Missing...

Our penultimate day on this year's tour began with shocking news that Tony had disappeared (the more astute of you might recall that this has happened once before). Not initially perturbed, we sat outside in the Zurich sunshine and enjoyed breakfast while planning a route to Nancy in France. Only upon checking out did we realise that Tony's disappearance might have more sinister connotations. Alien abduction isn't any more common in Switzerland than elsewhere apparently but it was clear that this is what had happened here. All that was left behind was a pair of used pants which were giving off a strange vapour and a screwed up note from a hotel maid in Florence suggesting that she doesn't get paid nearly enough to clear up whatever mess Tony had left. Probably toothpaste in the sink or somesuch.

Fearing a similar fate, we hotfooted it from Zurich riding a much less boring route than expected back in to France (after the Alps of the day before, anything would seem second best by comparison). Arriving in Nancy in 30 degrees and astonishingly all as one we spent a sultry evening enjoying all that Nancy's Irish bar had to offer and also scored our first Indian of the trip.

Friday will be our last day away. Bruges is a nice place but even we know when enough is enough and 550 miles to Ashbourne is within range. We depart at 7am...