To Villefranche-Sur-Saone

May 11, 2022

A short, easy day; almost a rest day, really. Somehow though we were more tired when we arrive in Villefranche-sur-Saone than you’d expect after a flat 25 mile ride along the river. Maybe the fact that half of the distance was on unsealed roads of varying quality had something to do with it.

With a day expected to rise to the mid-eighties we got out on the road early before it warmed up too much and rolled into Villefranche right about one. The ride itself was pleasant, almost always in sight of the Saone, a river that surprises us by feeling nearly as large here as the Rhone - it must be one of the great river’s largest tributaries. We’re out of the drama of the Rhone and the pre-Alps though, and the look is getting just the least bit monotonous - particularly along these dusty, cottonwood-fluffy unsealed paths. I think we’ll start moving our routes in the coming days further out into the countryside.

Leaving Lyon. We’re still cycling through it and its northern suburbs for at least seven miles, on a good bike path the whole way. The city impresses us again with how easy it is to access by bike.

Beyond Lyon finally, and on the opposite bank now. For most of the remaining miles to Villefranche we bike close to the river on an unsealed, carless road, passing through woods and an occasional small riverside community.

I wish I’d focused more on the figure in the distance. It almost looks like she’s flashing Rachael.

Road quality varies considerably, with this being the poorest. Rachael had the interesting observation that this looks like an exposed stretch of an old Roman road. Could easily be.

Approaching Trevoux, an attractive small town that actually is on the river. If we had this ride to do over I’d probably stay here instead.

Video sound track: New Beginnings, by Yasmin Williams

At the end of the ride we cross the Saone at the turnoff to Villefranche. Traffic is heavy, the bridge is narrow, so we take the sidewalk. But that’s narrow too, enough so that we walk. Once across the road is still narrow and the shoulder minimal, so from this direction at least Villefranche makes a lukewarm first impression on us.

Crossing the river at the turnoff to Villefranche-not-on-the-Saone, a surprisingly difficult town to bike into from this direction at least. Surprising that it’s easier to bike into Lyon, a sprawling city of two million.

Our hotel checkin isn’t available until about two, so we had the vision of arriving early and enjoying our lunch sitting in the shade beside the Saone. We were disappointed in this when we arrived in town though and belatedly realized that the misnamed Villefranche-sur-Saone isn’t actually on the river. Pretty close, and maybe historically it was; but now it’s about a mile and a half to the west. With no river we did the best we could by finding a bench beneath the plane trees in a central plaza to eat our lunch and supplement it with ice cream and a dessert crepe Rachael picked up from a nearby stand.

Surprisingly, we have a difficult time finding a restaurant for tonight. There’s the Ayer’s Rock Bar right next door if we want a Fosters lager, a rowdy crowd, and a rooburger; but most of the more attractive places are closed this evening. We settle on a nearby grill and enjoy a nice enough meal, but it’s a dry joint - there’s a significant middle-eastern population here, and I think the proprietors are Muslim - so that’s a minor disappointment for me anyway.

Walking back to our hotel we find a restaurant almost next door to our hotel that we missed somehow - it serves traditional cuisine, has a charming appearance and an attractive menu. It would have been perfect tonight, and would be so tomorrow too so I step in to ask about a reservation. Sorry, tomorrow is their rest day. Fap.

After our hard 25 miler I feel deserving of a drink so I stay downstairs and order a beer from the bar of our hotel. Surprisingly it’s a good craft beer from a local brewery - made here in Villefranche, on Albert Camus Boulevard. I like this, and I really like sitting out on the deck for the next hour sipping it, working on the blog, and listening to the incessant cacophony of hundreds of crows coming to roost in the plane trees above. After an hour the crows are still at it so I have a nightcap - an IPA this time, which I mangle so she doesn’t understand me and I have to point to my selection. Oh - Eee-pay-aah, she corrects me.

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Keith AdamsNo wonder you were tired, with those brutal climbs to finish your day.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Keith AdamsYup. That one killer was easily a hundred feet!
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2 years ago

Ride stats today: 25 miles, 1,000’; for the tour: 1,676 miles, 83,300’

Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 1,676 miles (2,697 km)

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Carolyn van HoeveHi Rachael & Scott. I'm still trying to decide between your itinerary in Germany, going back to Andalusia (which we loved) or your suggestion along the Via Rhona which looked extraordinary up to Crémieu. How do the costs of accommodation/food compare? We would be looking to stay in similar lodgings to you.
Looking forward to reading about the Cycle Blaze meet up!
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Carolyn van HoeveWe haent kept track of expenses because we’d rather not know (it’s stil cheaper than living at home anyway!), but certainly I think it would be less expensive in general in almost anywhere in Spain than almost anywhere in France.
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2 years ago

Keith KleinHi,
I always had a hard time finding a restaurant in Villefranche, so I’ve learned to go elsewhere on the road to or from Lyon.

Cheers,
Keith
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Keith KleinNow you tell me!
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2 years ago

Bob KoreisWhere in Europe can we find both pleasant riding and no cottonwood trees? I wish we’d been carrying masks while in the Po Valley a few years back. The cottonwoods were too prolific.
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2 years ago

Scott AndersonTo Bob KoreisDefinitely an irritant. Maybe Almeria?
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2 years ago