October 23, 2011
Beaune to Montelimar by train: heading south
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WEATHER: sunny at first, then foggy, then cloudy
After breakfast we loaded up our bikes and pedaled to the train station through pleasant residential areas of Beaune. We knew that the local TER train would have a car with a bicycle symbol and several hangers for 'velos'. We never know ahead of time where the velo car will be located and the train stops at the minor stations for only two or three minutes, so it's a bit stressful wondering whether we'll manage to load the bikes and duffels containing our panniers before the train takes off again. Luckily this time we saw two cycle tourists descending from the velo car, and they kindly helped us on with our bikes.
We enjoyed looking out the window at the route to Lyon going the opposite direction from the trip north twelve days before. The Lyon train station was packed with people, perhaps weekend travellers returning home. We had an hour to wait there before our southbound train and purchased baguettes for the journey. Since this train, a local TER with a velo car, started from Lyon, it was waiting at its platform, and we had plenty of time to wheel our bikes up the ramp, stash our gear and get settled.
Enroute to Montelimar the train travelled about 90 minutes south along the Rhone river past Tain-l'Hermitage, where incredibly steep vineyards climbed the hillside. No way could any mechanical device be used on these grapevines. We also passed several cooling towers for nuclear power plants, a sober reminder that close to 80% of France's electricity comes from nuclear power. We were glad we weren't cycling this route and glad that Montelimar was a good distance south of these towers.
We arrived in Montelimar about 3:00. Our hotel, Citotel le Sphinx, (http://www.sphinx-hotel.fr/en/) was just across a large park from the train station. Even though thick dark clouds loomed, the park was crowded with people on this Sunday afternoon, and we walked our bikes past a duck pond and a corral with miniature animals, not to mention a pigeonnier. The park had lots of grass and billed itself as 'English style'.
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Le Sphinx hotel is in a 17th century building (a former private home) with a courtyard just off the main street. Our large room on the second floor had 12 foot ceilings, and we were told that the third floor ceilings were even higher. We explored the old part of town, quite pleasant, but all closed up on Sunday, and then asked the hotel proprietor for restaurant recommendations. Only a few places were open on Sunday, and we found ourselves in a very modern building near the town hall at Le 45eme bistro, where we had a surprisingly excellent dinner: gazpacho with tomato-basil sorbet to start, then a chicken brochette with ratatouille, and a very good pineapple carpaccio with pineapple sorbet for dessert. The demi-pichet of Cotes du Rhone wine complemented the meal nicely.
Just after we walked back to our hotel, the heavens opened and the rain poured down, but we were warm and dry and content.
Tomorrow we would start the second part of our tour from Montelimar to Arles:
Today's ride: 3 km (2 miles)
Total: 399 km (248 miles)
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