Today’s the route was 140 kms and 834 meters of climb. This was one of the biggest days on the tour
for mileage and climb was in the top three.
On the plus side of the ledger it was a net downhill of 250 meters and
we had a tailwind in the morning when we had 80% of the climb.
The route out of Chaumont was a really which I was very
proud to have figured out. The route was
across a bridge over the rail way tracks, three turns, down a very steep back
alley, a left turn and we were on the road which half kilometer later and we
were out of town and on the highway towards Romily-sur-Seine.
Juerg said we rode this highway (D619) when we did Orient
Express but I certainly could not remember. It was in the spring and we were
headed east. This is the fall and we
were headed west. After a big climb we
were on top of a huge plateau and the views of the surrounding fields were spectacular.
Juerg decided to go exploring and left Ken and myself on our own.
The tailwind and the downhill whipped us along and we were
down at a town called Bar-Sur-Aube in practically no time. This town was nothing but one way streets
which were all the wrong way however I had plotted out a ring road route which
took us around the maze in not time. The
town did look very picturesque but with 140 kms to cover we didn’t look back.
After Bar-Sur-Aube Ken and I travelled down a bunch of tiny
back roads which had almost zero traffic and while there were a few short hills
it was primarily downhill. At 65 km into
the ride we came to a slightly larger town so we went off course and found a
boulangerie where we purchased sandwiches for lunch. As it was only 10:45 we
stowed them in the trunk bags and hurried on. There was a huge abandon chateau in the town
and we made some jokes that maybe it was haunted.
As we entered the province of Champagne I finally got a view
of the vineyards I have been looking for.
The south facing hills were covered in grape vines. We stopped at an unfenced vineyard and had a
close look and taste of the grapes. A
special treat!
At kilometer 90 we came to a beautiful lake resort which was
totally shuttered for the season and the beach was abandon. It looked like a great spot for lunch and we
stopped to eat. We were there less than 15 minutes and Earnie rolled up. He rode on and we finished our lunch and
were off.
At 105 we turned off the roads onto a beautifully paved
canal path. The canal was not in use and
was clogged with weeds and was overgrown with trees but the path was
great. As the path was slightly down
hill and with the now very slight tailwind a person could coast along a 8
kms/hr without pedalling.
When we arrived in Romily-Sur-Siene we rode to the Garmin
end point to find that there was no hotel there. The place is brand new and I had to guess at
the address when I made up the route. I
had thought we had passed the turn to the hotel as there was a big supermarket
and some car dealerships on the corner which I had seen on Google earth. So Ken and I turned back and we rode straight
to the place.
While this was a big day mileage and climb wise it was a
really perfect day of riding. Bright warm
sunny day with lots of varied and beautiful scenery, a tailwind in the morning
when it counted and some great downhill riding. Laissez le bon temps rouler!
Terry
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