August 12th
The canals in Burgundy are our favorite places to ride along not only because the trails tend to be flat and traffic free but because they are so picturesque! There's always a place to stop for a picnic and/or a coffee.
We drove from Beaune to Pouilly en Auxois, about a 30 minute drive on the back roads, and rode to Pond d'Ouche, 40km out and back. The ride begins at the Port of Pouilly and barges must immediately navigate through a 3km very narrow tunnel. The bike trail takes a detour around the tunnel so one has to be on guard in order not to miss the bike signs. Once you get back to the canal it's pretty straight forward. There are not many barges on the early section since most don't like going through the tunnel. One barge (pictured below) actually does a 6 night trip from Pont d'Ouche back to a stopping point just before the tunnel. We did this section of the canal out and back in about 3 hours and it takes the barge 6 days to go 20km. I guess you'd call that a very relaxed way to travel. Most of the barges have bikes and I keep trying to figure out if they have switched over to E-bikes yet since the guests often take little jaunts up into the hills from the barges. I'll have to work on some French to accomplish that task.
Along the trail we spied several Charolais cows and the Neuchatel Castle up on the hill. Once we reached Pont d'Ouch (Pont is a bridge) we stopped for a coffee break and had a little difficulty getting a table. We have found that close to lunch time (12-2) if you aren't ordering food they stick you in a little out of the way table. Lesson learned...if there's flatware, glasses and a napkin on the table don't sit there unless you plan to order food. Once caffeinated we were on our way back to the car and dinner at L'Ardoise in Beaune.
We have been to this restaurant in the past but always inside since they don't have outside dining on the street. Little did we know about the fabulous garden out back. It was such a delight to dine in their beautiful outdoor space. The food was superb as well!
Check list done for the day...canal ride, incredible scenery and great food and wine! ✔✔✔
