Geoff Jones

Inveterate dabbler in business, travel, gadgets & life

Author: Geoff

Day8 Langres to Dole

One week ago I was biking with Sally down the River Lee and the Regents canal with a wonderful welcome at Daphne’s. 647 miles later I’ve been cycling on my own down the Canal de la Marne a la Saône and Saône river and am now listening to screaming French kids at the Pizz Up restaurant.

Last night I stayed in the faded excellence of the La Post hotel in Langres with the receptionist who refused to budge on the €75 rack rate. Tonight it was a machine that charged me €32 for a key to my room at a F1 hotel in Dole with no power points in the room and vending machines in the corridor.

Today was lovely and flat apart from where the Balesmes tunnel was blocked to cyclists and I had to carry my bike up the steps and cycle down overgrown paths plus up a great hill. Tomorrow it’s The Jura.

And now to devour my Pom Pizz Up Plus at that centre of culinary excellence in Dole. Pizz Up restaurant!

Day8 Langres to Dole

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Day7- Vitry le Francois to Langres

One week from leaving Cambridge I find myself waking up in another historic city, Langres. My cyclometer says I’ve pedalled 563 miles of which 96 I did yesterday.

I’ve finally discovered the French canal system, yesterday I went from Brethenay to Langres on the towpath of the Canal de la Marne ala Saône although I strongly suspect I could have done the whole day on the canal, thus avoiding my major error of finding myself on a motorway 🙁

I also experienced my first thunderstorm / mega downpour, arriving at the hotel like a drowned rat!

The French canal skirts around towns so to get to Langres you have to come of the towpath and climb up 500feet in 1 mile! Not pleasant after 95 miles with squelchy shoes..

Today I’m hoping to stay on the canal to near Dijon then subsequent days will see the serious climbing beginning. First the Haut Jura to Geneva then up to Les Gets

Day7 Vitry Le Francois to Langres

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Day6 Bourg et Comin to Vitry Le Francois

Today’s 82 miles was spent cycling through Champagne. i made an early start at 7am to get the hills out of the way before the heat of the day. As it was I had a great day with a lovely tail breeze. I passed the final cemetery at Marfaux, a curious one in that the German graves are adjacent to the British ones on top of a hill.

The graves were soon replaced by the Champagne vines, which set my mind wondering if we had a deal going that meant their was no fighting in the vineyards,l

Outside Epernay I met up with the girls who came over on the same ferry as me and are cycling to Florence, they suggested I should bike long the valley to Chalons, certainty much easier! I got into a rhythym and continued to Vitry Le Francois the last 10 miles on a  canal towpath. The town is full of flats and young kids.

I’ve now pedaled 467 miles in 6 days. Here is todays gps trail:-

Day6 Bourg et Comin to Vitry le Francois

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Day5 Ham to Bourg Et Comin

A ride through Picardie in the plus thirties.
I started late as I was still trying to plot a route without to many hills. Not to successfully I might add, I have this suspicious feeling that the French canal system would get me through France on the flat! However, the few towpaths I’ve seen have varied in condition from excellent (Aisne canal) to diabolical (Quentin) so more research needed.

Plotting a route is very tricky as today I discovered one of the ‘white’ roads had detoriated into a forest track alsio White roads have steeper gradients and the villages are far to twee to have anything like a coop etc.

The opposite is true on ‘yellow’ roads you suddenly find it’s been upgraded and it’s now an artic racetrack 🙁

Today was a gruelling 53miles on White roads.

Tomorrow it’s Epernay where I might be tempted to take the afternoon off if I can find a suitable hotel. The accomodation and meals are proving to be expensive, currently burning up the best part of £100 per day! (that’s the race Steve, to get to Les Gets before the money runs out) Oh, how I miss Ecuador!!

Another cost element is that there is no open wifi here – some ridicolous French law thar makes you liable to jail if someone uses your connection for nefarious purposes – so I’m using the £3 per megabyte O2 rip off cellular rate.

Early start tomorrow to beat the sun!!

Day5 Ham to Bourg et Comin

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