Chagny to La Salle

October 10, 2021

This is day 33 of the tour. Imagine that! Keeping track of time just hasn't been a priority. It's a great freedom that we've never experienced on a tour before. We spent a total of 25 days sleeping in campgrounds. That's a new record for us. As I mentioned yesterday, it has worn us down quite a lot. Now I see time starting to slip away from us. I expect us to finish the ViaRhôna, but I'm not sure how much more we'll be able to complete before we have to return to Paris to wrap things up.

The wine barrel camping was pretty nice. It was warm enough for us to sleep well. We ate both dinner and breakfast indoors, despite the lovely little deck. We were able to pack our gear from the comfort of the benches inside. If you find a campground that has these and want to glamp a bit, I recommend giving one a try.

The owners of the B&B we booked tonight were going to be away until 6pm, so we purposely took our time and left the campground at the 10am checkout:

We soon found ourselves on yet another canal, Le Canal du Centre, which had quite a few watercraft, and automated locks! Fancy schmancy!

We looked forward to seeing the lovely-sounding Chalon-sur-Saône. What we saw was anything but lovely: undefaced Marine Le Pen posters, anti-pass-sanitaire stickers. There was a decidedly depressed Rust Belt feeling in the air. While Sunyoung stocked up on food at the local Aldi, I was left to interact with some of the local characters. We soon established that there was a (protective) language barrier, but some charades led to me understanding that they needed to borrow a pen. I thought, hmm, what kind of ruse is this, keeping a close eye on our belongings. But I gave them the pen, one of them dictated something to another while we waited (Sunyoung had returned in the meantime), and they very politely returned the pen. I wonder what was so important that they had to write down?

Before we knew it, the clock struck noon and it was time to eat. We found a picnic table at the start of a strangely landlocked bike trail. It had one of those bike maintenance stations, so I took advantage of the pump to inflate our tires fully. The pump was finicky but it worked.

We didn't get our first glimpse of the Saône until the second crossing:

We spent the rest of the day on the west bank of the Saône. It wasn't boring, though. At one point, we shared the path with some cows:

There were no humans for a long time, then suddenly there were a lot:

The kids here are even friendlier than the adults

We kept our promise of visiting a bar every afternoon. Concerned that places would be closed on Sunday, I searched a bit and found a few open at the town of Tournus. It's a charming place, and the bar we visited was very pleasant too. We could get used to this kind of touring.

Wouldn't you know it, it was at this time that I noticed that my handling was all wobbly, which usually means a flat tire. Sure enough, it was another slow leak. I thought it appropriate to change the tire in front of the bicycle museum:

I wanted to visit the museum, but Sunyoung was less interested. At this point we were running low on time, so I decided not to twist her arm. The patch held fine, allowing us to continue to the next activity, which was getting near this evening's lodgings and finding something to eat. The backup plan was to cook on the trail somewhere. We found refuge in the hamlet of Fleurville, which is located next to a major highway, and has some fast food options that are open on Sunday. We chose this place called Pascal Picca, which claimed to have pizza. They did not. We settled for salad and a baguette, which we supplemented with our cheese. More like lunch than dinner. I have a feeling this will be a recurring theme for us as we look for vegetarian food on the road rather than in the grocery stores.

Finally we arrived at this peaceful oasis. We hardly know what to do with ourselves. We're living in the lap of luxury.

Our hosts are very kind. They make Sunyoung feel comfortable enough that the conversation flows well. It's basic, but it's warm. Just like this room we are enjoying.

We have been riding for 8 days without a rest day. Tomorrow will be our 9th. Physically, we're fine. Riding on flat terrain at a moderate pace isn't taxing except when the surface is rough. Mentally, however, I think we're overdue. So we'll enjoy a day off in Lyon before tackling the next stage of the tour.

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 2,047 km (1,271 miles)

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