"If things go wrong, don't go with them"

June 26th - June 29th

One of our rides in the last few days took us along several different waterways.  We started in the town of Digoin which is on the Canal du Centre, the Loire River and the Canal latéral à la Loire. The interesting thing about the latéral canal is that it flows over the Loire River (photo below). We rode leisurely along the canal for a little over 20km when it was time for lunch.  We found a nice table in a little park just off the trail and started to set up our picnic when Jay discovered he had left his backpack on a bench outside the information office at the port in Digoin.  We panicked a bit knowing it had his wallet and fob for the car.  I had snapped a photo of the information center earlier so we were able to find a phone number to call.  After several anxious moments the nice lady came back to the phone and announced she had found the backpack.  You can imagine how relieved we were!  We promised to be back within an hour to pick it up.  Oh boy, we turned our motors up and high-tailed it back as fast as we could pedal.  The pack was intact with all of its contents.  On the drive back we decided a celebration was in order and toasted with a glass of Prosecco at the Italian restaurant  we went to for dinner.🥂

The Port at Digoin

Afore mentioned backpack on the bench near the blue umbrella

Jay riding along the canal over the river

Yet another burrata salad-Yum!

Jay's pizza and my carbonara

As we get closer to leaving Beaune and Burgundy this year we are madly working in a few more bike rides even though the weather is quite warm now.  One ride we like to do is between Baume les Dames and I'lsle sur le Doubs for about 48km.  The Doubs River is lovely and the ride winds through some little villages as well.  Another mostly shaded route is from Epinac to Autun along a repurposed rail-trail (42km roundtrip).  This is especially a good ride on a hot day.  Our last ride was along another rail-trail from Chalon-sur-Saone to the town of Buxy (40km).  It was fun to finally see a field of sunflowers in bloom.  What a nice sendoff for us.  Au revoir, Bourgogne.  See you next year!

L'lsle sur le Doubs

Beautiful cross at our lunch spot

No tables but the wall worked just fine

The port at Baume les Dames

Along the Epicnac Rail-trail

One of the old train stations along the rail-trail

We Just Keep Riding...Most of the Time

June 21st - June 25th

The heatwave arrived here in Burgundy so we took a couple of days off the bikes.  Market day to stock up on supplies and the a drive to Bescancon to tour the Citadel.  We have ridden through Besancon many times and the Citadel on the hill is such a magnificent structure it finally called our names.  You can walk around the walls and/or tour several different museums.  We chose a small section of the grounds and walls as well as a tour of the Resistance Museum today.  Built by Vauban in 1674, the Citadel has been used as a barracks, a cadet training center, a prison and a military penitentiary over the years.  During World War II 100 Resistance prisoners were executed here.

Vauban was the designer of the Citadel

Statue giving witness to the executed

Jay's view from the top

Karla's view a little lower down

Several years ago we met the owners of a great little bistro along the bike trail and we have visited there ever since.  Last year however it was closed so we were happy to see it had reopened.  We drove to Baumes les Dames and rode back toward Besancon and the Bistro du Barrage hoping to see the lovely couple who run the place.  Instead a new person, Eugene, greeted us and explained he was running the Bistro for his friend who was the man we had met. Eugene doesn't think he will be back next year because the business is so sporadic and weather dependent. It's so sad to see things change sometimes. 😟 The ride was beautiful as usual and after 48km I was ready to get off the bike and enjoy a delicious dinner at one of our favorite local bistros.

The friendly Eugene

Something fun along the trail

Our fine feathered friends

View from our picnic table

Jay washing his hands at a trailside fountain

🩷Looking at this gorgeous building while having dinner

Tuna tartare and Salad Bourguignon

We had a couple of snags on our 40km ride from Verdun-sur-le-Doubs so I didn't manage any photos but just have to mention that Jay's motor quit and I somehow managed to ride through a pile of dog poop.   Jay discovered that some wires had become unplugged but he was able to reconnect them so was off and running again.  After many wipes, sticks and water I was able to get my tire and bike clean but I was not happy with that dog owner!  

Exploring by Bike

June 20th

Most days biking we just enjoy the journey and have no particular destination except to end up back at our apartment, at the train station or our car.  We enjoy the scenery and the people we meet along the way.  Today however, after our ride along the Burgundy Canal from Montbard to Venarey-les-Laumes, we decided to add a few more kilometers and ride out to visit the Fontenay Abbey.  The route was a little sketchy but we made it and the abbey is an amazing place, well worth the effort. 

The Abbey of Fontenay was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard.  The monks there were to live a life of poverty and solitude.  The abbey was self-sufficient with the monks cultivating and farming the estate.  After the French Revolution the estate was sold to Elie de Montgolfier who was a descendant of one of the inventors of the hot-air balloon.  Later a Lyon banker, Edouard Aynard purchased the abbey and it is still owned by the Aynard family.  It is a Unesco World Heritage site, one of 53 located in France.  I took a few photos 😏.

This was actually the kennels for the dogs

The Abbey Church

The Monk's Dormitory

The Cloister

The Lodgings of the Abbots

The Forge