May 14, 2018
A Rainy Rest Day in Villefranche Sur Saone -taking care of business
When we woke up we had every intention of having a full day of riding, riding south bypassing Lyon. However, the weather forecast predicted heavy rain until noon and then a better afternoon. We decided to sit it out in our comfortable hotel room until noon and take the time to go through our panniers and trailer to figure out what wasn’t essential.
We have been unhappy at how heavy our load has become. While waiting out the rain we decided to prepare a package to mail home. When we checked out at noon it was still raining really hard and we could not get help from the staff on how to reach the post office, that is the one post office that remains open during lunch time. I guess something was lost in translation as we spent the next hour riding up and down the Main Street looking for the post office. We enquirer from shop owners and no one seemed to know where it was. We eventually just stumbled upon it by accident on a small side street. Yes, this post office was open during lunch but most of the staff was on their lunch break. It took a very long time to complete the process, but we were able to send a 15 pound parcel of gear back to Canada. This will definitely help to lighten the load in our trailer. At this point it was unwise to set out riding as we will be riding by Lyon, France’s second largest city. We have decided that on this trip we will give Lyon a miss as the city deserves a longer visit than we can afford. We have heard that riding through Lyon can be a real challenge. Riding through at rush hour would be a nightmare. So, where to stay ?
We went to the tourist office and spent a long time trying to find a cheap place to stay. The staff wanted to be helpful but didn’t have any answers or resources - no maps, no idea on routes to follow,etc. Barry found the listing for a bed and breakfast that was close by and the staff tried to phone but after a long time they said their phone system was not working properly. Barry said that he would walk to the chambre d’hote himself. After a long walk, he found the place but it was no longer in business. After all this we headed back to the Ibis and chose their budget one next door. During the week a lot of hotels increase their rates and we were able to get a room for20 euros cheaper, and we liked it better. The staff are very friendly, the room is more spacious.
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Today's ride: 12 km (7 miles)
Total: 1,197 km (743 miles)
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5 years ago