Saturday 4th June Veuvey-s-Ouche to St Gengoux le National.
52.7 miles 09:00 - 16:00 5hrs riding time Ave 10.52 Total 428 miles.
42 euros for bed, breakfast and evening meal and drinks - about 30 quid!
I shook the patron's hand and he wished me "Bon courage " again.
As I walked out of the door I left him serving the singing, van-driving bread lady her third glass of rose - with a bit of luck I'll be a fairly distant before she 'hits' the road to her next delivery.
I met my nemesis within minutes of setting off - a 600 metre high nemesis.
30 minutes of endless twisty bends later, each one teasing me that around its apex would be the summit I ground to a sweat-drenched halt, folded double over the handlebars desperately attempting to vacuum in some oxygen.
I did my best to appear as If I had merely stopped to consult the map when a car passed by, but then crumpled again once it had gone.
Ten minutes of sitting in the shade, and several wet wipes later I felt able to set off again with my appearance restored; unbelievably around the very next bend was the top! As I crested the summit a dozen club cyclists sprinted noisily towards me from the other side. I can't help thinking that they must have been very impressed with my climbing as they were sweating far more than I was.
The twisty D2 runs down to Beaune alongside a crystal clear stream and is without doubt the prettiest stretch of road I've cycled so far, towards the bottom though the landscape abruptly changed as the road levelled from meadows with Charolais cows to grape vines for as far as the eye could see, or as far as Beaune's industrial estates at least. I found it strange that seemingly identical terrain could have such different uses with prestigious Cote de Beaune vineyards sitting cheek by jowl with diy shops and builders yards.
I rode into Beaune's cobbled touristy centre which seemed very nice, but being Saturday it was very busy. I must admit to feeling strangely self- conscious with my bike and all my luggage amongst the throngs of shoppers and tourists, so after asking for directions I left Beaune to the tourists and headed off on the D18 to Chagny. I've noticed that everyone I've asked for directions has been unfailingly helpful and they have always wished me " Bonne route ". I'm glad I brushed up my basic French before leaving home.
I was now heading for the Burgundy ' voie verte' and the map read like an expensive wine list: Givry, Mercurey, Pommard etc. This voie verte is a well-established converted railway line that runs for 65 traffic-free kilometres from Givry through Cluny to Macon and is well signposted and used by locals and tourists alike for both serious and recreational cycling. The line runs through lovely rolling countryside with gentle gradients smoothed out by cuttings and embankments and is totally tranquil. I arrived in St Gengoux and booked into my hotel fittingly called the ' Hotel de la Gare' - The Station Hotel.
While showering I realised that I was getting a lot of pain from my left thigh, on investigation I discovered a huge saucer-sized bruise on the back of my thigh caused by the bike's crossbar when my leg took its full weight during my crash in Sens. I also sunburned myself really badly today, so when I walked into the village centre I had to dodge about searching for shade.
St Gengoux le National
Voie verte
I had my first non-French chat today at a bar run by an English lady and her daughter, it was nice to talk without having to plan and translate every sentence. Once again I'm writing with my mouth full, tonight's meal has been fantastic, gourmet food in a little country town 1 star hotel - 18 euros for pâté with slivers of truffle to start, salmon served on a sliced brioche with prawn sauce, local cheeses and patisserie for dessert - brilliant.
Sunday 5 th June St Gengoux le National to Montmerle-s-Saone
44 miles 09:00 - 14:30 4:10hrs riding time Avge 11.5mph
Total 472 miles
I felt good setting off this morning, I'm confident now that only a totally unforeseen accident can stop me reaching the Med in time for my flight. Once I get to the River S âone it will be literally "downhill all the way."
They really have got this voie verte organised brilliantly, some of the old station buildings are converted into tourist information offices. The old railway sidings are car parks with bike racks and picnic areas and there's even over-night parking for camper vans.
I suppose it's a bit busier today being Sunday but there's a surprising amount of people - cyclists, walkers and roller-bladers - using it. It could probably be a bit too busy in the peak season. One of the highlights of today's ride was the traverse of the 1.6-km Bois Clair Tunnel. This old railway tunnel was opened to travellers on the voie verte in 2004. Although it's well lit inside it's still quite spooky to ride through it alone.
Tunnel du Bois Clair
I was sorry to reach the end of the voie verte at Charnay. I'd really enjoyed riding along it. I stopped for coffee and asked the bar's patron for his advice on the best route to Montmerle, to my surprise he insisted that I take the N6, "surely the N6 will be busy?" I said. "No it's Sunday "he said, "very quiet".
He was right, and I breezed along the deserted route nationale . I wouldn't dream of riding along it on a weekday though!
I checked into my hotel on the banks of the river S âone and did the routine route planning and ablutions stuff. My mate Bern from Geneva arrived at about 5.30 and we joined the Sunday promenades on the riverbank before dinner. Dinner was a relatively sober affair for Bern as he had to drive back home this evening but we dined on tales of cycling, and reminisced about driving around the countryside in a yellow BT van some 25 years ago.
It was great to chat to a mate over a meal for a change; I really appreciate him doing a round trip of over 200 miles just to have dinner with me. Tomorrow I've arranged to meet John and Rick in Vienne if I manage to traverse the huge city of Lyon without getting lost or run over. I was thinking of leaving the valley and taking to the hills to by-pass Lyon like Enfield did but my bum is really sore so I'm going for the shortest route options now.
Monday 6 th June Montmerle-s-Saone to Vienne
53.8 miles. 08:15 - 14:30 4:36 riding time. Avge 11.67mph.
Total 525 miles
I had an early breakfast this morning and was on the road for 8.15. I was daunted by the prospect of cycling through Lyon but it turned out to be quite easy. The D933 led me to the D433 along an embankment on the west bank of the Sâone right into the centre of Lyon with hardly any traffic. From there on there were cycle tracks leading me to the only busy section at a bridge near the confluence of the mighty rivers Sâone and Rhône . The Rhône will be my companion for the next 200 miles all the way to the Mediterranean.
The cycling today was easy because the wind was behind me all the way to Vienne. My plan was to take the N2007 out of Vienne to the Hotel Reventin in the suburb of St Christ - but then things started to go horribly wrong.
I was already feeling uneasy when the cars started to blow their horns at me, but then when the drivers started stabbing their index fingers at their temples the centime finally dropped. I was actually cycling along the N7 which had turned into a dual carriageway slip road leading directly onto the A7 autoroute. (motorway) I must be totally honest - I nearly shat myself.
There was a concrete barrier in the centre of the carriageway so I couldn't cross over and go back, and there was also a concrete barrier at the side of the road with a 20 foot drop straight into the Rhone; no hard shoulder, no pavement - nothing.
Panic stricken, I pedalled like a maniac in the hope that an escape route would appear before I got pulled by the police or 'hedge-hogged' by an artic. The concrete barriers changed to a lower Armco steel barrier after a mile or so thank God, and I managed to manhandle my bike over it and along the rough riverbank past a couple of one-way slip roads until I managed to cross to the carriageway leading back to Vienne. Rather than face another couple of miles of motorway hell cycling back to Vienne I hauled the bike over a fence and made my escape riding across a school playing field getting heckled by teenage girls as I rode red-faced through their netball game. Luckily the school gates were open and I'd managed to escape both prosecution and near death.
Being Monday, the hotel was closed for the afternoon when I arrived so I spent a couple of hours cleaning and lubricating my bike and writing up my diary. Rick and John arrived with perfect timing just as the doors opened.
I can't add much more to today's journal as we spent the rest of the evening getting blind drunk and talking about our past adventures together in the Alps riding unfeasibly large motorbikes up impossibly rough and rocky high mountain trails.
Tuesday 7 th June Vienne to St Peray.
47 miles 10:00 - 14:30 3:23 hrs riding time Avge 14.1mph.
Total 573 miles.
Oh dear, bit of a late start - the bar bill from last night was massive.
Our gay hotel patron must have thought that perhaps we were 'leaning towards the lavender too' and plied us with drink because we were all in a hell of a sorry state this morning.
Never mind, we had a good night and we've arranged to meet up again - the lads are riding a loop of a couple of hundred miles and we're meeting up tonight near Valence.
I'd had mixed advice about the suitability of the N7 for cyclists so wherever possible I've tried to use the 'old N7' sections that the 'new N7' now by-passes. However, even though most parts have a cycle lane, it's still far too busy to be safe for my liking so I diverted to the much quieter D4 before crossing the river on a barrage a bit like the Thames Barrier. Below the barrier I saw at least half a dozen herons patiently waiting for food to swim by.
I joined the N86 which is the other main road that runs along the west bank of the Rhône and was surprised to find that it was much quieter than the N7 and it some how felt friendlier. I was breezing along now as my average speed shows, being blown south by the Mistral. The Mistral is a notorious wind caused by cold air descending from the mountains of the Massif Central, then accelerating dramatically as it roars through the gap of the Rhône valley to the coast. Today the Mistral was howling south, not in gusts, but relentlessly. It felt eerie to be riding along effortlessly and in silence; the usual wind noise you hear when cycling is absent when the wind is blowing from behind you.
I arrived at the Hotel Badet in St Peray well in advance of Rick and John and had plenty of time to shower and wash my kit before they arrived. One of the best tips I had was to roll washed clothes up neatly in a spare towel, squeeze, then unroll and hang up; nearly dry and completely un-creased.
My room is air-conditioned which is nice. There really doesn't seem to be any correlation between standards and prices in some hotels - this is the nicest room I've had so far but it certainly isn't the dearest.
Tonight's meal was a strange affair with bizarre combinations of ingredients: fish sauerkraut, pasta with steak and leek filled pastry anyone?
We went to bed much earlier tonight as last night was a bit extreme.
Just before retiring we were having a nightcap in the bar when I had a sudden cramp spasm in my thigh. While hobbling around I attracted the unwanted attention of a drunken ex-competition cyclist and masseur (or so he said) who wanted to give me a massage. Luckily, I was rescued by the barman and in true 'News of the World' reporter style "I made my excuses and left".