September 1, 2011
Three Coutries in Five Minutes
Mulhouse is really a lovely little city and we had a nice time last evening wandering around the city centre, then sitting in the beautiful square where I had a farewell to France Kir and Ken a beer. The way out in the morning was surprisingly straightforward and we were soon zooming along the Rhine/Rhone Canal. One of the things that amazed me was how wide it is here, it looks more like a river than a canal. The other surprising thing is how very flat it is and we rode for 17km without a lock. I found this a very relaxing ride as despite the canal being dead straight the path curves along with a perfect surface. Just out of Mulhouse is the enormous Puegeot/Citroen factory on the other side of the river, then very little.
The excitement came when reached the Rhine and the 'Bridge Between Three Countries'. Within about 5 minutes we went from France to Germany to Switzerland. This is very strange for someone like me who lives in a country where you have to get in an aeroplane and travel for at least 4 hours to get to another country - and then you only get to Australia which is really little different. At the foot of the bridge (in Germany) there are massive supermarkets with a frenzy of shopping then cars pouring back over the border to Switzerland with their booty. Having stopped for a coffee in Switzerland I well understand them. A tiny coffee (average) with artificial whitener for 3.80Euros. The view however was spectacular looking across the Rhine to the buildings of Basel. It looks unreal really like a painted set. A few kilometers later we were back in Germany with more supermarkets on the other side of the border.
We have had a very good time in France and this is a briefly how we found the cycling.
Nearly all our route was either on dedicated cycle tracks or very quiet roads - the only time we encountered significant traffic was when we had made a mistake.
The drivers are invariably courteous
As far as accommodation is concerned we stayed in hotels nearly all the time. We chose to stay near the centre of small towns so we didn't have to use our bikes, We stayed in 2 star hotels and these usually cost around 55Euros. Breakfast is extra (around 7Euros each) so we usually skipped it and got something along the way. It would have been cheaper if we had stayed a bit further out. There were plenty of camping grounds and they look good. I am ashamed to say we only camped once (and enjoyed it). Other cyclists told us that in August camping grounds are often very noisy and one in particular said he was stealth camping because of this. Camping grounds have no seats so bring a light 3 legged folding fishing stool if like us you find sitting on the ground uncomfortable and almost impossible. You also need to have your own supply of toilet paper.
The perennial problem in France of course is shut shops, they are normally shut between about 1.30 and 4.00 - about exactly the time you are looking for one. August is a particular problem because many businesses (including hotels and bike shops ) are shut for their holidays. Saturday afternoons, Sundays and Mondays are a real problem and you may starve if you don't resort to restaurants.
We found wonderful, friendly, helpful people - they were really keen to talk and very patient with my terrible French'
The prize for the kindest and most helpful person goes to Chloe who looked after us and helped us when we broke down near Samur
The prize for the most fun we had at our accommodation goes to the Gite we stayed in near Nevers with the wonderful Madam and Le Patron
The most magical day of riding goes to the ride between Bescanson and Montbelier - even though Ken made me ride 98km that day
The best meal to the dinner we had with Rosemary and John at the Café National in St Jean de Losne.
The most important coffee prize to the coffee in the tiny village of Laissey
The wine we enjoyed most the Baujolais we had last night.
Thank you France for giving us such a good time - we will be back.
Today's ride: 58 km (36 miles)
Total: 1,398 km (868 miles)
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