September 2, 2022
Metz to Nancy
A day of Canals and an aqueduct.
September 2 Friday Metz to Nancy 67kms
A day of Canals and an aqueduct.
Good pack up and breakfast on fruit and muesli. No yoghurt yet. Trying to decide if fromage frais is as good. Seems there’s a subtle difference. Both our neighbours are off too. German lads to Paris and Luxembourgers to the Alps to walk- ‘My wife says canals are too boring.’ Some truth in that but they’re useful. Coffees at the cafe and we’re away.
Cycle through Foret Communale for a time. Very pleasant and cool.
At Jouy aux Arches we are stopped in our tracks by the massive Roman aqueduct that appears almost out of nowhere. This engineering and architectural wonder was used to bring water from a spring, across the river at Gorze, initially underground, then over a bridge of 1.25kms, across the Moselle at a height of 30 metres and on to Metz. An astounding piece of work. Displays show how it might have been built. The size and height resembles the Segovia aqueduct.
We then cycle along a beautifully shaded dike - high and covered in leafy arches. There are signs that the river rose to considerable heights in floods here.
At Pagny sur Moselle is an area set up to remember the great loss of American lives here in December 1944. The assault on German forces in an attempt to establish a bridgehead across the Moselle was disastrous. Several displays have been set up with personal accounts. It’s so peaceful and green now that it’s hard to believe the stories of such slaughter.
We have lunch just before Pont a Moussin looking over to the dark roofed abbey across the water. Then onwards, with towns not so frequent and a long ride along a canal. The trail has a deviation which puts us onto the road, but it’s quiet.
At Custine we stop at a bar for a drink and get our water bottles filled.
The final 15 kilometres seem to go on forever until finally we are entering Nancy. We follow the canal to a point close to our apartment block and find it quickly. We check in, put our bikes in the conference room and find our apartment. It’s basic, but everything’s there, including a stove and laundry. We find a local Leclerc to buy supplies for dinner, including a very passable rose. This area of the city has been developed with blocks of newish apartments and wide streets and walkways. Unfortunately many of the plants set up to beautify the area have died in the recent heat.
After dinner, a salad and a glass of rose- the rest is history.
Today's ride: 67 km (42 miles)
Total: 560 km (348 miles)
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