June 2020 Day 6

LE VAUDIOUX TO LANGRES

OUR FIRST ADVENTURE JUNE 2020

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Day 6 Montigny Mornay Villeneuve - Orchamps.

Our plan was to get up and go as we had 75 km in the saddle today, but our bodies and brains are too relaxed to hurry. It’s ten before we set off. I was trying to be efficient and while Martin used the shower, I packed up my bed and sleeping bag, but couldn’t find the bag for my pillow.

I took both the sleeping bag and the mattress back out of their bags to check it wasn’t in there. Martin helped me look in the tent, but it wasn’t until I moved out of the tent so Martin could sort out his bed that I found it. I’d been sat on it. So after all that I’d not saved us any time.  

We left the campsite over a small bridge, I was in front and heard Martin’s bell ring. We worked a system of bell ringing rather than shouting if the one behind needed to stop. He’d adjusted his mirror and it fell off! I wait for him to catch up. ‘Okay. Off we go,’ he says, passing me and I chuckle.



‘You need to stop again.’ His shoelace was trailing behind his bike. With a sigh he stops and says he’s left his brain at the campsite.

‘With mine then,’ I say and we start off again, across the canal and into a town to buy supplies. Martin asks if they have any gas cannisters as ours are getting low and we haven’t found any for sale anywhere yet. The woman is grumpy. We’ve noticed people are not very smiley or happy in this region. Maybe it’s because of the virus so we don’t judge but carry on. I wonder if they hear our accent which has never left us, and think we shouldn’t be here. It’s possible. 
We cycle through quiet villages where the children are friendly, especially those on bikes. We both enjoy looking at what people have done in their gardens or the colours they use for their houses.

The we find a departmental road, quiet but oh my, the wind is in our faces, making the downhills slow and the uphills hard work. Now my legs know they are on a cycle tour. 

Sometimes the wind gusts from the left and pushes against my bike, a few wobbles and determined legs stop any major problems, but it is tiring. Finally, there is a hill we can roll down and relieve out backsides. We cycle into Béze ( Village Website ) where we stop by the source of the river, and marvel at the colour of the water.

A family of ducks swim over to us and we feed them some small pieces of apple and laugh as they dive to the bottom. Simple things in life can be the best.



There are ancient plane trees surrounding the spring. So I have to take a photo. What changes they have seen standing here, guarding the spring. 

We follow the spring as it winds along towards the old town that grew around it. The weeds sway and I see a trout, enjoying the sunshine. More ducks approach when I stop. Sorry ducks. No apple left. The path leads between old buildings and I spy some towers.

This will be a place to return to when the caves are open, it is possible to take a trip on a boat underground too. 

We leave the town, after cycling down a one- way street to avoid a steep hill, but we stop at the next junction. Martin is struggling to get the GPS to work but he chooses the right road and we cycle on.
‘Look at those horns,’ I say as I spy some animals in the field, then the ‘horns’ lift.

‘Donkeys.’ Martin says and laughs. ‘Look at the size of those ears.’

We swerve across the road and I take out my phone. The donkeys oblige by coming closer. They are large and shaggy like a cross between a donkey and an alpaca!

Later we discover they are an old French breed, Baudet du Poitou one of the largest breeds in the world.

We remain on the departmental road rather than visit another village as the wind is taking its toll on our energy. We plod through the farmlands, corn and sunflowers surrounding us and stretching to the patches of woodland. But there is a reward after the hill. A 360 degree view and a bench. Perfect for a lunch stop. 

After lunch, Martin lies down and refuses to move and I like the idea too, but if I lie down I will sleep. This tour has an end date and we need to keep on going. Future tours will allow us to stop when we want to and just be. I truly look forward to that today. We would stop and wild camp if needed, but water will always be an issue. We chat about possibilities.



I sit on the bench and hold tight to my notebook as the wind threatens to take it away. My mum chats on whatsapp and I take a photo to inspire her art.

Martin informs me we have only done thirty kilometres so far and have forty-five to go. It sounds like a chore but our legs know what to do even if our heads are somewhere else today. Down the hill we enter a village who have commissioned a street artist to decorate metal boxes and shelters. I like it. We soldier on against the wind, and lots of small hills.



I try to point out things to Martin , but every time I say ‘on the left’ he looks right. I giggle lots.

We see a cemetery part way up a hill and pull over to look for drinking water. It’s funny how cemeteries often have the life-giving liquid. We are heading for the gates when another cyclist calls across and points to a tap near a bench. Ahh, cold water. There are not as many drinkable fountains in the French countryside anymore. I have a theory that the water is the same but the rules have changed and they can no longer say the water is ‘potable’ or safe to drink. Maybe they are worried we will sue them if we get ill. As if I’d have the energy to come back and tell them! The man says it’s good to drink and he points to his now full water bottle. We fill our bottles and then I stick my head under. It is bliss, I hadn’t realised how hot I was.



The man asks where we are from and where we are going. He describes the hill we are about to climb and is very excited about the sharp bends on the descent. He also makes it sound like the campsite is just waiting at the bottom for us. Ha.



My knees are aching so I choose and easy gear and plod up the hill.



‘Have you seen that?’ Martin calls from behind. I look down at my bike thinking there is something wrong and he laughs.



‘Stop.’ Now I’m convinced there is a problem. I stop and turn to look at him, he points to the right and it’s my turn to laugh. The view. I almost missed a spectacular view. I must be tired.



The hill continues up into woods which give us some welcome shade and we wonder when it will end. Finally the descent arrives and there are curves but nothing like I expected. We chat about the shock the man would have on the roads in the Jura when a bend sign really means a bend, and often with a steep decline too. 

The route continues through villages with old houses, pretty church roofs and a large manor house. The crops change from mostly corn to mostly sunflowers, all following the sun, and then we hear an eerie sound. I think my phone has changed its tune, but it’s not my phone. We slow to listen. It is coming from the field, an alien squawk, screech, cry. No animal or bird sound that I recognise.  
A little further up the hill we see a large earthworks covered in diggers and machinery, a huge landfill site being designed to use the gases that are created by the debris that cannot be recycled or burnt. One of the machines reverses, and our alien bird is revealed. The wind has been playing with us all day, but this was its best trick. I am a little sad though, because I like the idea of an alien in the sunflowers instead of in the corn as they are in many movies. 

I am finding it a struggle to continue today, the end is not in sight and I want to stop. I wonder if it is the thought of going back home that is making today more difficult, or the wind. Of course it has nothing to do with the distance we are cycling.

Then we see the river and the canal at Orchamps and the municipal campsite between the two is such a wonderful sight. The camp manager is friendly, welcoming, and offers us chairs, he is in no hurry for us to pay. He treats us like old friends although we have never met him before, and we are grateful for his smiles. 


We pay 9 euro and find a place to set up. He reappears with two chairs for us which we use to hang our towels on after much needed showers in a very modern and clean building. 


My knees are now burning, not hot to touch but hot inside and I am wondering if tomorrow is going to be a problem, but we will find a solution in the form of a train if we need to, for now we walk into town to buy tea. Both so tired we forget our masks and feel strangely naked and guilty in the shop, but we are the only customers. There is one pain au chocolate and one chocolate twist left in the basket by the till, so they go into our bag and will make a nice extra breakfast for tomorrow. We are so hungry and eat everything we cook with enthusiasm.


We go to bed early and just about manage to listen to a podcast before sleeping to the frog’s song once again.  Day 7
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