This was a ride. It's probably about 1500km from Geneva to Bilbao, but without a specific time limit we certainly didn't go the short way. That said, we did want to get down from the mountains and out of the cold. it was snowing in the lower parts of Switzerland while we were there, and as we set out to cross the alps, the mediterranean coast beckoned forcefully.
The certitude of rising temperatures as we descended helped to warm all but the bodily extremities as we went up the mountains and into the cold... we´d had a dose of alpine scenery and roads while in Switzerland - as we crossed the gotthard pass and from the top of the rigi, but we really did want to get up close to the big hills. Em was still nursing the idea of a day on skis too, so we decided to head directly south, crossing the alps near Martigny before getting a bed at Chamonix.
As you see, there was no question of camping in the tent. It was our first time in a youth hostel for a long time, and was without particular interest or incident. we checked out a glacier museum before checking in, and that whet our appetites for the real thing - glaciers - before continuing our ride the next day. 
It turned out we were a couple of weeks early for the ski season, bummer enough, but that we were there on the one day a year when the gondola to the Aiguille du Midi was closed for maintenance. A shame, but one less distraction to keep us from heading south. Andy, trina, tim and oli, molly and chris, hope you're carving as we speak ... anyhow we headed downhill, through endless curves, and down from winter to autumn once again. Sweet, stolen apples were delicious and memorable, as were the views, the rest stops and the shared trust over hundreds of miles of backroads.
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