Villenauxe-la-Grande to Epernay

June 10, 2023

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We had some problems along the way but we have made it to the last day of the planned riding or our trip. It has been an incredible trip and we are all wishing that we had planned a longer trip. We have 44 miles to go and we start off slow wanting to draw it for as long as possible.

Another nice road leading to the goat diary.

While planning todays route I noticed someone had flagged a goat farm that produced cheese. I looked it up on the web and was a bit disappointed to see it would not be open to the public when we passed. I did see they had a vending machine that dispensed their cheese. I have seen vending machines all over the world dispensing everything from drinks, pizza, fries, hot coffee in cans, chips and of course drinks but only in France have I seen cheese and baguette vending machines. We stopped at the machine and after a few false starts we walked away with a valencay and a brie like goat cheese and some good goat petting and donkey scratching.

This rooster came at us fast to protect his farm but then jumped into his coop.

The country side has transitioned into hills and the this morning we are again straight into the uphill. We loved the bikes paths and the chateaux but the hills are where you get the big views. The hills are where you sweat you way up to be rewarded with a view to the far horizon and a nice but all too short down hill.

Cool quiet road for our first climb this morning.

Our stop for todays was in the town of Sezzane. It was only 15 miles into the day and a bit early for our preferred stopping time but it was the only place we could pick up supplies for lunch. First stop however was the coffee shop. You don't see many places that say coffee shop in France so it was too good a chance to pass up. Our expectations were not high when we saw his large home style espresso machine behind the small counter but we went ahead and ordered three cappuccinos. The verdict was that they were excellent, complete with chocolate on top just like the ones I grew up on back in Australia.

We have been cutting most of our bread and food with my small pocket knife that I have carried for many years and with all this bread and cheese consumption I thought it would be good to get something a little bigger to carry. My son Tom had bought a tradition French Opinel folding knife on one of his trips and I thought that would be a great addition to our traveling gear and a great souvenir from France. I looked them up online and much to my surprise there was a store in Sezzane that sold them and it was just next to the boulangerie for our bread supply.

Look at that sharp blade. The guy that sold it to us said you could shave with it!

Well stocked with Coffee, food and a new knife we set off for the next hill. The day was warm and some of the hills were starting to get longer, we even called in on the relatives today and got granny gear out for a few climbs.

I have really started to love these small French roads.

An unexpected monolith appears on the horizon.

We came to the top of one climb to see this giant read rock sticking up. At first we could not figure out if it was natural or man made but it definitely need a stop. Turns out it was man made for the end of the First World War. It was one of the strangest war memorials I have seen but it did have a great view and some nice grass for us to have lunch on and the verdict on the new knife, it is very sharp!

Not sure what the flying naked woman symbolized but someone thought it was a good idea.

Our afternoon was hot with lots of hill climbs some of them steep. Each time we reached a summit the view just seemed to get better and better the closer we got to Epernay. We stopped many times just to admire the scenery and draw out this perfect day on the road.

Our last section into Epernay was a nice long downhill. I always love a day that ends with a down hill and free miles. Todays downhill was a superb way to end, we could just sit and admire the beautiful grape growing valley opening before us as the miles flowed.

We have arrived in Epernay! We are both happy and sad. Our trip is not over yet but we have always had Bordeaux as the start and Epernay as the end of the riding in our heads. We plan on riding around Epernay for a few days before heading to Paris but its not the same as moving across a country. Now its on to part 3 of our trip and welcome to Ryan.

Today's ride: 45 miles (72 km)
Total: 577 miles (929 km)

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