Sens

July 16, 2017

An easy day in the saddle. But even so, we rose early because Jerry and Happy wanted to tour the chateau, conveniently located directly across the street. I had toured it recently, either last fall or, more probably, the year before, so took the time to relax and catch up on the blog. So off to an early breakfast, and then Jerry and Happy made the 9:30 gate opening.

They were back by 11:00 or so and packed and saddled up by 11:30 when we pushed off for Sens, a short 38-mile ride on mostly flat terrain. Distances were driven by the availability (the reliable availability) of lodging, but a second day of only 38 miles also allowed our bodies to gradually adapt to the daily routine of riding. As it turned out, the short day also allowed Happy and Jerry to tour the chateau and also accommodated a road incident that occurred shortly before the halfway point.

In front of Fontainebleau as we depart our hotel.

Today's ride to Sens.

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So we turned east and headed out of town, mostly through the commercial district, and then took a right and headed back behind the chateau and across the grounds to the Forest of Fontainebleau.

The road out of Fontainebleau. Aren't the flowers pretty?

The ride out of town was as nice as the ride in yesterday. It had already warmed up substantially, so the coolness of the forest was a welcome relief. And nice roads on top of that! A little hill climbing was involved as we made our way to the crossing of the Seine River, which we would follow again today for some distance. We crossed at Champagne-sur-Seine to a very large-diameter roundabout (i.e., circle) with a number of roads splaying out in all directions. We made a hard right at the first to enter the town proper and immediately encountered a one-way street and a contraflow bike lane. Lucky me! I immediately snapped this picture because of the unique warning sign on the right.

Entering Champagne-sur-Seine and encountering a contraflow bicycle lane. Note the signage to the right alerting drivers!

Past Champagne-sur-Seine, the road was somewhat boring with a touch of industrial use along the river. But at the high points we did get some decent views. We stayed on this road all the way to Montereau-Fault-Yonne, where we stopped for a bite to eat and to admire this statue. We really were not expecting to see this, especially one installed so recently. Napoleon is still strongly admired in France . . . and it helps with the tourist dollars as well, I guess!

A statue commemorating Napoleon's last victory in February 1814 at the Battle of Montereau.

After Montereau, we entered what I can only describe as low-lying flats. Close to the river Yonne with many wetlands and estuaries. It was after the first traffic circle that the incident happened. I was several miles ahead and, at a critical turn, stopped to check my phone and wait for the boys. What I saw was not good news. Jerry had suffered a blowout coming around the circle that had thrown him into the traffic lane. Fortunately, there was no traffic! But he did suffer some road rash as he went down on hard pavement. Most of this I learned later, as I was told Happy and Jerry had things under control. So I got bored waiting and continued to ride ahead looking for a good place to wait. Preferably in the shade. We finally rejoined in Vinneuf, and Jerry assured me all was OK. A hurt hand and a still unknown cause of the blowout, but otherwise good to go. So go we did.

Crossing the Yonne River but looking the other way! Beautiful either way you look.

But all that beauty must come to an end, at least for a short while. So we had to trek along D606 for a while, a busy arterial, but it had a nice adjacent bike trail, although in need of maintenance as the tree roots were making a mess of things.

The bike trail along D606, which was a fairly busy highway.

But after reaching Pont-sur-Yonne, it was easy sailing into Sens. OK, there was a bit of rough road for 0.3 mile that I wasn't too sure about, but I had confidence in my routing and made it through. I think the boys took an earlier tunnel to the main road, D58.

The quiet road along L'Yonne after turning off the highway at Pont-sur-Yonne.

Our first challenge in this mostly uneventful day was this natural road that ran 0.3 mile along the railroad track to . . .

. . . this tunnel, which connected to the main road, D58.

The entry to Sens was a delight. The French know how to decorate their bridges and do it right. I rode to the main square and checked out the hot spots and then went on to the hotel for a shower and cleanup. Happy and Jerry were not far behind, and we were soon on our way to drinks and dinner! And another pleasant night in France!

My entry into Sens over L'Yonne. France knows how to decorate their bridges, that's for sure!

The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Sens on the Place de la République.

After a nice dinner, relaxing on our hotel's terrace. The hour? 9:50 PM. All natural light!

And the cathedral as seen from our room's window(s) in the final stages of sunset.

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 106 miles (171 km)

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