Greetings from Burgundy!
Yes, we have traversed from one famous wine-growing area (Champagne) to another. As we say when we're roughing it like this, somebody's got to do it ...
Hmm. Sorry for that indulgence. We do recognise how lucky we are to be enjoying such wonderful locations, in this time in history especially. The landscape we have been through today has seen shocking privations and decimation through warfare, both in ancient times and during more modern history. Sam, our history expert, has been detailing for us the appalling things the Romans did to the Gauls when he was in this area. My brief summary is this: of the 3 million Gauls alive at the time of Caesar, 1 million were killed by him, 1 million enslaved and the other million left to wander around wondering what had hit them. More about that later, but let's go back to the beginning of today's journey.
Leaving Troyes
There was a lot of discussion around breakfast today about appropriate dress code for today's ride. Rain was almost a certainty: but when? And how much? Should one take one's heavier rain jacket or the more streamlined version?
Here's Chris contemplating his choices ...
Meanwhile Jo, realising she has an excuse to put on her stylish new booties, is about to break into a smile ...
... especially as she has her manservant José to help put them on ...
The roads were damp but it wasn't actually raining while we waited to get underway ...
... but it looked like rain could start falling at any moment so we were all either carrying or wearing a rain jacket, and some of us had our waterproof booties on.
When we got underway we were all together for a while and I got a photo of Chris and Roberta from team Wagga Wagga rolling along in front of me. They have excellent club jerseys which you can see in this snap but I will have to get a photo of all four Waggans together in their colours before trip's end ...
By the first rest stop the Dynamic Duo and their entourage had pulled away slightly and here they are at the rest stop, champing at the bit to get underway again ...
While not as remarkable as many of our morning stops, there was a good bar-restaurant to visit for coffee and plenty of room for us to congregate, fill our bottles and have a quick snack. Here's Sharon arriving ...
... and Emily and Ian pulling in with Don just behind ...
With the longest day of the tour underway (on paper it was shown as 165 kms), most of us moved through the first stop fairly quickly. Di and I followed and were closing in on the leaders when the team car went past ...
We were working a little harder than we wanted to be at this stage so decided to ease back, enjoy the scenery and preserve ourselves for the hills in the latter half of the ride.
Once again, Sam and Dylan had put together a superb route traversing almost exclusively quiet roads with very little traffic. The fact that this was a Sunday also meant that there were few people in motor vehicles cluttering up the byways of southern Champagne and northern Burgundy. We travelled through forested sections and lots more cropping country. I stopped momentarily to photograph what I think might be an old grain silo ...
... and noticed a roadside attraction on a smaller scale while I was stopped ...
Like the day we rode from Artres to Sedan, we found ourselves at this point on something of a plateau with rolling fields all around ...
... but before long we descended into a green forest tunnel ...
Lunch in an Idyllic Setting
Our tour organisers had selected a superb spot for lunch on this day in the form of the magnificent Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Here is a plaque identifying the site ...
The group was still not very dispersed at this stage, with small bunches arriving quite close together. Here's a shot of the last bunch parking their bikes in anticipation of lunch ...
Once again lunch was superb, but on this day it just had to take a backseat to our location. We all spent a bit of time looking around. Here is a short video of the inner grounds so you can get some idea of what the place is like ...
If you are ever touring around this part of the world, I would suggest that it's a stop you mustn't miss.
Speaking of touring around "this part of the world", I guess I should show you exactly where we travelled this day ...
Two French War Heroes and a Genocidal Invader
Some folks won't like that heading but hey - it's my blog! The two French french war heroes I'm referring to are Vercingetorix and Jeanne d'Arc (or the Maid du Orléans). Most of us rode up to view the impressive statue to Vercingetorix ...
On the way I stopped to photograph the statue of Jeanne d'Arc ...
... but the main attraction for the day was the museum showing the exploits of Caesar in the local area ...
One must admit, he was a military genius. His achievements here at Alesia are regarded as his greatest tactical victory. Here are a couple of photos that Di took inside the museum ...
... and a neat photo of a woman drawing the walls that Caesar had built ...
It was a very interesting and sobering display of military power and ruthlessness. Once again, our tour has been spectacular in showing us this part of the world.
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