send: I ran out of gas right at the crux. Ian snapped a few pictures of us warming up from the rooftop patio of the gite:

Don't worry, I was unharmed by MegaPigeon!:

After failing, I went back to the gite to help out with kids while chloe and Ian went to chateau for a little more climbing.

It had been drizzling rain for most of the last three days, but around lunchtime it began really pouring. We packed everything up, and crammed it Tetris-style into the Espace and then drove back in the rain to Grenoble. I was surprised to see a lot of motorcyclists out; it looked pretty miserable for them. Even driving in that kind of rain was not very fun. After dropping Ian and the Espace off at the train station, we settled down for a little rest and unpacking.

We had a lovely dinner at Franck's. He introduced us to an excellent sparkling wine with a startling color from Cerdon, and an incredible Bordeaux with dinner. Dessert was a fabulous strawberry cake, with special mini version with raspberries for Zoé and Arthur. At one point I stole a strawberry from her, which earned me a very stern look and a "you MECHANT" (naughty). Alex subsequently began melting down in earnest, and we had to leave.