September 16, 2023
Day 4: EuroVelo 6 across France
Choisey to Chalon-Sur-Saone
Today felt like a typical "Melbourne day" - we started out riding in the rain and ended up cycling in full sun with a strong headwind to finish. Fortunately, the cold that usually accompanies wet weather in Melbourne (Australia) was absent.
David led us out of town and onto the EuroVelo route for our 95 km ride to Chalon-Sur-Saône, a town with a population of around 45,000 people. Fun fact: Chalon-Sur-Saône is famous as the birthplace of photography, and local resident Nicéphore Niépce took the earliest surviving photograph here. I knew you'd like that!
The rain was constant, but it was refreshing after yesterday's heat of 28°C. Our American teammate, David, set a cracking pace early, and it was challenging to keep up with this 72-year-old powerhouse!
Today's ride differed from our first three days. We spent less time by the canals and the Doubs River and more time exploring the many French villages along the way. One memorable moment occurred as we passed through Damparis. The drivers were incredibly courteous; one even drove slowly behind us for about a kilometre to ensure our safety until we left the main road. I know that he was a talent scout from Team Trek-Segafredo, looking to replace their top rider for next year's Tour de France. After a kilometre, he'd clearly seen enough - I'll start packing my bags when I get back to Australia!
We rejoined the river at Saint-Symphorien-sur-Saône (try saying that three times fast) and rode a few more kilometres before leaving the EV6 at Losne to cross the bridge into Saint-Jean-de-Losne. We headed straight to a nearby brasserie to order coffee and pastries - except we got our French mixed up and ended up in a pub that served gin and tonic instead! We finally found a café with a very French theme (who would've guessed!) called Comptoir des Négociants (Trader's Counter), where we filled up on coffee and tarts. The owners seemed impressed with our adventure, and for a moment, we seemed younger in their eyes - until we all queued up for the bathroom like old men!
The journey continued through villages like Pagny-le-Ville, Lechâtelet, and Labruyère. The countryside was lush and green, and the river was full, but it was clear that the rains hadn't come early enough for the crops. Fields of sunflowers and corn had been left to rot. At one point, I gingerly got off my bike and opened an ear of corn near the road - it didn’t even look good enough for stock feed.
After our morning coffee stop, we turned into the village of Seurre for lunch. Seurre is famous for its Saturday morning markets, known to be the best in the region - perhaps all of France! These markets offer exquisite, artisan-prepared foods. How do I know this? Because they were packing up as we arrived! So, it was another jambon baguette from the nearby boulangerie. We spent some time people-watching in the marketplace, soaking in the sense of community as locals caught up on town news, shared gossip, and wondered about the guy in padded bike shorts observing them!
As we passed through Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, we reached the point where the Doubs River, which we’ve followed for much of our journey, meets the Saône River.
The only downside of today's route was riding on several secondary and tertiary roads, but it was a Saturday, and traffic was light. Drivers were respectful, giving us a wide berth when overtaking - a stark contrast to Australia, where some drivers make it a sport to pass as closely as possible to cyclists.
As we approached the final stretch toward our destination, the sun blazed through the clouds, and we were hit by a headwind that felt like a hurricane. Just what you need after covering 300 km over the past four days! I should mention again that I’m not a cyclist in Australia - I don’t own Lycra (though I love padded shorts), and I've only cycled about six times in the past few months, none over 50 km. I’m doomed not to finish this ride!
The sun was scorching by this time. Fortunately. Col supplied us all with sunscreen (and demonstrated how to apply it!!)
After 20 km of hot, windy cycling, we finally arrived at our destination, only to find that our twin rooms were actually doubles. After some negotiation, the landlord kindly rearranged the beds, though we were charged a 20 Euro surcharge for twin share, which we knew about. My roomie, David, didn't go for my suggestion that we could save the 20 Euro by sharing the double bed!
Today's ride: 95 km (59 miles)
Total: 305 km (189 miles)
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