|
Week 2
Saturday 20 May
Clefmont
Woke up this morning to a really nasty day, gale force winds and the rain was coming down by the bucket (sideways). There was no way we were leaving today.
We began to worry a bit as there is no bakery in this village, but when I got out to check the tent lines between showers I noticed this bakery van that went around and delivered to all the villages in the area. It is not the first time we had seen this, and we found it a very welcomed surprise as we had
stopped them in the middle of the road many times in the past few days for bread and sweet rolls. Anyway back to this day I chased him down only to find out that he was coming to the camp site all along, it was an arrangement he had with the grounds keeper that when he saw someone camping he would stop, but I wasn't taking any chances LOL. We got re-supplied with
croissants, bread, quiche and a couple of mini pizzas, we weren't going anywhere today so might as well get our energy back and relax.
At around 03:30 it
stopped raining and the sun came out for a bit, but the wind didn't let up, with force +/-7. We began to plan of a way out of here as tomorrow is
Sunday their would be nothing open and no bakery van either. We didn't want to spend another day here.
We decided to change directions and follow small country roads through the woods and small villages to shelter from the wind and rain.
This campground is
recommended only for emergency use only, it is really basic with only one toilet, we were glad to be alone there LOL
A very windy day at the very basic campground in Clefmont. Check out the poor little tree on the right, I
didn't think it was going to make it.
Sunday 21 May
Clefmont to Reservoir de la Liez
61kms 4 hours 40 min. Av.13.1 Total 611 kms
We woke up at 05:30 but dint get out of bed till 06:30 and at 07:30 we were on our way.
We were eager to leave as there was little wind and no rain in the
morning, and we dint bother with breakfast.
It wasn't a good idea because we soon lost our legs and had to stop anyway to
replenish our energy levels.
The idea we had yesterday worked very well as we avoided some climbing in exposed areas and when it did rain a bit we had plenty of farms nearby to take shelter. The wind was still there but not that strong force +/-4 but still a head wind.
We followed the small country roads to the Canal de la Marne a Saone, which we then followed all the way to Langres. We tried to find the campsite a Langres but no luck the only sign we saw was for the campsite next to the reservoir so we went there.
It was a good decision as this campsite was four star very clean it had everything including great views. This place was very popular with the Dutch.
Shame we
didn't have more time to hang around for another day.
Left to Right:
1- On the small village roads heading to the Canal de la Marne a Saone.
2- Heavy overcast sky but a nice ride on the quiet canal.
3- The sign says it all.
4- View from the restaurant patio by the camping at Reservoir de la Liez.
Monday 22 May
Reservoir de la Liez to Reneve
97 kms 6 hours 50 min. Av. 14.2 Total 708 kms
Woke up at 06:00 and were on the road by 07:30. Getting
better at starting quicker in the morning finally getting a bit more
organized. This day was to be one of the wettest day so far, it's funny sometimes when it only happens to rain when we were in the middle of nowhere. The day started out pretty good untill we came to this area that was weird, the people looked strange, depressed and we both had bad vibes about the place.
I felt that something real bad had
happened there in the past.
As we rode to the village of Montigny-Mornay, we got caught in this thunder storm just before the village, when it slowed enough to continue we went in looking for a campground because we had gotten soaked through and through. We took shelter in this barn that smelled of milk and this old lady and her son came out and we greeted them, her son dint say anything he just put on his farmers boots and left, a few minutes later this old lady came back out and offered us coffee, we accepted and went into her kitchen, I'm sure she was a nice old woman but man she even gave me the
creeps, she looked very depressed and when I asked about an old family picture she almost started to cry, I just wanted to leave.
We went around that farm to where she said was the campground but no way it was nothing but a field so we doubled back about 4kms to chateau de la Romagne but it was closed. While trying to pass that village again we got soaked again.
So we kicked it on high gear and got the hell out of there real fast.
We checked out Chateau de la Rosieres (from the road) but that looked like one of those
Hollywood Dracula castles so we continued on to the canal de la Marne a saone again.
When there we
stopped to ask this old man walking his dog about a B&B in the area, his dog
tried to attack me, also he had one dead eye, I mean real weird.
We just looked at Paul B's book and saw there was a B&B at Reneve so we hightailed it over there and fast.
Getting to this B&B was easy enough but after agreeing on the price it was still a problem because, as the
hostess explained her husband was a chef and they liked to give the room with a five coarse dinner which we had to decline, it was just not in our budget.
The room was fantastic almost as good as home, everything included, it was warm, had a soft bed and we slept very well.
I highly
recommend this place. And even though the very nice hostess might not agree with what I'm about to write, if one does show up late, and they have a free room I'm sure she would be flexible enough and give it up without diner, some money is
better than no money after all.
1- The dam at Resevoir de la Liez.
2- A gothic church with purple doors very very creepy place it will never see us again.
3- Rest stop and shelter from the rain, this went on all day long.
Tuesday 23 May
Reneve to Beaune, France
80 kms 5 hours 45 min. Av.13.9 Total 787 kms
Woke up at 05:30 but the bed was so comfortable that we stayed another 45 minutes.
We loaded the bikes and went for breakfast, and what a breakfast, coffee, juice, eggs, fruit, cheese, meat, 3 types of bread, butter,
marmalade, muesli, corn flakes and milk.
And I probably forgot a couple of things hehe. Now that is a start for a days cycling.
The weather had changed for the
better, some clouds the sun even came out from time to time but the wind never let up though, head wind force 3/4 the whole day.
Today Paul B's route took us through 3 large woods and it was great riding. The woods also helped with
shielding us from the wind.
We got into Beaune easy enough, truly a trouble free day. It was nice for a change.
The only problem we
encountered so far is the lack of information in Paul B's route about being re-supplied. We have to keep getting of the route to find supermarkets.
We are now nearing wine producing country and hopefully a little
better scenery, not that gothic look from the previous days ride.
Camping in Beaune is OK I guess fairly clean but very busy, it's just a stop over for many heading south and it's in the center of town.
We met this Canadian couple, also cyclists, they have been coming to France for many years but they said only for short tours lately as they are getting old and they have problems with their knees. When I saw the gear range they had on their bikes I knew why, their lowest gears was somewhere in the middle range for us,
For loaded touring it was really high, but its their knees, not ours.
1- The sun came out as we cycled through the woods, it was finally getting dry and warming up.
2- Finally wine country, now we feel like we are getting somewhere, till now the scenery was almost like home.
3- Heaving diner in the tent, salad meat and cheese.
Wensday 24 May
Beaune to Cluny, France
85 kms 6 hours Av. 14.1 Total 873 kms
We got up at 05:30 and were on the road by 07:00. It was a very cold night and cold morning, but the sky was clear and it promised to be a very nice day. Cycling through the rolling hills and the vine yards was really nice.
At Chagny we found a supermarket and got re-supplied and continued on this small river and through a small wood towards Girvy.
At Givry we got on this old railway line that was disused, they had removed the tracks, paved it over, and turned it into a bicycle path. The path was very easy as the trains could not handle steep grades so the ride was easy and very scenic.
It was great riding on this path for the last +/-45kms to Cluny.
1- Riding through the vine yards just after Beaune,
early in the morning.
2- Train station on the old disused railroad line.
Thursday 25 May
Cluny to Charlieu, France
76 kms 6 hours Av. 12.8 Total 949 kms
Woke up at 07:00 and were on the road by 08:15.
Cluny was a very nice town and the camping was also nice and clean.
This morning before we left we had a nice chat with this cyclist named Henk, he was doing the same route but backwards and exploring the areas much more, he had a lot more time than us. A very nice guy and we shared some tips of the route and cycle touring in general.
We also met another guy from Amsterdam, and what a jerk he was, he just kept on talking and it
didn't matter to him what was coming out his mouth, he kept on about his Koga Miyata bike and it cost 1900 euro and everyone had one, we suspected he was doing this to impress people, we were glad he was heading the opposite direction.
The day started out nice, it got a bit cloudy later and also
drizzled some just before we reached the camp.
The first climb began right after Cluny a nice grade +/-7% which we
managed with no problem. The problem was when we asked this farmer for directions and he sent us the wrong way, probably had a nice laugh later. Anyway we ended up doing three extra climbs today but very scenic with many great views, we
truly enjoyed going the wrong way. It was over three wooded hills, no trafic a very
beautiful ride. At Matour we got back on track and headed for Col de la Croix d'Auterre at 550m, also a nice grade with great views all around.
Just before the summit we met this other cyclist Jose from Switzerland, heading the opposite direction. He had been touring for many years and we shared many tips and
experiences. We hoped we could stay and chat longer as he seemed a very nice fellow.
He also has a web page
www.velo-touren.ch, he has done some very
impressive tours and climbs around Europe especially in the Swiss Alps.
Afterwards we had a very nice decent of about 30kms very nice end to the day. We passed a few very
beautiful chateaux's today, no wander this area seems to be very popular with cycle tourists as we see more and more, not all stop to chat. I am still very surprised at Monique she handles the hills very well.
Camping at Charlieu is basic, clean and fairly priced.
1- Having a chat with Henk.
2- Chating with Jose.
3- We promised them that if they posed for us we would immortalize them on the net.
4- The very beautiful Chateaux de Bourgogne la Clayette.
Friday 26 May
Charlieu to Montbrison, France
100kms 7 hours 30 min. Av. 13.4 Total 1049 kms
Woke up a bit late today 08:00 and were on the road by 09:00. We had a nice a quiet morning ride, we took the D487 than the D482 for a while, than
finally found this canal and rode into Roanne. It is a big city and we got out of there quick.
Now the difficult part began, after crossing the Loire river by this dam at Barrage there was this
really nasty climb which had us gasping. Than the instructions of the book got a bit confusing and we ended up doing some extra climbs by Cordelle, very nice riding though, and very scenic. At Mars we got back on track and followed the Gorges de la Loire to St. Jodard crossed over again had a very long climb up to Pommiers.
From then on it was a long easy climb of about 30kms to Montbrison. We also did a long and difficult climb to this camping that wasn't really much so we doubled back and found the second camping, that too wasn't much, but it was clean, very basic, and it was near the center of town and we could get re-supplied and have a few cold ones in the evening.
We
chatted with this nice Dutch couple that were doing a tour in this old van that they had put together for the purpose, great people.
Note; About 80% of the people we have met, on bicycles, motorcycles, campers and trailers are from Holland.
1- A panoramic view of the river Loire and the dam we crossed. We came from the right on the opposite bank.
You can just make out the road half way the hill.
2- Almost the 1000 km mark.
3- The beautifull winding road along the Loire river.
4- Chateau La Roche on the Loire. |