Today we have a guest song suggestion from musical and visual artist Kat Ellis. See if you can finish reading the post before this jazzy tune ends! Weeeeee!!!
While there was some “Wheee!” in today’s ride, it would probably be more accurately described as a bit more “Ugh!” Today’s route took us on a heart-pounding, sweat-pouring, 25-mile adventure from Beaune, France to an area called St.-Jean-de-Trézy. Why all the hyphens? I don’t know! But I do know that this part of Burgundy is quite hilly! We mustered nearly 2,000 ft. in elevation gain in one day. Did I mention it was hotter and more humid than usual? (That’s according to the locals, so I’m not making it up!)
We started the day with an amazing breakfast at our hotel. The traditional French breakfast includes cheeses, various breads and pastries, charcuterie, fresh yogurt, nuts and seeds, fruit, eggs, sausage, and lots of jams. None of this “continental” BS we get fed here in the U.S. They also have these amazing automatic espresso machines. Here are a few pictures that kind of get the point across.
It was still early morning when we set out toward the trail. We rode through the nearly deserted streets and paths of Beaune to get to our starting point. It was cool out and very quiet, the sun still making its way up.
We quickly found ourselves in nearby vineyards. This short video shows some of the scenery and what the dedicated bike path looks like in this region.
In the video you may notice I’m wearing a small black device on my helmet strap. This is a gadget called the Sena BiKom 20. This was a splurge, to be sure, but it was also a game changer! Greg got us each one for Christmas and we’ve been testing them out ever since. It’s basically a hands-free intercom. There’s no lag, no static, and we’ve never once heard any other voices on any of the six channels. This made communication between us so effortless. Whether is was important navigation cues or just idle chit-chat, it insured we were never hollering to each other or missing important instructions. The devices have an eight hour battery life, so we charged them up each night at hotels. Up to 24 people could use these at once and the range is about a half a mile. Game. Changer.
You can read more about our anticipation and preparations for this trip here.
Although gradual at first, we were climbing right out of the gate. This is an elevation profile of the day from Ride with GPS. The real fun came at that 8 mile or so mark where a steep hill climbed for more than a mile! Fortunately, there was a shady spot to rest about halfway up.
This is the view of where we’d come from after we’d climbed quite a bit:
Here are some images from the first half of the ride, which became defined as “pre-hill” versus “post-hill”. What I love about this ride is that there’s such a nice variety of scenery. Not just endless vineyards, farmland, paved paths, or village streets. It was a nice combination of everything.
Post-hill, there was much rejoicing. And that’s where some “Wheeee!” comes in. There was a fun, long descent accompanied by a sense of accomplishment. I think I hit 30 mph on this downhill.
The rest of the day still held peaks and valleys, but it all seemed doable after the “big one”. I will say that even though we trained at altitude by living at a mile-high elevation, this whole day was still a very hearty workout. We lost a lot of fluids and electrolytes through sweat, but fortunately we had packed Liquid IV and Nuun tablets in case we felt depleted. I also had a cooling towel and a Buff neck scarf/headband that I could drench with water.
The rest of the ride contained that beautiful mix of vineyards, narrow streets, and perfectly bucolic scenes, including a Holland-style windmill, and what looked like a fairy-tale style wishing well. We even finally came upon some other cyclists on the trail. Here are beaucoup pictures to tell the story.
We spent a portion of the day on a cycling path called La Voie des Vignes (The Way of the Vines) which passes through many well-known vineyards of Burgundy, including Pommard, Volnay, and Chassagne-Montrachet, if you happen to be an oenophile. If one were doing a casual day trip, La Voie des Vignes would be a perfect bite-sized piece for a fun outing. Burgundy, by the way, is best known for its pinot noirs and chardonnays. While we do enjoy wine tastings, we decided to stick to the bike paths and try to arrive at our hotel before the hottest part of the afternoon. Wine would have to wait.
After a few more ups and downs - topographically speaking - we finally made our way off the bike trail and toward our hotel for the night. And what a reward for our hard day’s work! It was a 5-star luxury hotel, restaurant, and spa complete with ponds, ducks, and other wildlife dotting the hilly estate. We dragged our haggard, sweaty selves to the reception desk to ask for the key to the awaiting luxury that felt so hard earned. This would be the nicest hotel of the trip.
Because this estate was so remote, a table had been reserved for us for dinner. Oh, it was amazing! And looooong… Like one of those stereotypical European meals that just won’t end. It started with drinks on the outdoor patio. I tried a cocktail caller Kir. It’s blackcurrant liqueur (crème de cassis) mixed with white wine. Trés bon! By the end of the meal, we were so full - and tired! - and they literally offered us dessert AFTER we’d had dessert. We politely declined. But it was fun to be so pampered after what turned out to be our hardest day of riding for the whole tour. We slept well in our 5-star bed, despite the close proximity of what I am convinced was a demonically possessed bidet.
Up next: Day 3 - Downhill on a canal!
I am thoroughly vicariously enjoying your French cycling adventure!