August 2, 2008
Montbard - Tonnerre: Start along the Canal de Bourgogne
Today we said adieu to our car. We were able to leave it on the campground's parking lot - a great solution. There were no charges and it was definitely safer than parking the car on the street for five days. Life was simpler now with just our bikes and what fit into the panniers.
When we left the campground the sun was shining and the air fresh. Perfect. In the course of the day it clouded over, got grey and rained a teeny bit. For the most part we followed the Canal de Bourgogne. The canal paths from Montbard to Tonnerre were fairly good, short stretches were on a sealed surface and some bits were a bit bumpy, but all in all fine, a pretty ride, nothing dramatic, just good old pedalling.
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For the first few kilometers of our ride we had an official bike path, shortly after that we rode on a tow path where cyclists are "tolerated". This seems to be a feature of many canals in France. Officially, all traffic - including bicycles - is prohibited. However, in all tourism publications it is stated that although prohibited, bicycles are tolerated - if you behave yourself. Which of course we did. I guess tourism profits from this arrangement, and so did we.
It was only a few kilometers on the official (not prohibited) bike path to the Grande Forge de Buffon, the 18th-century home, gardens and foundry created by the naturalist Georges-Louis de Buffon (whom I mentioned in yesterday's journal). The Grande Forge, originally a water powered foundry, incorporated the most advanced thinking of its era. The blast furnace and forge, closed in 1866, have been recently reconstructed and displays include full-size replicas of the blast furnace bellows and the water-wheel that powered them.
When we got to the Chateau of Ancy-le-Franc it started to rain. We then discovered we would have to wait an hour for the next guided tour to start (visiting the interior on your own wasn't possible), and that the tour would take an hour. Since cycling on the towpaths was slow going and we didn't know how long it would still take to get to Tonnerre, we decided to skip the chateau. Later, with more information, we realized this was a mistake. I read in Internet: "The interiors have the richest array of sixteenth-century frescoes and wall-paintings after the Château de Fontainebleau." This wasn't the firt time we were too impatient to be on our way. I guess we'll never learn.
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Finding the campground in Tonnerre was easy, the canal bike path went right past it on its way into town. Here we again encountered the French couple, très sympathique and approximately our age, who were also at the campground in Montbard. I made some feeble attempts at communication and would have enjoyed a more lengthy conversation, but tired as I was after a day's cycling my French wasn't so hot. We did establish that we would all be following the same route for the next few days, that their lovely big tent was quite heavy and that they were pulling a trailer (not so common in Europe). They were almost the only camping cyclists we encountered on the whole trip.
The campground resaurant was featuring Mexican night and the portions were very generous. I don't know whether it was the small tent, really too narrow for two people, or the heavy meal that caused me to sleep so poorly. Probably a combination of the two.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 85 km (53 miles)
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