August 27, 2017
St Jean de Losne: Rosemary and John's home port
Today we were off marked cycle routes and had worked out a route from Beaune to St jean de Losne which would largely keep us on very small and hopefully very quiet roads. On the whole it worked. To start we were following the D20F that took us to Nuits St George. It was pleasant agricultural country but now we were off the favoured slopes it was not wall to wall grapes. Along the way the little villages looked prosperous. Along the Canal de Centre we had been passing through villages where there had previously been industry - this was now closed and the towns and villages looked sad. This was entirely different, the wine and I guess the tourist industry is doing well so everything looked affluent.
Nuits St George when we reached it was booming. There were people everywhere and what was more important open cafes and bars. The Tour de France had had a stage finishing there this year and there were still mementos of it in the main square. From here we turned and followed the D116, this was not as quiet because it was Sunday and one of the little villages was having a Vide Granier (a flea market). It amazes me that the French are so attracted to second hand junk. But then I shouldn't talk when I think of the dish I bought back in Gien. We passed through forests where there was a sudden severe rain shower but it was short enough that when we took shelter the trees kept the rain off us.
The most interesting place along the route was the Abbey de Citeaux. This is an abbey with about 35 Trappist Monks and was founded in the 11th century. It has had many ups and downs over the years and during the French Revolution was seized but at the end of the 19th century it was reinstated with monks coming from other abbeys . It is a wonderfully quiet and peaceful place.
The day was beginning to heat up and we knew that when we got to Pagny-la-Ville where we should have been able to find the Voie Bleau that would take us to St Jean. Here we became completely disoriented and lost our way but were saved by some lovely Dutch Tourists. They put us on the track and it was easy all the way to St Jean. Our hotel Le Auberge la Marine is great. Ken has explored and examined the many boats for sale but I think we are too old for that now
Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 1,200 km (745 miles)
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