April 23, 2023
A Dijon letter
Dijon to Lons-Le-Saunier
It had rained overnight but was just cold and gloomy on my early morning walk around Dijon. There is not much happening on a Sunday morning. I can’t even find a boulangerie that is open. John is up by the time I get back and we cook up the mushrooms and beans left over from last night. It’s a long cycle today, but mostly flat. A persistent headwind doesn’t help but at least it’s not raining.
Riding out of the city I have to remind myself to keep on the right. It’s fine once you’re going but it’s when you stop for a coffee the instinct is go back to what seems normal. I usually put something on the right side of my handlebar to remind me. On my first trip it was a Lance Armstrong ‘Livestrong’ wristband. I regret that one! On this trip I’ve got a picture of Harry and we have a good old chat every day.
After a few wrong turns we make it out of Dijon and onto a bike path that leads us along a canal that we follow for about 20ks. It’s easy riding but gets a bit monotonous as it’s dead straight the whole way. I was pretty relaxed, thinking how lucky am I, cycling in France with great company when suddenly 2 dogs came from nowhere straight towards me. I reached for my Hornit air horn, my most recent gear addition that I didn’t think I’d need to use so early in my trip. They stopped dead in their tracks. Crisis averted.
Eventually we turn onto the Canal du Rhone and follow it for another hour. It wiggles around like a river so is at least more interesting. After another hour we leave the canal and head through a forest on an ever deteriorating bike track. It gets muddy and boggy so we leave that at the first opportunity and stick to the road. It’s Sunday so there’s hardly a car to be seen.
Another bike path takes us on a disused railway line. Fancy that! Converting old railway lines to cycleways. Who would have thought. It’s starting to rain again so an old railway building with a nice awning makes a perfect lunch stop.
The rain clears and the sun even tries to poke out as we venture south. You can see the landscape changing and there’s mountains looming in the distance, but that’s for tomorrow. I’m more worried about the storm clouds building up in the distance that look black and menacing. The first clap of thunder make us hope we can find some shelter before we get drenched. On cue there’s a farmhouse with a big enough eve for us to huddle under just as the heavens open.
The heavily pregnant owner sees us and makes us a short black to warm us up! I show her the picture of Harry and she also agrees that he is the most beautiful baby in the world.
Eventually the rain cleared and we rode the last 30ks to Lon’s-Le Saunier a beautiful old town in the foothills of the Jura. We’ve earned our beers tonight.
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1 year ago
Today's ride: 100 km (62 miles)
Total: 289 km (179 miles)
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