My tour of the rivers and gorges in the south of France began with a return visit to the Morvan, the low-mountain region of Burgundy that I visited last summer. Burgundy is one of my favorite cycling areas in France, and I’d hope to be able to spend more time there this fall. As the bicycle fates would have it, I only had a few days before a scheduled rendezvous in the Causses du Quercy, so I limited this visit in Burgundy to a meander through the Morvan.
I’d booked a morning train from Gare Bercy to Avallon, one of the overnight towns on the CycleBlaze Burgundy trip this past spring. My departure for the train station was a bit more rushed than I like, and I sped through the streets of Paris, which were still damp from a good soaking the night before. Despite my worry, I made it to the station with almost twenty minutes to spare. In addition to the fact that you can take bikes on all TER trains in France without a reservation, most seem to have no steps so you can roll your bike right into the train car. Unfortunately, they also require you to hoist your bike up on hooks, something that I usually struggle with. I was the first to hoist Vivien George up onto the bike hooks – with the help of a kind soul who steadied the bike while I lifted.
The car gradually filled over the next fifteen minutes, and soon there were no seats nor free bike hooks. It seemed everyone was leaving Paris for what looked to be a soggy weekend in Burgundy. I’d settled in for the 2+ hour trip to Avallon when I experienced a first on a French train – a mandatory change in cars. Apparently the train split at our second stop and I was suddenly in de-boarding mode – down came the bike, on with the panniers, out the door – but now I also had to quickly reverse the process in a new car. Luckily, all went smoothly and I was soon again at Gare Avallon, the site of one of my most memorable bike touring acts of kindness – three road angels who gave me car ride during a train strike at the end of my first extended tour. If interested, you can read about it here.
In addition to new brake pads and fluid, Vivien George got a new rear cassette and chain. Now we're ready to roll!
Keith AdamsI see now why the broken derailleur hanger was such a catastrophe earlier this year. Not that I'm any sort of expert, and I don't keep current on the state of the art, but that design's unlike anything I've ever seen.
Is the bike fitted with electric shifting? That looks like an electrical wire and not a traditional mechanical steel cable emerging from the chain stay. Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Susan CarpenterTo Keith AdamsHi Keith
Yes, I do have Di2 electronic shifting. The set-up I have uses a Wolf Tooth Road Link derailleur extender, which sits between the derailleur hanger and the derailleur. It is 29$ part that is not specific to my bike - but the derailleur hangar itself had to match my bike model to fit in the frame. The extender allows me to have an 11-40 rear cassette (rather than the 11-34 cassette) with my GRX 43/31 crankset and the combination gives me a good climbing ratio. This was the best option for me when I changed from a road bike set-up after Shimano introduced their GRX gravel bike components. Hope this explanation helps Reply to this comment 1 year ago
Avallon was damp and dreary. There was a light drizzle and rain predicted for much of the afternoon. As it was only twelve miles to my overnight lodging where check-in time was not until three, I decided to enjoy a nice meal in Avallon and, in a best-case scenario, catch the predicted mid-afternoon rain-free window. I was a bit early for lunch, but the restaurant let me stow Vivien George on their terrace while I bided my time in the Tourist Information Office and the nearby Collegiate Church of Saint-Lazare d'Avallon, an historical monument dating back to 1080. The church interior was quite remarkable, with old stone walls, frescoed vaults and a side chapel with trompe-l'oeil paintings, the kind that seem three-dimensional.
I was still admiring the church when the bells tolled, indicating it was time for lunch. Rachel Anderson and I had spotted Les Cordois Autrement during our restaurant search last spring, but it was closed at the time. I was delighted to find it open for lunch and enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal, highlighted by a divine mushroom soup. As I mentioned yesterday, this is the season of ceps, and the soup was redolent with the earthiness of freshly picked mushrooms. Most remarkable was the lightness and airiness of the soup - I could even see the air bubbles. This was a far, far, far cry from Campbell’s.
The meal was worth savoring and I lingered over each course, hoping to time my departure with the arrival of the mid-afternoon dry spell. It was not to be. By the time I left the restaurant, the rain had increased to a moderate but steady downpour. I retreated back to the church to wait it out, but the weather apps now indicated no let-up until early evening. The forecast, together with cold, damp interior of the church, prompted me to move on. Donning an additional layer as well as my full arsenal of rain wear, I headed out of Avallon and into the Morvan.
It was raining fairly hard on the one-mile drop from Avallon to the Le Cousin River, but it had slowed to a steady drizzele by the time I’d climbed out of the small river basin. The next few miles gently rolled through woodlands and were actually quite pleasant – a light drizzle, no cars, and the somewhat eerie silence of woods in the rain. Not even the birds were chirping. It stopped raining just before reaching Usy, and as the skies began to clear the Cathedral of Vézelay was visible in the distance. And while the sun never did come out, the western skies were full of white clouds and blue sky. At Usy, I turned onto the Chemin de la Creuse, a quiet little road that took me on a fairly steep descent to the Le Cure river and back up to Domecy-sur-Cure where I rejoined D127. From there, it was a few short miles to my lodging at Le Relais de Vauban in Bazoches where I took a long hot shower and settled into the routine of life of the road. A nice dinner at the Relais concluded a very satisfactory if somewhat damp first day on my last tour of the year.
Is the bike fitted with electric shifting? That looks like an electrical wire and not a traditional mechanical steel cable emerging from the chain stay.
1 year ago
Yes, I do have Di2 electronic shifting. The set-up I have uses a Wolf Tooth Road Link derailleur extender, which sits between the derailleur hanger and the derailleur. It is 29$ part that is not specific to my bike - but the derailleur hangar itself had to match my bike model to fit in the frame. The extender allows me to have an 11-40 rear cassette (rather than the 11-34 cassette) with my GRX 43/31 crankset and the combination gives me a good climbing ratio. This was the best option for me when I changed from a road bike set-up after Shimano introduced their GRX gravel bike components. Hope this explanation helps
1 year ago
1 year ago
1 year ago