So we’ve managed to fritter away our morning somehow and are out of time. I’m loathe to get behind, because when am I going to get caught up again when we’re always on the road? And if we’re late folks might wonder if we fell into the nearest canal and washed down toward the Seine. So, many photos with few words.
Susan is gone but Suzanne and János are still with us for one more ride. We enjoy a decent meal at our hotel and then I make my exit to work on the blog (for yesterday) sitting outside the hotel staring up at the magnificent abbey. The square is empty when I first sit down, but eventually a few walkers show up, then a crew that starts bringing in and assembling an array of bicycles for an apparent tour group; then a caravan of motorcyclists who line up their machines and take their selfies with their bike and the abbey in the background; and then a stream of vintage cars enter the square and are parked in front of the abbey for another set of trophy photos. By the time I step inside to pack for departure my fingers are stiff from the morning chill.
Suzanne was quite pleased with our breakfast this morning. The scrambled eggs, bacon and large croissants were nice enough, but mostly she was delighted with the orange juice squeezer.
That’s our hotel. Our room is the top window on the left, and our friends’ is directly below it. After breakfast I retired to one of the outside tables to work on the blog and watch the village slowly come to life.
The recently restored facade of Vézelay Abbey. There will be more photos and some stolen narrative coming soon to a website near you, but for now let’s just admire a pretty face.
A parade of vintage cars drove through the upper town this morning and posed in front of the abbey. It seemed out of place to me, but this one was special. Perfectly color coordinated!
It’s our last day (for now at least) of biking with friends, so it’s especially pleasing that we’ve saved such a fine ride for the end. The first fifteen miles are lumpy, rising and falling over a string of six ridges as we cross what must be the northernmost reaches of the Morvan, a part of France we haven’t explored before but need to come back to. It’s strikingly beautiful this morning, some of the finest miles of the tour.
In the Yonne, the northernmost department in Burgundy. The department gets its name from the Yonne River, which flows northward through it and empties into the Seine.
In the Yonne, or so I think. The first ten miles of the ride bounce over a series of low ridges, so maybe we’re crossing the northernmost outreaches of the Morvan.
Susan CarpenterHey, I was in Brosses just the day before. Great cycling area.. Too bad we couldn’t have arranged to meet up had I known we were cycling in the same area. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Video sound track: Juvenescence, by YasminWilliams
Fifteen miles into the ride we come to the Yonne River and its paralleling Nivernais Canal and leave all the day’s work behind. The remaining miles are flat - modestly downriver actually - as we hug the canal for 18 miles until reaching Auxerre. We bike alone, having left Suzanne and János by the bank of the canal eating lunch. We’re biking on alone because we hope to find an open bike shop when we reach town that will look at my gearing problem.
Along the Canal du Nivernais, which generally parallels the Yonne River. We’ll be following it for the next 18 miles.
Along the Canal du Nivernais/Yonne. In many places the canal and river converge and then reseparate. The nature of the waterway continuously goes back and forth between river and canal.
We arrive in Auxerre right at 2 and check into the modest Ibis Economy hotel right across the river from central Auxerre. There’s a well regarded bike store three blocks away that we head off to immediately. I tell the mechanic our situation and he quickly cuts us short and apologizes - they’re fully booked until June 17th! I ask if he could at least take a quick look and offer a diagnosis, which might help us decide what to do next. He does, and two minutes later returns my repaired bike with a smile - the shifting cable had come loose and needed repositioning and tightening. No charge.
Back at the hotel we meet up with our traveling mates who arrived just after we did. János has his own problems, and he’s looking at his loose, wobbling pedals. They head off to the same bike shop and return not long afterwards with a fresh set of pedals installed. Pretty great service at a bike shop with no room in their schedule for the next three weeks!
So, that nearly concludes our memorable, congenial tour within a tour with friends. There’s still the evening ahead to take a look at, but we’ll save that for the morning.
Crossing the Yonne and entering Auxerre. Ahead is the cathedral, one of three monumental religious structures in the city.
