May 16, 2022
To Autun
The Morvan
The rains came last night, a drenching thunderous storm. But the skies were clearing this morning and after a nice French breakfast, I headed out about for Autun, hoping to get there in plenty of time to visit the bicycle store for a new helmet and cleat repair. I also wanted them to check if my gearing needs adjustment as Vivien George had been complaining a bit. The additional stop at the bike store caused me to replot my route to Autun, forsaking time on the small roads of the Morvan for a more direct route on the larger D981. I’d been looking forward to cycling in Parc naturel régional du Morvan, it was what gave me the idea of the regional park tour theme.
The Parc naturel régional du Morvan is part of an area generally known as the Morvan. It is located in the Department of Bourgogne -Franche-Comté and is the smallest mountain area in France, both in terms of area and elevation. I’d previously cycled in the general area of the Morvan but until this past year had been leery of the climbs – a consequence of many years of cycling in Iowa. Now that I’ve learned to enjoy elevation, I was keen to experience the Morvan by bike, even just a little piece of it. And after today, I can’t wait to come back for more.
The morning was spent on small roads, winding through farms and pastures as I made my way up and into the Morvan. I’m not sure when I actually crossed the park boundaries, but it really doesn’t matter. It was just a glorious ride through a rolling landscape of green pastures and white cows – I was loving every minute of it and kept stopping for a photo that could begin to capture the experience. One note, I had a little problem with my camera and resorted to my iPhone for some of the photos, so the pictures in the section below represent my best recollection of their chronological order, with few captions.
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It was getting hungry out and though I was loving the small rural roads, there were few places to pull over for a food break – traffic was sparse but I didn’t want to sit in the road or the ditch. I finally found a small piece of flat land by a cattle gate and pulled over – Vivien George rested against the gate while Vincent and Ace hung out together on the fence. It was so peaceful I could have taken a nap. Instead, we all packed up and headed down the hill, only to realize our idyllic morning had come to an end. We had come to D981.
The last half of the ride was on D981, the main road through the southern part of Morvan. It was not heavily trafficked and with a bit of a shoulder it could be an excellent route for some. But I don’t much enjoy roads like this – they put me in a different mindset where my focus is on the road and not my surroundings. However, I made good progress and the spire of the Autun cathedral soon appeared in the distance.
After arriving in town, I dropped my bags at the hotel and headed over to Tacnet Cycles where I received excellent service. They had the proper screw for my cleat, told me how to improve my chain oiling routine, and I bought a new yellow helmet. I celebrated the day with ice cream and an Orangina.
Today's ride: 39 miles (63 km)
Total: 921 miles (1,482 km)
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