St Genix-sur-Guiers to Vertrieu

October 2, 2023

So this little B&B we stayed at last night was fabulous. Big room, huge bathroom with old-timey bathtub (yes we indulged) and quirky but classy accents everywhere. And then dinner. Well, it turns out the owner/vacuumer/bedmaker/chef - same guy who took our bikes and put them into his garage - was a sous chef in several Michelin starred restaurants including Shanghai, Hong Kong, and a few French cities. He names all these chefs like we should know them. So he opens a bottle of red wine (that he has made from the local Marquette grape) - excellent - and then a 3 course meal that could certainly be at home in a high end restaurant. I will only show the appetizer to give you an idea....

The rest was of similar quality. How much? 30 euros each. Get out of here!

Breakfast was similarly fantastic. If you are on Eurovelo 17 and don't mind a short jaunt (4.5 km) off the path, try out the Fleur de Frangipanier B&B and say hello to Christophe for us.

We had to double back those few km to get to the river (Via Rhona) again and rode along these verdant fields that we were trying to identify. So pretty in the morning sun.

I am guessing they are a nitrogen fixing plant that they till under, but Marjory decides to use technology to identify what they are. I am happy just to gaze at the bright colour - green always seems like the colour of life to me.

Marjory wades in, uses her iPhone to find out that its Afalfa, an important crop for livestock but sometimes used as a "cover crop".

Although we have trails for the first few km's, there are brief excursions through villages, which might be my favourite part. Here we bike past a community oven, which looks like it has had recent use.

Back on the trails, and the infrastructure stays impressive.

Along the river for quite some time, and some gorgeous views. We didn't actually go on this bridge, just under it and we kept looking for a place to snap a photo. You can see how little wind there is today with the calm water.

And here under the bridge.

Another brief excursion into a village. Lots of stone buildings that are certainly centuries old. This tractor doesn't look a whole lot newer...

Very little work occurs on Mondays in rural France.

We then get on a highway for about 10km with no real bike lane, no shoulders, and lots of trucks. Not our favourite part. Finally, we get onto a tiny road and see ahead these giant chestnut trees which heralded the return to the river. You can just see the blue peaking out over that stone wall ahead.

Two large chestnut trees "guard" the entrance to the bike paths along the river.

We came upon these curious signs for about 5km and every 100m or so at the intersection of any tiny path or driveway. We are supposed to stop our bikes and walk them across until the next sign which says okay, you can ride again. That's 50 times in 5km. We didn't witness anyone else obeying these signs either!

Finally we see Vertrieux from a power station bridge.

The tiny road running into town is lined with more stone walls.

We turn into the Relais du Destin but nobody answers the bell until checkin time (don't you know?) so we head out back and enjoy the grounds. I am at the river side (yes, its right on the river) and that manor house is where we are staying tonight. Wow.

Lots of chairs and tables to take in the view of the river. I chose the only sensible option.

I hear some movement inside as I finish typing, looks like its check in time!

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 486 km (302 miles)

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