Beaune to Pouilly-en-Auxois

July 6, 2018

Today's route took me over the hills of Côte-de-Beaune to Pouilly-en-Auxois. It was sunny, not too hot, and promised to be a short but wonderful day of cycling. The first ten miles were a gentle uphill through the trees to Bouilland, and I was feeling great. The route steepened a bit for a couple of miles before I rounded a curve and headed downhill to Becoup. At Becoup, I turned off the D-road and continued downhill on a small road through fields of recently harvested hay. "How lucky am I" I thought, stopping to snap a few photos. Famous last words.

The small paved road became an unpaved farm road. The ground seemed solid enough and, not wanting to backtrack up to Becoup, I continued on. The road narrowed and the ground softened it descended into the woods. Picking up speed as I maneuvered around rocks and debris, I was both thrilled and anxious - gaining confidence in myself and Vivien George to handle these off-road adventures. Suddenly, the road was blocked by barbed-wire fence. I was cheered by the presence of a gate, but it was securely fastened with wire, twine and chain. Cow pies bore evidence of cattle recently in the area and I spied a trash pile beyond the gate, indicating that I was on/near a farm. While I was a little leery of waltzing onto someone's private property, no "Keep Out" signs were posted. I took the only reasonable option: going under the fence. I checked to make sure that I could clear the rusted wire, then tossed the panniers under. Vivien George had to be pushed, pulled and dragged, but she too made it to the other side. I walked cautiously forward past the trash pile, on the lookout for cattle and farmers. What I found was another fence! There was a gravel road beyond the gate, so I quickly executed my "under the fence routine" and was soon racing away, having spotted neither two- nor four-legged beings. Within minuets, the gravel drive became paved and took me into Le Pont d'Ouche and the Canal du Bourgogne. Yippee - time for lunch!

Cycling the small, open roads in the French countryside - how lucky am I?

Just another farm road - no stopping us now

The road is blocked by a barbed-wire fence with a very well-secured gate

Not to be foiled, Vivien Geoge and I make our way under the fence

Another gate required another execution of our under the fence maneuver

There was a wonderful little canal-side bistro in Le Pont d'Ouche where I stopped for a relaxing lunch of gazpacho, couscous and people watching. Numerous cyclists were out enjoying the day, and I visited a bit with two women from Australia on a biking/wine tasting vacation. The canal route was quite tame compared to my morning overland adventures. This was the fifth canal route I'd ridden, but I hadn't tired of seeing the reflected tree canopy and the variety of boats puttering down the canal or permanently docked along the quai.

Pouilly-en-Auxois welcomed me with a large artwork of a person on a bike - a good sign. I stayed at a family run hotel-restaurant, where everyone seemed to know one another. Families were decked out in blue/white/red, and the air filled with cheers and honking horns each time France scored a goal. They beat Uruguay 2-0 and are headed to the World Cup semi-finals. A very satisfying day.

Lunch at a canal-side bistro in Le Pont d'Ouche

Today's ride: 28 miles (45 km)
Total: 1,243 miles (2,000 km)

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Suzanne GibsonHow brave of you to crawl under the fences and venture into uncharted territory!
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6 years ago

Susan CarpenterSuzanne - I really did not have much of a choice. I was not going to backtrack uphill on that dirt road. I wasn't too concerned about running into the landowner/farmer as the people I met in France we so welcoming and helpful. Cows are usually not aggressive, but a bull might have been a different story!!
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6 years ago