October 2, 2018 Besancon to Dijon

Today the ride was only 89 kms with only 665  meters of climb.  It was also going to be only 4 C at 8:00 am which was our normal departure time.  So we decided to depart at 9:30 am.   This was great as the breakfast at the Ibis where were staying served breakfast until 9:30.  

I had checked the route out on Garmin Connect the night before so I knew the route and it was easy to depart and find our way out of town.  All four of us left together made our way out of town. 

When we came to a steep downhill there was right hand turn.  Juerg, Ken and I made the turn but Earnie kept going.  We waited for a while but Earnie never turned back.   The ride was down a series of secondary roads.  

I had thought that we would stop for coffee as getting into Dijon early was not really something I had wanted to do.   The Airbnb apartment would not be available until 5:45 as the host worked until then.  However by the time we found a place for coffee we were already at the designated lunch place.   Ken, Juerg and I stopped and were going into a Boulangerie when Agnes, Sally and Betsy rolled up in the van. Juerg decided he wanted to go into a local bar so Ken and I joined the ladies for lunch. 

After lunch Ken and I rolled off and never did see either Earnie or Juerg.   Once we got to town we found the place where we were staying with Earnie and Betsy for the layover day.  Agnes and the van was at the other place so Ken and I joined them.  Juerg pulled up and we went into their place.  It was a very nice fourth floor garret apartment right in the heart of old town Dijon. 

Our place was not going to be ready until 5:45 so we cooled our heels for a while before heading off.  We got to our place and the host was not there.  Finally we got a hold of her and it turns out that we had the wrong address.   When we finally got to the other apartment and checked in it was almost 7:00 pm.  The place is out of the center of town and with no restaurants close we had bread and cheese for supper.  Nobody wanted to  go out.

What should have been a dead easy day turned out to be a long day and everyone’s nerves were frayed.

Terry hot biker

October 1, 2018 Mulhouse to Besancon

Today the weather forecast was for rain and cold and the weathermen were right on both counts.  We started the day at 7 C and the clouds were a very dark gray with rain imminent. It was also a 136 km ride day with 586 meters of climb so it was a long day to top it all off.  I had said that we would get an earlier start so we were ready to roll at 8:15.  Juerg had decided to leave earlier as he thought that the weather was going to deteriorate during the day. He left a 7:30 which was right at sun rise however it looked pretty dark out when Juerg left. 

Ken, Earnie, and I all rolled out together and worked our way down to the canal bike path through the usual lefts and rights and down a bunch of cobble stone lanes.  Morning traffic was already pretty heavy and we were glad to be on the canal bike path. 

Once on the canal bike path it was pretty straight sailing along.  The only deviation was that once in a while the paved path would change sides, so you would have to cross the canal at one of the locks or bridges.  The canal was climbing for the first 30 kms and then it started a decent. At about the 20 km mark the rain started as a light drizzle so Ken and I stopped and pulled on the rain gear.  Good thing as we were just finished pulling it on when the rain started in earnest.  At the 35 kms mark we came to a place in the path which had a barrier across the path.  There was a detour around the barrier onto a part of the path which was shared with a road.  As I rode around the detour I got a flat. This is the first bike flat of the tour.  Don’t you just love fixing flats in the rain? 

When we got to the little village of Cerval it was 12:30 and we were 88 kms into the ride.  Both Ken and I were feeling hungry so we went off route in search of food.  Most of the shops were closed but we came to a little hotel which had a lot of trucks parked outside and a restaurant.  Inside it was packed with truck drivers and locals.  The waitress (and I assume owner) wasn’t happy to see two soaking wet cyclists who only spoke French.  She stuffed us into a corner table.  I was seated so I could see the chalk board menu and ordered the Poulet au Fillet, Ken motioned two.  Within moments two huge plates appeared heaped with hash browns, green beans and a huge homemade chicken cordon bleu.  It was a great surprise and it was delicious.

Totally stuffed we were out on the road again and down the roads.  At this point we had a couple of climbs ahead of us both in the 125 meter range. The first one wasn’t too bad and we were up and over it.  The second one was much longer and had several false summits.   This climb was taking us from one valley to the next one. During this whole time the rain had decided to just pelt down.  Sitting in the restaurant in wet clothes had chilled me to the bone and now in the cold rain I was really feeling the cold as it was still in the single digits temperature wise.  Even though we were at only 450 meters in altitude we were still in the clouds. 

After the decent into the next valley Ken called out that he could see some blue sky and sure enough there was a patch.  Ken and I caught up to Earnie who had passed us while we were eating.  So we rode along exchanging stories for a while before Ken and I headed off.  

Coming into Besancon was a third huge climb along a very busy road.  After the quiet of the canal bike paths it was nerve racking.

It was a hard day in the rain. However it was a very beautiful ride through some incredible countryside. We rode past some magnificent canal scenery, past some huge limestone cliffs, through quaint country villages and alongside some beautiful rivers.  

Terry

September 30, 2018 Strasbourg to Mulhouse

Today was an absolutely stunning day of riding.  Most of it was down tree lined canal paths, some of it down country lanes and some of it down busier roads which had a segregated bike lane beside the road.

The day started with Agnes and I walking over and getting the van from the parking area and driving over to the other apartment.  There we loaded Earnie, Betsy, and Juerg’s luggage.  Off to our apartment where we loaded Ken and Sally’ and Agnes and my luggage.  The whole effort went really smoothly as being a Sunday morning there was almost no traffic on the narrow streets.  Even so from the time Agnes and I left to go get the van until I pushed off it was 75 minutes. 

The four riders started off together but Juerg got out in front as Ken and I were stopping to help Earnie work with his Garmin.  I don’t understand why he has so many problems with it.  Notwithstanding that they are less than intuitive and seem to be very temperamental beasts.  We made a few setting changes and hopefully this will help Earnie work with it.  I also wanted to make sure that Earnie got out of Strasbourg as smoothly as possible as there were a lot of tricky turns. 

By the time we were about 15 kms into the ride we were well into the country and Ken and I dropped Earnie off the back.  From there on it was pretty straight forward just follow the canal.  Or at least that was the way it was for the first 50 kms.  From there we wandered down some country lanes and down a few bike paths.  The sun was out and by 11:00 AM Ken and I stopped to pull off the last of the arm and leg warmers. 

We knew it was going to be hard to find something to eat so we started looking for somewhere to grab some food around 11:30 AM but all the towns seemed closed up.  By 1:00 Pm I was wondering if we would find anything as every shop was closed.  We finally rode through a slightly larger town which was having some sort to agricultural fair.  Not a farmers market but a fair showing off new tractors, feritlizer things and the like.  The food places said we were too late for lunch but we found a concession booth which had ice cream cones.  Ok a triple scoop ice cream for lunch.  I guess it would have to do. 

Ken and I had been trading off pulling most of the day and by now the wind had come up and was straight into our faces again.  However now it is stronger than ever and it is Kens turn.  We make a turn onto a busier road which has no bike lane and no shoulder. It is lined with trees on both sides and absolutely straight for about 8 kms.  The wind is just funnelled straight down the road.  I was right on Ken’s wheel.  He was going too fast for me to do anything but hang on.  When we got to the far end of the straight stretch Ken we needed to make a turn onto a bike path. Ken was out of breath.  I said it then and will say it again. “Great Pull Ken”  

There were a bunch of twists and turns getting into Mulhouse down some bike lanes, across some crazy intersections and narrow streets.  I recognized most of the turns from putting the little Google man down when I was designing the course. 

Garmin says we did 175 meters of climbing and 116 kms of riding.  What a fun day of riding down some of the nicest bike trails I have ever been on.

Terry hot biker

September 29, 2018 Rest day in Strasbourg

Today was a very relaxing day.  We tried our hardest to sleep in but are so use to getting up early that we were awake and rolling around by 8:30 Am.  

For this rest day our little band is staying in two different apartments.  Agnes and I are with Ken and Sally and Earnie and Betsy are with Juerg.   Our apartment is a very nice spacious place  on the fourth floor of a four story building which has a winding staircase up the four stories.  It has been totally renovated and looks out across to the Strasbourg cathedral.  It is a million dollar view.  There are lots of very cute decorating touches.   The other apartment is not as spacious but is on the ground floor and does not have a view but it has a back yard for the bikes. 

Ken and Sally were off to do a walk.  Agnes and I lingered over coffee for a while before we went out to walk through the downtown of Strasbourg.  Agnes had found a place to park the van for free so we walked over to check on the van and then dropped by the other apartment to make sure all was well over there.  They were in the middle of laundry and had stuff hanging everywhere.   Agnes and I continued on into the downtown and wandered through the different squares and admired different things in the shops.  Not much of the stuff which has the Alsace decorations will fit with our place in Kelowna so we left it for other customers.

We wandered into the huge Strasbourg Cathedral.  It is a magnificent place.  The stone work is beyond belief in the detail and is in unbelievably good condition. There is so much that it is hard to believe that it has been all restored.  The original cathedral was built at this location in the 7^th century with various different cathedrals being built at various times.  The current cathedral was started in 1180 and finished in 1439.  It was the tallest monument to Christianity for over two centuries. The sun was out and was illuminating the huge stained glass windows.  I took a lot of pictures none of which do justice to the magnificent structure.

After the Cathedral we wandered through the downtown squares and found out way back to the apartment.  Along the way we picked up a baguette and some cheese and had a late French lunch.

The afternoon was spent just relaxing and doing a little catching up on e-mails and doing some tour accounting.  A tour director’s work is never done.

Terry

September 28, 2018 Sarrebourg (Saint Ultrich) to Strasbourg

This morning everyone was feeling a lot better about things and that the troubles with the van were over.  We had all appreciated the quiet of the convent and the simple yet comfortable nature of the convent. 

After breakfast and loading luggage in the van Ken, Juerg and I headed up the hill towards Sarrebourg.  It was a short climb and soon we were on the main road into town.  As we approached Sarrebourg there was a long and steep downhill. There was a fair amount of traffic with parked cars along the right hand side and I was keeping an eye out for the cars while watching my speed on the steep hill.  In all of this I missed seeing one of the memorials I had earlier identified as one which I wanted to see.  It contained the remains of 20,000 French soldiers who had died after being captured.  They were buried were they died and then their remains had been repatriated back to this cemetery after the war. 

There were a few lefts and a few rights and before we knew it we were through Saarrebourg and back on a little country road.  We passed over a bridge which had row upon row of flowers planted in flower boxes along the hand rail.  The bridge was over a rail yard which had a bewildering array of overhead wires and rails. It was quite a sight so I stopped and took a picture. 

A few kms down the road and we got to the point where we joined the canal path.  For the first 8 kms along the canal path the grade was quite steep and the canal had been abandon.  There was a lock every 50-100 meters of so and it was probably too expensive to keep operational.  Once on the main canal the water way was anywhere from 30 meters to a 100 meters wide.   It was unbelievably beautiful along the canal.  The sun was reflecting off the water and the odd boat was motoring along.  The canal had a paved bike trail on one side or the other but the Garmin kept us on the paved side so all the work I had put in to make sure we were on paved path way paid off. 

About the 67 kms mark we came to a little town and although it was only a few kms in to Strasbourg we decided to have lunch.   We went into a little store and I grabbed a baguette, a package of ham and a pear.   We then rode back and sat on a bench in the sun beside the canal to eat.  Wow this was a little piece of heaven. 

Rolling into Strasbourg was not very easy as a lot of turns and my Garmin gave up on giving navigation so I had to follow the blue line.  Once into the center of the city it was hectic as there were thousands of people walking and riding in every which direction, however we worked our way through and arrived at our Airbnb.  We are staying with the Coburns while the Williamsons are staying with Juerg for our rest day.  Our condo is on the fourth floor with a large circular stair case.  It overlooks the huge cathedral on downtown.  What an amazing place. 

It was a very pleasant day in the sun gliding down the bike path.  With only 81 kms and 238 meters of climb it was an easy day. 

Terry  

September 27, 2018 Metz to Sarrebourg (Saint Ulrich)

Today the ride was 90.5 kms with 918 m climb.  Ken, Juerg, and I set off together.  There were a lot of twists and turns getting out of Metz.  The first part of the route took us past some 17^th - 18th century fortifications which had been built along a gorge. They now had a bike path built along them and while it was very interesting there were a lot of twists and turns and following the route was a huge challenge.  

After we passed the ancient fortifications we rode down a lot of busy streets which fortunately all had bike lanes.  However there were still a lot of turns and traffic circles to contend with.

When we finally cleared the city it was into the hills and while none of them were over 6% there were a lot of 5-10 km climbs that really got your attention.  Fortunately the wind was not a factor and the morning was cool so the climbs went pretty well. The roads were all through large fields with almost zero traffic.   We were motoring along and before we knew it, it was lunch time so we found a grocery store and pulled in for a sandwich.  We hadn’t been there more than 20 minutes and Earnie rode past.  We called to him but he never stopped. 

We made one stop at the Cutting Cemetery which has over 900 soldiers who were killed in one of the first battles of the war.  These men were all killed in Aug 1914 in one day.  An early prelude to the horror of the next four years.

It wasn’t long after that when we got a call that the van had a flat and that Agnes and the ladies were lost.  They had no idea on how to get the spare out from under the van and what should be done.  I said that this is a Eurocar problem we have roadside assistance and call them.  Betsy walked up and knocked on a door of a house and got a local man to come out and help them.  He worked on the tire for over two hours.  Used tools from his garage and by talking to Eurocar on the phone they were able to figure out how to lower the spare from under the van (it is a really complicated winch system hidden under the rear floor mat).  He got the tire changed and the van was back on the road. 

Ken, Juerg and I stopped about 4kms from the convent where we were staying waiting on a call from the van saying they were mobile.  Across the street was a garage and Ken went and talked to the owner and got his card. 

When we got to the convent the van had arrived and everyone was upset and in a state.  I got ken and Juerg to come with me and we went back to the garage which Ken had spotted.  Using Juerg’s French language skills we learned that the tire could not be repaired.  The owner made some calls and told us that a friend of a friend had a pair of new tires for the van and he could put them on in two hours for 301 euros.  As we had been quoted 291 in a Speedy back in Calais for new rear tires this sounded like a deal (The tires on this van are well past the wear bars).  We said yes lets go and he bolted off in his truck and was back in a few minutes with the new tires.  Forty minutes later the problem was solved and we were on the road with new front tires. 

Everyone was happy that the problem was solved.  We were all too exhausted to drive into Sarrebroug for supper but there was a restaurant down the road from the convent so we walked down there for supper.  While a little pricey the food was fabulous and everyone felt a lot better.

The convent where were staying was built in the early 1800’s and was used for many years.  Now it is operated by the church for groups to use a retreat. While the rooms were Spartan it was a very cool place.  It was so quiet and we all needed a little more of that.  I was so exhausted from the big day and the trauma with the van I couldn’t even write the blog. 

Terry