Today’s musical inspiration is largely because our son, Ethan Frank, is the featured pianist! Please follow him on Instagram at ethanfrankie. Also, we’re really getting into the ~groove~ of this bike ride.
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” - Probably not Confucius
After surviving the previous day’s heat, we felt even more committed to begin each ride as early as possible. Quick breakfast and hit the road, right? Well, not if you’re in France where people dine late into the night and then apparently sleep in. We were told breakfast wouldn’t start until 8 a.m. So, we dutifully showed up at 8:00 on the dot, only to be told that they were “still setting up.” At 8:15 we were able to begin choosing some à la carte items from the buffet. We were asked if we would like some eggs from the kitchen and gratefully accepted the offer. How long could eggs take anyway? Well, they might still be making them because at 9:00 a.m. we left with apologies to the chef. And NOT ONE other hotel guest had showed up yet for breakfast.
I had taken a cursory glance at the day’s route and gleefully noticed that there wouldn’t be any dramatic climbs today. In fact, it looked like we would round out the day with an elevation LOSS. Hoorah! However, leaving the hotel was a total gut punch in the shape of a huge hill to get to the trail. What a way to start the day; huffing and puffing right out of the gate on already tired legs. Zut alors! But the good news is, it was a short purgatory. And the rest of the day was mostly delightfully downhill!
After a few twists and turns, we found ourselves paralleling a lovely canal called the Canal du Centre. For those who want the short and sweet deets, this canal opened in 1792 as a mostly north-south passage for boats, joining the Loire and Saône rivers. It covers 70 miles with 61 locks. For the 12 miles or so that we paralleled this pleasant waterway, we never saw any boat traffic, so it seems that its heyday is over. It was very picturesque though, so here is a sampling of some of the canal sights, including one of the locks.
Because we were descending in altitude ever so slightly, the day’s ride felt easy and carefree as compared to the day before.
Other notable sights along the way included this picnic table nestled under a giant weeping willow. Spots like this are what my childhood fantasies were made of and I remember seeking out similar spaces for little wagon picnics as a kid. We stopped here for a water break and to look at the map.
Greg was actually trying to find a restroom for me because, for some reason, there is nary a porta-potty along this route. Why, Canal du Centre, why?? If we wanted les toilettes, we were going to have to go off piste. And that made me slightly piste off. Ha!
As per usual, we passed many lovely little villages and herds of the ivory-colored Charolais cattle that regularly dot the French countryside.
We absolutely had to stop to photograph this beautiful scene at the last lock on our route. I mean, that’s just perfection isn’t it? This place just screams jigsaw puzzle!
From here, we left the canal and mostly followed a forested path with dappled shade to our next hotel in the teeny-tiny hamlet of Dracy-le-Fort. We stayed at the Hotel le Dracy. It had a nice restaurant, an outdoor pool and a spa with an indoor pool, sauna, and steam room.
For some reason, we thought that going for a looong walk into the town center on a beastly hot, sweltering day would be a good post-ride activity. It was not. Especially since there was nothing open in town. We did get to see the outside of a pretty church, but that’s about it.
Our dinner at the hotel restaurant was very nice. We did have one translation problem with a server, however. He tried to bring us an appetizer course twice and we couldn’t figure out how to say “we already had this.” When gesturing failed, Greg pulled out Google Translate and all was quickly resolved. Funny thing: the translation included the term “déjà vu”. I should have thought of that!
Up Next: Day 4 - the longest ride, plus a castle tour!
