Paris has been experiencing a spectacular stretch of fall weather, beckoning me to the open roads. I’d just about finished the planning the next tour and was waiting for brake parts to arrive before Vivien George set out for our upcoming trip along the rivers and gorges of Southern France. But we'd gotten antsy biding our time in Paris and wasting away these glorious fall days. Perhaps a short mini-tour was in order.
Chartres was an easy choice for the start of this short tour – the Chartres Cathedral was left out of my Cathedral tour, a serious omission as it is considered one of the great Gothic Cathedrals in France. The omission was both for logistical reasons as well as the fact that I’d visited once before, during my 2015 Paris sabbatical when I’d cajoled two postdocs from the lab to join me on a fall outing to the Chartres Cathedral. We took the train from Gare Montparnasse to Épernon and then cycled to Charters, arriving after several routing miscues, one of which took us on a tractor path through open field. By the time we cycled/pushed up to the Cathedral, we’d only time for a quick visit before needing to catch the train back to Paris. I remember how awed I was on entering the Cathedral, and also how disappointed at not having had more time to visit. I attempted to repeat the train/bike to Chartres while visiting France in 2017, but along the way I had mechanical issues that forced me to abandon the trip in Maintenon where I got the train back to Paris. Perhaps the third time would be the charm.
The exact plans for the trip were a little loose and didn’t really fall into place until this morning when I booked the 11:06 train to Épernon and a room for the night in Chartres. Vivien George was the first bike to board the Bike Car and I hoisted her up onto a hook without too much problem. I took my seat across the aisle but soon moved to a spot behind the bikes as the train quickly filled up – with both bikes and people. All hooks in car 5 were in use, two of which belonged to my seat-mates Assunto and Hugo, on their way to Chartres to have lunch with Hugo’s sister. The three of us had quite an enjoyable conversation on the way to Épernon – one of the more remarkable things I learned is that Assunto lives just a block from me in Paris! But our main topic of conversation was cycling. They had just (yesterday) completed their first cycle tour – a trip to southern Brittany that included visits to both of Hugo’s grandmothers as well as the small island of Île-d'Houat, which they said was better suited for hiking than cycling. They were now hooked on bike touring so I naturally directed them to Cycle Blaze.
"Are you sure this is the right route to Chartres?" Thankfully my routing skills have improved a bit since 2015
It was a most interesting ride from Èpernon to Chartres. A sunny Sunday in late September is always a good time for getting out and enjoying fine autumn days, and it seemed that each small town I passed through was celebrating something. Èpernon itself was having a Grande Vide Grenier, sort of a large town-wide garage sale, while other pass-through towns were filled with tourists or the traveling circus.
The ride itself was easy and enjoyable, through a series of small towns interspersed with croplands or woodlands. Though nothing spectacular, I was elated to be out cycling on such a fine day. I followed the La Druette River out of Èpernon to Villiers-le-Morhier, turning south and following the L’Eure River that would take me all the way to Chartres along the traditional pilgrimage route. After passing through the tourist-filled town of Maintenon, I stopped for lunch at the megalithic site of Changé, which has a small museum as well as three dolmens and a menhir dating back to Neolithic period. It seemed to be a popular place, as a number of visitors stopped by while I was eating. As I was finishing up, a few men came by and opened the gate for the handful of visitors that had gathered in the small parking lot – it was 2 pm Sunday and the local archeological expert was giving a guided tour on the history and significance of the site. It was free and the group was most welcoming - I briefly considered joining the group, but my French comprehension is limited and I wanted to be moving along.
On offer at the Grand Vide in Épernon - too bad I had already packed my picnic lunch
When I saw how quickly the guided tour was progressing, I regretted that I hadn't tagged along. Though my French is pretty rudimentary, I probably would have picked up some interesting information
One of the passers-by at the Neolithic site was Thierry, who'd sold his house five years ago and has been cycling ever since. Today he was on his way to the south of France and Compostela
Though I was anxious to get to Chartres before the Cathedral doors closed, I made two more stops along the way. The first was to admire the water mill in the small village of Saint Piat, the second was to check out the seemingly quirky hameau of Les Moulins, located in the commune of Soulaires. There were a variety of clues that this was not your typical French town. First there was the giant tin man head, followed by a big pink circus tent. I gave the tent a big head turn, and slowed for the oddly decorated bus stop, but it was the deformed and broken vinyl records decorating the flower planter that brought me to a halt. I then spied pink truck advertising aerialist performers that was parked next to some aerialist rigging. I went back and got a better look at the tent, but it wasn’t until I was on my way out of town that a fellow walking his bike stopped to tell me the show in the tent was about to begin – comedy, dance, acrobatics. A real old time extravaganza under the pink big top. Alas, another opportunity not taken – maybe I’m getting too old.
The workings of the old watermill on the L'Eure River in Saint Piat
Among the items adorning the Les Moulins bus stop were: Santa and sundry holiday items; a variety of coffee cups; an enlarged postcard depicting two women embracing and captioned Joyeux Nöel and Follow Your Dreams; a number of wooden tchotchkes, including small carved animals; a mirror; and playbills for local events - though none mentioned a pink tent
As it turns out, all of these wonders are the product of folks at the L'Arrondi, an artistic workspace in Les Moulins https://arrondi28.wixsite.com/larrondi
The last five miles into Chartres were along a delightful new cycle path that followed the pilgrimage route along L’Eure River – no farm fields this time around. I made it up to the Cathedral a bit past four, and after taking a slew of photos headed to my small room in the former monastery. For some reason, I was unusually tired – I finished the last of my lunch and called it dinner, and then put a cap on a very enjoyable and interesting day.
Indicator of a pilgrimage route to Chartres Cathedral
