The morning gets an early start, when Susan walks down the street at 7 to pick up pastries while Rachael brews the coffee and scrambles up a mess of eggs. A big feast ensues, the best breakfast of this tour within a tour.
My contribution to breakfast so far has consisted of robust moral support, but I plan to at least clean up afterwards and wash the dishes. Unfortunately spry Mr. Kertesz gets to the sink first and I’m left without a role. Which is fine.
An hour later Susan is off to an undisclosed location. She’s clued us in on where she’s going of course, but that’s her tale to tell and we don’t want to spoil the suspense for her. You’ll just have to wait and read her journal when she catches up.
It’s just turning nine and Susan’s off on her own, bound for a roasted chicken feast at her friend’s home. We’ll meet up again next week in Paris.
An hour later the remaining four of us assemble in the courtyard for our own departure. And fifteen minutes or so after that we’re out the door and on the road after a joint exercise in futility when Rachael tries to help Suzanne load our route for the day to her device. It ends in failure, so after the first few miles they’ll go their own way on a route she had created earlier.
The four of us get a later start, partly because Suzanne has technical difficulties loading the day’s route. Even the mobile tech support team is unable to help.
Scott AndersonTo Lucy MartinYes, but they’re recessed (designed for Shimano Clik’r pedals) so they work well as walkers as well as bike shoes. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
The first several miles of the day’s ride are a delight, starting with a sweeping descent to the Cousin River that swirls in a narrow valley straight beneath Avallon. It’s slow going at first as we find one excuse after another to stop with a camera, but finally we pull away and regroup in Pontaubert before going our separate ways for the rest of the ride.
On the steep descent from Avallon, looking down into the Cousin Valley.
Notre Dame church, Pontauban - just another Romanesque masterpiece we probably should have stepped inside of. You can’t stop for everything though, and we’ve only been riding for three miles.
TTFN. We’re separating from Suzanne and János here and will meet up in Vézelay. Suzanne couldn’t load our route so they’re going to follow hers that she’d previously loaded.
And then, Suzanne and János are off, leaving us while they follow their own route the rest of the way to Vézelay. Suzanne has clued us in on where they’re going of course, but that’s her tale to tell and we don’t want to spoil the suspense for her. You’ll just have to wait and read her journal when she catches up.
I hope Suzanne and János are pleased with their route because ours is very quiet and beautiful. Cool and gray today though, with a slight threat of showers.
Notre Dame is a few blocks off route, and Rachael apparently didn’t see it and continued biking. I phone ahead to alert her that I’ve been unavoidably detained for awhile.
marilyn swettCool picture! I wonder about the history of using gargoyles as drain spouts on churches? And that little creature below is quite interesting. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
Scott AndersonTo marilyn swettI love that mischievous looking gnome too. I wonder if he has a structural function, lending support to the gargoyle. Reply to this comment 2 years ago
We’re returning to Vézelay after 29 years, hoping for a better look than we gave the place in 1993, when we arrived in the pouring rain and didn’t see the place at all. We’re due for a better look this time, but you’ll have to wait a bit until we can at least check into our room. In the meantime I’ll enjoy sitting here in the sun in front of the hotel sipping at this very nice amber from the Brasserie de Vézelay. We’ll be back after a short break.
We’re in Vezelay too early to check in to our hotel, so I volunteer to sit and watch the bikes for the next hour while Rachael takes a short hike.
