July 28, 2014
Circling the objective: Home to Maurepas via Dourdan, or Avoiding Paris by the southern route
There is a limited number of options for using the train to get from home in Burgundy to a reasonable starting place for a shortish tour. This time, I chose to go to Paris by the slow train (3hours) and a quick dash to the southwestern suburbs. This would give me a chance to swing around the western edge of the Paris megalopolis, taking in the sights, such as they are, before making a northerly turn to Normandy. So far, the plan is working, not with out some glitches though. Getting to Paris was easy, and I rode from the Gare de Bercy, where the train from Dijon arrives to the Gare de Austerlitz without a hitch. Then the fun started. The ticket machine for the region de Centre, which manages the train I wanted to take wouldn't allow me to purchase a ticket to Dourdan, where I wanted to start the tour. Ditto the machine for the mainline SNCF trains, which told me I needed to see the agent at the main ticket window. The ticket agent couldn't sell me a ticket either because Dourdan is considered to be in the suburbs, so I needed to see the suburban window, which was in the basement of the Gare. The elevator was out of order, so I lifted my bike and trundled down to the suburban window, bought my ticket, and trundled back up to the main level from whence my train would leave. The train was announced, but because the driver hadn't shown up yet, it was still locked at the platform. To cut to the chase, the driver arrived, the doors were opened, and the trip to Dourdan went without a hitch.
From Dourdan, I went through the Foret de Rambouillet, which was a lot of trees punctuated by villages clustered around chateaus. A pleasant enough ride with enough climbing to make it interesting. I made it to the conurbation of Maurepas about five thirty, time to start looking for a place to spend the night. No campgrounds in the vicinity, this being in the outer suburbs, I booked myself into a Formule1 hotel. Spartan, to be sure, but the price is right at 31 euros the night . Restaurant choice was very limited, so I got a pizza, and called it a night.
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Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 61 km (38 miles)
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