Verdun sur Le Doubs to Cormatin - we begin a new route south - A Grand 3 Month European Tour on an E-Tandem - CycleBlaze

May 11, 2018

Verdun sur Le Doubs to Cormatin - we begin a new route south

Last night was one of those times when it was wonderful to just stay put in our apt. at the Gite as we felt so at home there. Plus we were chilled to the bone and tired. We had a home  cooked meal of pasta thanks to our wee kitchen, had very long hot showers in our amazing shower, crawled in to our comfy bed and read and worked on the journal. All in all, a perfect evening. We enjoyed the views from our window and the experience of staying within this very old French town at the Gite - tomorrow morning we will go for a wander around the village before we set off.

A funny coincidence -when Barry was trying to figure out where the proprietor of the Gite was yesterday when we arrived,  hewalked up and down stairs and around nooks and crannies, and mistakenly entered one of the guest rooms. The woman who answered the directed him to go downstairs and he came back to the bike (a bit rattled);and said, I think I just met Anna from Düsseldorf whom we had met in Dole a few days ago. Well at breakfast the next morning, Anna laughed and told us, that since she wasn’t wearing her glasses, she couldn’t see well and went back to her husband and said, I think I just spoke to Barry from Canada.......Aren’t great connections the best part of travel? We had a great visit over breakfast and it was a wonderful opportunity to get to know them better. And who knows, perhaps we’ll see them again when they or we least expect it.

Verdun sur Le Doubs is noted for its strategic position at the confluence of the Doubs and la Saone River. We are so glad that we took the time to wander around this village after breakfast as its charm and character deserved our time. As well as having the obvious attributes of a charming French village, there are many cats who live here who we got to meet and interact with. 😺

The ride to Chalon  sur la Saone was delightful, following the river.  On this holiday weekend, with most people taking advantage of bridging the Friday to make a 4 day w/e, even more fishers were out in full force, as well as large groups fishing with many tents, set up for the duration.

Chalon is a very nice city with a pretty historic centre and significant Cathedral. But what we really enjoyed was the large park with a botanical garden, bird sanctuary and many pétanque pitches, which were being well used. This oasis within the city is where we spent much time, making our lunch and enjoying its ambience.

Thanks to our friend Cora, we will ride a new route south to Macon on a  former ralline  which is now a cycling route. What a delight to cruise along on smooth asphalt through villages and vineyards, often at a slight downhill gradient. The beauty of this route is that we are often well above the countryside which gives us a great view of the villages and area. 

We stopped at Cormatin and will be camping here tonight at Hameau de Champs. It is quite busy due to the holiday, but we were able to get a spot with electricity. What a difference for us to be surrounded by campers, as up til now, we have often been the only campers,

A good day.

Our charming host Patricie is full of humour and character. We enjoyed her creative, artistic touches throughout the house.
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
The dining room at the Gite where we had breakfast.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link
Enjoying breakfast and good conversation with Raymond and Anna at the guesthouse in Verdun. Happy travels to them
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
Staying at a Gite gives one an authentic experience of French hospitality and way of life.
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
Bonne journee Anna and Raymond.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link
This cat is on a mission on the side streets of Verdun.
Heart 2 Comment 0 Link
Barry working on our jounal In the kitchen at our Gite.
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
A free library is a novel way to recycle an obsolete (sadly) telephone booth.
Heart 1 Comment 1 Link
Charmaine RuppoltI saw a similar telephone booth in northern Germany, where they used it as a free library. :)
Reply to this comment
8 months ago
Oh yes, what a great face and what a loud, booming moo this calf had.
Heart 3 Comment 0 Link
Lovely buildings in the historic centre of Chalon sur Saone.
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
A thriving core of Chalon filled with shoppers and tourists. We had a quick walk through and are looking forward to getting back to the countryside.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link
This piece of quirky art on this building speaks for itself.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link
Claire and her husband from Lyon stopped to chat - they are taking advantage of the long weekend and have done the loop from Lyon to Chalon and back.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link
Riding the rail route from Chalon sur Saone to Macon.
Heart 2 Comment 0 Link
We finally figured out that this is an image of a cellphone! These are painted along the route and give you an e-guide. We will try this later.
Heart 1 Comment 1 Link
Steve Miller/GrampiesIt really does add enjoyment to read about something that is already familiar. We know exactly the spots where you took photos in St Jean, in Chalon, and even this image in the veloroute (ok, there were several, so we can not exactly claim to know this one).

When I started to write to you with a question, from under a shopping buggy shelter at Lidl, I had something I wanted to ask. But now I can scarcely remember where we slept yesterday (without the help of the blog), let alone what the questions were.

p.s. An offshoot of reading in your blog about places where we were is reading in our own blogs (or memories) about places where we were one to three years ago. So the cockpit voice recorder (if we had one) might have: "What is Rochefort downtown like?" "Dunno" "Well didn't we come into downtown last year?" "Dunno"
Reply to this comment
5 years ago
Barry loves to cook at camp - pasta is always good at the end of a day cycling.
Heart 0 Comment 0 Link
It’s amazing what you can create with a small titanium clik stand/trangia cook stove and one small titanium pot.
Heart 1 Comment 0 Link

Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 1,083 km (673 miles)

Rate this entry's writing Heart 2
Comment on this entry Comment 2
Steve Miller/GrampiesAh, I remembered my question: What was the nature of your brake failure?

We expect that you will find the new hydraulic brake great. We really like the gripping power and lack of cable friction. People are split, however, with some thinking hydraulics are hard to maintain (like, to bleed or refill) and some saying it is easy.

Are yours rim or disc? What make? We have Magura rim and really love them. They make it literally as much fun to stop as to go.
Reply to this comment
5 years ago
Barry BartlettWell, it is reassuring to know that I am not the only one with a memory that comes and goes.
Regarding the brakes, so far so good. We have Shimano hydraulic disk brakes (front) and we still have Avid BB7 disk on the back. I have a 3rd rim brake for extra stopping power. If we develop problems with the rear mechanical disk, we will probably change to hydraulic there too.
The bike shop in Dole felt that the Shimano disk brake that had been installed was not tough enough for our load. Basically it failed to the point of no stopping power, and that’s not fun! The shop in Germany was unable to get BB7’s in time, so the Shimano was a failed experiment. Live and learn.
The weather here is abysmal - cold, heavy rain and wind. We gave up after 45 k and got a hotel room. I have not had a chance to look at your journal today - where are you and how is the weather there?
Had a lovely post from Tricia Graham about a river boat we posted a photo of recently. It turns out that friends of theirs from New Zealand own it and they have spent time on it. Just love the connections we make through our journals with fellow cyclists.
Take care.
Reply to this comment
5 years ago