Bike: Beaune to Dijon, 32 miles, 1200 feet of climb
Accommodation: L’Atelier de la Tour (Airbnb); host Marie-Pierre. One-bedroom apartment, edge of historic district, kitchen, wifi, washer. Half a block from Notre-Dame de Dijon and from the market hall in Old Town.
What a fun day! We decided to start with a detour through Chalon-sur-Soane, a small city with interesting architecture and a Wednesday market. At the market, we bought bread and pain au chocolat from a stand with a wood-burning oven--and ate the sweet rolls before we left the market square.
Heading out of the city, we were soon back in the vineyards, this time mostly with pinot noir grapes and small wineries. We went through a little hamlet or village every three or four miles. At our first village, we met up with a large cycling tour group, and we kept getting mixed in with the group until, after a few miles, we stopped at a park for a while and let them get ahead of us.
Back on the route, we paused to help a young couple from New York and Denver take a photo, and talked with them for a while. It's always fun to compare travel stories with other cyclists.
As we got closer to Dijon, we could see huge, dark rainclouds ahead, and the wind came up. We pulled in front of a cafe in a small village just as the rain started. By the time we had our phones, Wahoos, and wallets off the bikes, it was pouring and thundering and blowing. The owner of the cafe spoke English, and he and Ken were happy talking about motorcycles and dogs, while he ran around moving tables and chairs and scrolling in the awning to keep it from collapsing under the deluge. We ordered peach tart and large coffees, played with the dog, and waited out the storm.
We were soon back on our way, with raincoats on, trying and mostly managing to outrun another big raincloud. At the edge of Dijon, we found a little wine seller and I replenished my supply of chardonnay while Ken got a bottle of artisan-made mandarin orange sparkling juice.
We found our apartment easily, figured out the temperamental entry door, and settled in quickly. The apartment was nice, good sized, clean, comfortable.
After showering and starting a load of laundry, we walked around the neighborhood to get our bearings, bought groceries, and then went back to make dinner and watch the news.
It was nice to have an easier day, cooler, more relaxing.
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| We went through at least half a dozen little villages or hamlets like this, rising out of the sea of vineyards on the hillsides. Once in a while, we did meet a car or other cyclists. |
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| Another chateau. |
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| Another village and chateau. |
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| You can't really tell from the photo, but it is pouring out there. |
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| Peach tart and cafe au lait warmed us up while we waited for the rain to stop. |
