September 7, 1993
To Vezelay
I figure this is a stroke of luck - only two days into the tour, and already a day likely to stay in our memory for decades!
This was a very long day. We started with an enjoyable petit dejeunet at the hotel - rolls, marmalade and wonderful coffee - maybe the best I've ever had. From Joigny we followed the Yonne River east a short distance to Migennes, a lovely little village on the canal with a beautifully tiled steeple on its church - and then, after asking directions every few blocks from four different persons before finding the route south toward Seignelay and Auxerre.
The countryside is still beautiful - intermittent forests, corn fields, sunflowers, and stone-house villages. I had almost planned to avoid this route, bypassing Auxerre and finding a quieter road south from Joigny, but Rachael talked me into this choice based on reviewing the guide map. It was lucky she did - Auxerre has a splendid old town with a breathtaking gothic cathedral - wonderful stained glass, tremendous graceful arches, and made more splendid still by the organ which was being played while we were there.
We left Auxerre about one, and headed south along extremely quiet, flat, narrow traffic-free roads that hugged the banks of the Yonne. It would be hard to improve on this setting for biking, except that after about ten miles it began lightly raining. We wrapped ourselves up (not without some difficulty - Rachael's rain boots barely fit over her new shoes) and continued south, crossing the river several times to find the quietest route, and passing through a series of very small villages.
Things began to fall apart after Mailly-le-Chateau. Twice within five miles we (I) took a wrong turn and headed away from the river and uphill for several miles before realizing we had screwed up. We added about twelve miles to the day's ride this way. We got high enough above the river to have some fine views of the Yonne valley and the limestone cliffs lining the river here, but in the rain especially it was not worth it.
The last ten or fifteen miles were beautiful, but miserable. The mild rain gradually increased to a near downpour, and we came into the hills at the same time. By the time we reached Vezelay at six we were prepared for any room we could find and were soaked through - our rain gear had long ago lost its effectiveness.
Fortunately we found a room right away - expensive but worth it, having a full tub in which we took turns soaking and thawing out, and a space heater which was effective at drying our shoes before the next morning.
After getting dry clothes on, we borrowed an umbrella and wandered out into the village for food, settling on a nearby creperie - and then headed back to our room, where Rachael read and I instantly fell asleep. We were awakened in the night by a tremendous and lengthy thunderstorm and a deluge outside our windows.
Today's ride: 102 km (63 miles)
Total: 197 km (122 miles)
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