St. Dizier to Mulhouse (162 miles)

What happens when you upset a formidable fraulein? Answer - she growls. My first taste of mountain life and she's not happy. I've headed towards the German/Swiss border - towards the Rhine. The Vosges is a taster of what is to come. Mountainous but not the Alps. I was heading for the Grand Ballon via the "des Cretes" route. Day started differently. No more motorways. Just rural France with the shuttered windows, farm traffic and the old men - always watching. The morning dew was so heavy the sun couldn't budge it. Felt like I was travelling in the cloud line. Bright sun followed by thick wet fog followed by bright sun punctuated by excellent coffee. On hitting the mountains I selected sport mode, gritted my teeth & dug in. As I ascended, I had the first taste of the Germanic growl. A 90 degree corner, brake, drop a gear, accelerate. "GRRRRRRRRRRR - you're slow pig dog Englander!” Next take a 180 degree hairpin in 2nd and hit the throttle. "GRRRRRRRR - where's ya balls!" shouts angry fraulein & proceeds to nearly tear my arms off. My rodeo ride is made complete by spectacular landscapes - the road spirals through dark canopies to mountain top ski lifts in bright sunshine to beautifully secluded lakes. . Downhill was even more fun. Note to diary -when dealing with angry frauleins don't try and stop them. Now at hotel. Arriving just after me was a Scottish group. What did they arrive in? A Magnum style Ferrari, an old skool Mini Cooper & a 1.8GLX Ford Sierra. True Scots.