First off, to get a jump on those sticklers for detail out there: yes, we know this itinerary covers more than Burgundy; but it’s mostly Burgundy, plus some transitional yardage around the edges.  It just feels like a useful partitioning for describing the next chunk of the journey.

Furthermore, we know that the French don’t think of this as Burgundy anyway - it’s Bourgogne to them; so really we should call it that while we’re here too.  We won’t be doing that though, because I don’t think I could ever pronounce it correctly anyway and no one would know what we were talking about.  I’m feeling pretty pleased that I’m finally able to ask for a carafe d’eau in a restaurant without eliciting a blank stare, but Bourgogne is beyond the range of what I can hope to succeed with.

Anyway, whatever we call this chunk it looks like a very nice, relaxed ride.  We’re out of the high country for the coming weeks, and we have a pretty leisurely schedule lined up: 12 stops in 18 days - on average, we’ve got a layover for riding without luggage every other day.  On top of that, most of our travel days are pretty short, averaging around 30 miles a day.  It sounds wonderful.

But why should you believe any of this anyway?  This is the fourth preview we’ve presented for the tour, and the three previous ones were all destined for significant revisions.  Why not this time?

Well, anything’s possible of course; but we’re more confident about keeping to this plan than we usually are.  Why?  Because we have commitments!  As some of you know by now, we’ll have company for most of this time.  Susan Carpenter is steaming her way through central France for a meet-up with us in Bourge; and Suzanne and János will be driving over from their home near Munich to meet up with us there too.  After that, for roughly ten days the five of us will be traveling together and sharing meals nightly; so that should definitely help us to keep on track.  If you aren’t following them already, you should check in with Susan’s journal and Suzanne’s.  When we all meet up we plan to claim the record for the largest CycleBlaze meet-up ever on European soil!

Oh, wait.  I’m getting smug and have spoken too soon.  At dinner tonight the waiter looked confused when I asked for a carafe d’eau, and corrected me after I repeated it.  So Bourgogne is definitely out.  Maybe I’ll stick with ordering vin rouge, which always seems to get through.

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