May 25, 2022
To Avallon
Today would be my last day cycling with our small group of Cycle Blazers as I would be off tomorrow morning to visit friends who live near the Canal Nivernais. Once again, we planned to meet at the Collégiale Notre-Dame church at ten, with a pre-departure visit inside the church to view the stained-glass panels commemorating the American soldiers who participated in WWI (Thank you Keith Klein for alerting us to the panels). Then it was time for a group photo. We lined up with our bikes while Suzanne set up her camera and tripod in the square in front of the church. After a few quick snaps capturing our smiles and bonhomie, the camera was secured and we rolled across the cobbles, one after another. There was a small break in ranks as we descended from town, with Rachael and Janos electing to follow Scott down the ramparts while Suzanne and I took the more sensible road option. But we all made it across Pont Joly and were on our way to Avallon.
It was a glorious morning with deep blue skies and white clouds. About three miles out of town, my iPhone went dead, leaving me without navigation or means of communication. Luckily, Rachael had stopped up ahead to respond to an earlier text from me and I was able to follow her Époisses where we set up her phone as a WiFi hotspot so I could download the route onto my “US iPhone.” I normally keep the cellular setting off on this phone, using it only when WiFi is available. I had been downloading the daily RWGPS routes on both phones so as to have back-up on the road. However, I’d gotten a bit relaxed while traveling with the group and neglected to keep up with the daily downloads. Although I could have activated the cellular on my second phone, the incident served to emphasize that redundancy is a key component of safety on the road.
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The commune of Époisses is notable for two things - Époisses cheese and the Château d'Époisses. The cheese is a soft cheese with a wine-rubbed rind, giving it an orangish/reddish color. The château is a privately owned 12th century medieval castle whose grounds are open to visitors. We took a fair bit of time exploring the grounds and just enjoying the day. Then it was back on the bikes for the climb to Pisy, a rather gradual climb that offered increasingly broader views of the surrounding countryside. We took a somewhat leisurely lunch in Pisy, finding a nice shaded courtyard with concrete benches, then continued on small roads descending into Montréal, a town I’d visited in 2015. We were back on the larger D957 for the final run into Avallon, a less enjoyable stretch that included a moderate climb, a headwind, and an increasing amount of traffic as we got closer to our lodging near the older part of town.
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We were all staying in the same hotel/restaurant, a modest lodging with an unimpressive breakfast menu. However, there was a shared kitchen where we could prepare and eat our own breakfast, so after cleaning up Rachael and I set out on a food mission: bakery, grocery, restaurant. We checked out a little bit of Avallon, found a bakery that would be open early the next morning, identified a suitable restaurant for dinner, and stocked up on eggs, ham, cheese and fruit at the grocery store. A highly successful mission, if I do say.
Dinner was a mix of good food, long waits between courses, and once again, easy conversations among friends. From my perspective, it had been a most wonderful journey through Burgundy with four special people – good cycling with good folks.
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2 years ago
2 years ago
Today's ride: 27 miles (43 km)
Total: 1,178 miles (1,896 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
Good job in documenting the tour of Burgundy with the other Cycleblazers (as well as the rest of your "skipping about the continent.) Your words and pictures really convey what a great time you all had.
2 years ago
2 years ago