A quick entry today as I haven't uploaded photos yet and dont have much time on this Internet
It was raining when we woke up, it was raining when we had breakfast, it was raining when we packed up and it was raining when we left, it was raining when we stopped for a cuppa at a nice cafe but by 1 or 2pm it slowed to a fine drizzle and then by about 4pm it had pretty much stopped. Not the best days cycling in the world but you have to take the good with the bad.
We had some more good climbs today, if 'good' is the right word. Not as steep as the English hills but pretty long. Very very nice scenery though. The green of the forest is really intense.
When we arrived at the campground we met a girl from the Netherlands who had a fright last night. Some one threw her bike on her tent while she was sleeping.....she was very shaken up, still is. Police called, tent broken, bike OK, she is physically OK but pretty nervous. She is cycling alone to Rome and is now on the hunt for a new tent and is continuing on her way. Pretty scary stuff.
Hopefully not so much rain tomorrow but we will ride on regardless.
Saturday 29 May 2010 Basel to Wil (near Laufenburg) 71km
We left Basel today a little worried about our stamina after being sick but we both felt pretty good so off we went. Luckily it was early when we left as we made quite a mess of getting into the city from the airport hotel via quiet streets. After spending what felt like an age just getting to the start of our days riding we stopped at a cafe and had some yummies and a coffee. Actually Sandy ordered a tea but they gave her Earl Grey and the only person on the planet I know that likes Earl Grey is Sandy's mum Mary. I had a curry ham roll and it was sooo good and my expresso was perfect. After our little rest we grabbed some bread and started out on the EuroVelo 6 path.
It was a good thing the path was very well signposted as it weaved it's way across Basel but we were taken past some lovely sights and suburbs. We saw a covered bridge, Roman ruins, majestic hills, dark forests and of course the powerful river. The forest has taken on a new depth since the hills have started and it's all very 'Teddy Bears Picnic' or maybe that was 'Blair Witch', either way it was impressive.
The perfect route signposting let us down a little bit near Stein and Sisseln as we must have taken a wrong turn. To reduce the damage done we studied the map and followed a more direct path to get back on the EuroVelo 6 so we got to see some lovely industrial parks and factories. These are the things you don't see in the tourist brochures :)
Roman ruins
As we rode we were both very surprised at how good we felt considering the three days convalescing in Basel, which was a good thing as the first campground marked on the map didn't allow camping????? Yeah we didn't get it either, they had lots of little mobile home sort of things and was called a 'Campground' but they don't do camping, ah well off we went. We filled up the extra water bladder expecting to have to rough camp it as the next marked campground was some ways away. We rode and really didn't find many spots you could rough camp but we felt OK so we eventually made it to the next campground. One thing we have noticed in Europe that is different to Australia (OK there are more than one thing) is when there is a signpost on the side of the road pointing to a town or campground they never put the distance. At home you'll see the camping sign and almost certainly it will have 1km, 5km, 20km or whatever distance. This is a bit important to a cycle tourist as that last 20km may be 1km too far. Anyway we saw the campground sign and the symbol on the map made it look about 3km away so off we rolled. Small problem is that so far in this country if you move away from a water course you go up. We rode, and rode, and rode went past the town that was marked on the other side of the campground on the map and keep riding. Just as we were having our doubts and wondering if we are going to ride all this way to find that this campground is like the last one and doesn't allow camping we see another 'Camping' sign. No distance but it gave us hope. Into another little town and then another sign but this one pointed up the side of a mountain.....bugger. Into granny gear and push. Now I'm carrying an extra 4kg of water just in case we need it so that makes the hills a little harder but we both felt pretty good. It was a considerable climb, we gained about 100m elevation over not too much distance. Thankfully around the next corner we saw the top of a caravan........more hope but after the last let down we knew that we could still be thwarted. At the top, we saw a tent...yah!!! We got off the bikes and hunted around until we found the guy who runs the joint. So now with a cup of tea, a shower, a snack and a magnificent view we're relaxing.
Thursday 27 and Friday 28 May 2010 Basel
A day off in Basel yesterday and another unplanned one today as Sandy had a bit of a relapse last night so we booked into another hotel to let her recover.
On a much brighter note, Basel is beautiful and we have made use of the very efficient tram system. We got given a 'Mobility Ticket' which provides free use of the public transport in Basel. Not only that but the trams are everywhere and it's very easy to find your way around. We did our sightseeing and some essential shopping all without walking too much.
Tuesday 25/5/2010 Mulhouse to Basel 45km
This was our last day in France but before we give the description of today I need to rewind to last night. We had pitched the tent a bit hot from the days ride and it became apparent that Sandy was not her usual self. We had our showers, ate some snacks but then Sandy wasnt hungry which is very unusual for a cycle tourist. She had a lie down while I posted the blog and then I cooked myself some very boring cous cous. It was about 9pm by this stage and Sandy still didnt want to eat. Luckily she had taken one of our cooking bowls in the tent with her when we went to bed as she very urgently needed to use it. She was sick, quite ill and we think from the boiled eggs we had rolling around one of our panniers for a couple of days. It's all OK to carry eggs and butter and the like when it's 10degC but it was 29degC today and in a black pannier in the sun it was probably a bit warmer. Anyway we're blaming the egg she had on her baguette for lunch as she felt a bit better this morning after a thorough purging and like the stoic trooper she is rode on to Basel today. She is now tucked up in bed relaxing. We have booked into a very nice B&B and are having two days off the bikes.
Apart from the health drama todays ride was all flat beside the canal to Basel.
Once in the city we plugged the address of the B&B into the GPS and followed it's directions. It's a pity a factory had been built over the road that the GPS thought still existed :) We backtracked and had a bit of a laugh.
UPDATE..... Turns out the egg was unduly blamed as Gary has also succumbed to the illness, so now we are both tucked up in bed feeling sorry for ourselves. Thankfully we have en-suite facilities.
The French statistics:
We rode 1600km, averaged 61km per day, no flat tyres and ate a lot of baguettes and pastries.
Monday 24 May 2010 L'Isle-s-le-Doubs to Mulhouse 85km
The cycle touring gods have smiled upon us for the last couple of days but today they were positivly cheering. Warm, clear and a tail wind, those three ingredients make for a wonderful days riding. Combine that with the wonderful company of Kevin and Mary from Plymouth (well very near Plymouth) and we had a top day.
Kevin and Mary are on their way to Basel
There is one terrible downside to all this warm weather, no more butter!!! We have become quite accustomed to butter and honey on our baguettes at lunch time and we will need to find a replacement that can handle a bit of warmth as it was 29degC when we arrived in Camp today. Also despite conscientious applications of sunscreen I also have an impressive bike tan coming on.
We sometimes have to be careful not to get complacent with our surroundings, it is so beautiful here and not just in bits and pieces but all the time that we find ourselves at times just riding along and starting to take it for granted.
Even better, tailwind, warm and downhill!!!!
The cycling culture here is amazing, on the canal path today we were forced to ride single file as there was so much cycle traffic that two abreast (love riding) was not an option. It also makes finding wee stops a bit tricky
Sunday 23 May 2010 Chalezeule to L'Isle-s-le-Doubs 65km
Absolutely stunning weather today (and yesterday for that matter). You can feel summer is just around the corner. If ever there was a day you felt like skipping through a flower filled meadow then this would be it, or at least riding by the river.
Not much to say today apart from wonderful cycling, albeit with a head wind.
Saturday 22 May 2010 St Jean de Losne to Chalezeule 98km
Historical towns visited - two
Churches with mosaic tiled roofs - three
Snake on path - one
Cycle tourist wearing ski goggles while on bike - one
Walking in on naked man in showers - one (this ones Sandy's)
In St Jean as we were buying our daily bread we bumped into this English chap and got chatting. Turns out he is retired and rebuilt a 93ft barge as a home and has lived on it with his wife since 2001 just cruising the European canals.
This is their boat
After been humilated by these two old guys on roadies we saw them again a couple of hours later on their way back. They must have done about 100km!!!!
Dole was absolutely stunning. We arrived and just couldn't believe how beautiful it was. We went into the Centré Ville and up these alleys past apartments in very old buildings.
One could imagine a very bohemian existence here. I could grow my hair long and play in bands......I guess that would be Plan 36B on our list of cunning plans we have come up with since this trip started. Next we saw a market and walked around in awe of the food that is available in the country. It was almost lunch time so we bought some tapenade, bread, cheese and some cooked chicken and sat outside and ate .
At that time we heard a brass band and a small parade appeared. There were people everywhere and such a happy atmosphere. Turns out that it was some festival. Very tempting to stay the night here and spend the afternoon just hanging out but we both felt we should get some miles under our tyres so we left.
We pulled into Orchamps (a little village by the canal) and there was a bar/cafe that looked inviting and we felt like a Coke to give us a lift. It was perfect, the bar was pretty good too :)
As Besancon was a bit too far we thought we'd stop at the next closest campground but when we got there we felt pretty good and it was only another 28km to Besancon so we kept going.
The canal going through a tunnel
And through a curtain of water out the other side
As we got closer to Besancon we noticed the countryside changing, there were now hills surrounding the river. We had been on pretty flat ground all the way from Roscoff but now we noticed a real change. We assume it is a taste of what's to come.
In Basancon the trail led us through the canal tunnel, it was probably 200m long. All very exciting.
Once in the campground we were pretty pleased with ourselves. We smashed out 98km and felt pretty damn good. Not only did we get to Bescancon we had to ride an extra 7km to get to the campground.
Well earnt beers
As for the naked guy..... in France for the most part the abultions blocks are mix ie while you make your way to the loo you pass the urinals on the way, this includes showers. Chalezeule campground, we're staying, the ablutions (showers, toilets, dish washing sinks) are sort of segregated but not really for instance to get to the dish washing sinks you go through the male showers. It just so happened when we went to wash our pots so too was a guy getting dressed outside of his shower cubicle.
Friday 21 May 2010 Chalon to St Jean de Losne 69km
Mosaic tiled roof
It was a hard day at the office today. The headwind was a killer but we still managed to pull 69km which surprised us.
We started on the Saone river today. From the brochure we got from the tourist office that showed the cycle routes we knew we needed to be on the north side of the river and that was all. Getting out of Chalon took a bit of GPS work and guessing. You see the Eurovelo route 6 is not finished, it's a grand idea and there has been a lot of money put towards it and the other routes through Europe and there is still work going on but it's not finished. What this means to us is that there is intermittent signage especially through the towns. Anyway we found our way to Gergy where the brochure had said there was a completed section of the route and we found our first Eurovelo 6 sign.......we were very excited!. 500M down the track there was a 'Road Closed' (actually it said 'Route Barrée') so naturally we rode around the barricade and moseyed down the track to then be confronted with a landslide that took out a section of the track with no way past. So it was a quick u-turn and back out to the main road a bit sad that we couldnt ride on the route (it's traffic free). 1Km down the road we see a side road that headed toward the river so we took a punt that it would meet up with the Eurovelo on the other side of the landslide and it did. Yah!! Casual cycling where the only thing we had to worry about was the head wind.
The Eurovelo track finished again not too much further on so we guessed we would have a day of finding sections of the track we could ride on. It turned out OK and we thought we might try to get to Dole but the headwind was starting to get us down. For the first time of the trip we broke out the iPods and listened to some music, not very sociable but it took our minds off the wind. We just swapped turns on the front and slogged it out. After having some lunch at Pagny-le-Ville at a beautiful spot by the river we stumbled upon the next section of Eurovelo track. We ate our yummy baguette and then found ourselves on a section of canal that bypassed a portion of the river for reasons unknown to us. We were riding OK although a little tired when we came to St Jean-de-Losne and as we rode from the town we saw on the opposite bank of the river a campground with a restaurant and tables by the water in an idyllic setting so we had a quick chat and decided that that would be a very nice place to hang out for the afternoon out of the wind. So it was back to the town, across the bridge and into the campground. 10 Euro well spent.
After pitching the tent and having showers we rode back into the town and found a perfect brasserie with tables outside under big trees on the banks of the river and surrounded by classic old buildings. We had a couple of beers and life was good. As we approach the end of our French story we are already feeling the pangs of indecision, “should we spend longer in France?” but I'm sure when we get to Switzerland we will love that just as much.
Wednesday 19 May 2010 Montchanin to Chalon-sur-Saone 57km
We ate ourselves stupid at the Novotel for breakfast, it was all-you-can-eat so we did. Because of our indulgence we declined our traditional morning patisserie yuumy and just bought two baguettes for lunch and afternnon tea.
The first leg of this leg saw us leave the canal to follow the trail signs and sure we got to see some lovely villages but we had to ride some hills to do it. Canal path flat, non-canal path not flat. It was OK though, we enjoyed the workout.
At the Novotel Sandy noticed some posters from the local region in the hotel that featured coloured tiled roofs on the houses in the area. So we set out hoping to see some. Not 10km into the ride we saw a gourp of houses on the canal with mosaic tiled roofs....very cool.
In one of the little villages the road went right through the middle of a farm, very charming and rustic. We had a laugh as around the corner of one of the buildings a sheep was been shorn.
Hey Norm, it takes three people to shear a sheep in France :)
The off-canal part of the ride was very nice and for the first time since England we saw hedge rows. It actually looked a bit like England.
Once back on the canal a boat flying the Australian flag was spotted and I called out, “It's an Aussie flag!” to which I was greeted with an enthusiastic nondescript yet typically Aussie call from the boat.
Not long after that we heard a couple coming up behind us while we were stopped at an intersection and not only did they speak English but we detected an Aussie accent. Sure enough it was a couple from Melbourne who had hired a car in Italy and were driving around Europe and while they stopped at each major place they would hire bikes and ride around to see the sights. We chatted for ages as I think both couples enjoyed the use of the English language :)
We rode into Chalon-sur-Saone and let the GPS find our way to the campground as it's a pretty big place. The GPS certainly didnt give us the tourist route as we saw some dodgy parts and we were both a bit let down as we need a day off the bikes and we like to do it in a nice place. Once we got to the campground we pitched the tent and then rode back into the centre of town and were very pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful town filled with very nice old buildings and shops.
That clinched it we will have a day off this bikes tomorrow and hang out here letting our legs recover.
Today also marks the end of another leg of the French chapter. We have completed the Canal du Centre and now follow the river Saone up to Dole
A magnificent morning's riding. We had traffic free canal paths made of hotmix bitumen, gorgeous scenery and we had a yummy morning tea. OK the morning tea thing happens every morning :)
That bridge raised vertically, I was impressed.
We saw lots of 'Camping' and Gîtes in the first two hours riding so we were happy that there would be somewhere to stay. We rode past lots of fancy canal boats and initially thought that we'd like to do that [hire a canal boat] but then realised that we'd have to seriously curb our eating as sitting on the 'poop deck' sipping tea and eating biscuits and croissants may cause some waistline expansion.
Most people are content to bring their bicycles??? And it was British flagged, does that mean they crossed the channel in it???
As we rode we lost our traffic free sanctuary and had to ride on the road albeit a very quiet one. The wind changed to be in our faces and the towns became a little urban. By the time we had lunch we hadn't seen a 'Camping' sign for awhile and a Gîte sign had become an endangered species. Four hours into our ride we had had enough and we seriously starting to look for somewhere to pitch our tent or lay our head and there was nothing on the trail. We headed West slightly off the canal into Montchanin hoping to see a tourist information centre but alas this was an industrial town and there was nothing. Sandy went into a Post Office to ask where the Information centre was but the town didnt have one and they didnt know of any Gîtes. I resorted to using the search facility on the GPS to find 'Lodging' and it came up with a Novotel. We were tired, hungry and prepared to pay for a flash hotel so we did. 2.5km later we wheeled into your typical Novotel. Once inside we could be in any Novotel in the World, apart from the obvious use of the French language. We were a little miffed at having to spend so much on a nights sleep but that was set aside once we realised we could get a hamburger and chips from room service and have a Gin & Tonic at the bar. We had been riding for five days straight and we were tired.
Sandy and I (over a G&T) discussed some of the downsides of cycle touring. The two big ones for us are: you dont really get a choice where you stay, at the end of the day you take what you can get or keep riding and sometimes you just cant keep riding. The other thing is even though it is a cheap way to travel the pace is very slow and this can sometimes get just a little frustrating.
