Drinking Port - and cycling around Burgundy Chateaux: Cormatin, Nobles. Villages, Chapaize, Prayes Brancion

I'm sitting on the back of the boat drinking Port'o' (on the rocks).  Please don't try this until you are least my age, or you will become instantly hooked and an alcoholic and have an early death.

Me doing this blog. The Orange thing is our bike cover.

Today we have enjoyed possibly the most interesting and satisfying cycle ride so far. From the boat in Pont de Vaux we cycled down to the River Saone and along the cycle path to near Macon.  (I always do my research the day before, so although our cycle rides have nothing impulsive about them, at least they always have a mid point of interest, we know roughly how many miles we will cover, the metres of ascent, and whether we can take a picnic or whether we can be (absolutely) sure of finding lunch, (at lunchtime).

At this point, just before Macon, I saw a marked cycle path heading West and discussed the possibility of diverting along it to avoid Macon altogether (no loss I assure you, Macon is not the most beautiful town, but the countryside to the West of Macon where we were headed is unsurpassed)

Consulting with my husband and agreeing on this course, having already done my homework the night before, I was pretty confident that this would take us across the rail track and two motorways to the countryside southwest of Macon and to Solutre Pouilly just under the magnificent La Roche Solutre, surrounded by Beaujolais vineyards and finally to a car boot sale, or in Fench 'Vide Grenier'.

Vide Grenier

La Roche Solutre - absolutely spectacular.  Thankfully I felt no compulsion to wlk up as we had done that on previous visit when t was not so hot!

I'm not as obsessed with these as I have been in the past, but it makes a good mid way point for a cycle ride and there is always something to eat available on site.  In this case chips with tomato sauce followed by Tarte  de Apricot - the best two course meal we have had for 8 euros (for two) in a long time.

Back to the cycle path and my proposed diversion. Not 100 yards had passed on the new, and agreed, route  before Julian was on Google maps and saying that we should have stayed on the Saone cycle path.  There is one thing that is guaranteed to get my goat, and that is when my husband decides to override our joint decision and on a whim tell me that I have headed the wrong way. Or I have taken us up a dirt track, or I have set us on an impossibly steep and long route.

Berze Chatel

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Anyhow, apart from a 10 minute silence, good humour resumed for the rest of the day and we had a brilliant ride to car boot sale which sits directly under La Roche Solutre, one of my favourite places, followed by tea in a nearby cosmopolitan cafe. We then cycled along the Cluny Macon path to the Chateau Berze Chatel, the most beautiful chateau in the world!  At the end of May the roses are at their best and - that was the icing on the cake.

So we spent the day in Beaujolais wine country, asking ourselves, what happened to Beaujolais Nouveau? But you don't have to be a wine lover or a wine buff to enjoy the undulating countryside, row upon row of vines, fine country houses, stone villages and chateaux.  Passing the many roadside wine tasting caves, (in warehouses and even suburban looking bungalows) there was no sign of what I really wanted, a cafe and a cup of tea. We decided to press on for home and the boat and were impressed with our 52 miles covered.  By battery told me I had 4 miles left.

Next day cycling brought more chateaux  Cormatin, Brancion and Nobles

Small village with Auberge de Grisson where we had lunch and will be returning to stay there when I do my pottery course with Monique Degulaire.

Chateaux Nobles near Cormatin and Brancion.  Makes wine and has chambre d'otes

Chapaize Romanesque Church.  The back view not roadside which is less impressive

Pottery in Chapaize

We bought some of these lovely bowls for ourselves and for Rachel and Max

Rhone Valley Yenne to Langieu. End of cycling tour.

Bridge with funny little fake chateau under the rocks

Not all our cycle rides have been warm and sunny.  Yesterday temperature 26 degrees. 
Today 13 degrees with rain and wind all day.

The Valley of the Rhone cycle path is excellent most on small roads or purpose made path.  It starts at Geneva but is difficult to follow from the centre.  After about 6 miles you get out of the suburbs and after Chancey you are high on a cliffs above the Rhone Gorge on minor roads - which is absolutely terrifying when you have to move to the side for a car or lorry. Even with a barrier, the drop is so sheer and I seem to be drawn to the edge!  After Seyssel the path is smooth tarmac and easy to follow along the wide Rhone valley plain.   We left the path at Lagnieu heading for Bourg en Bresse in the pouring rain. Tomorrow we leave Bourg en Bresse and will arrive back at the boat.

Monastery in Yenne our overnight stop.  It was packed with people on a course.  Just was rolling his eyes when he told me that they were walking around the garden chanting. He has no sensitivity. The old monastery is on the right, we were in the unattractive modern wing!

Julian sat in the garden whilst I went for a walk along an overgrown track.  As I had bare legs I found a long stick to pat the grass ahead in case of snakes - not really thinking I would find one.  Before long a saw two intertwining yellow and black heads rising up from the grass and another head poking out of a hole in a gnarled tree trunk.  I later found out that I had come across a lair of Whip snakes.

As I was nearly at the end of the track which was in sight, I made sure that the snakes were to my left in or near the hedge and with more prodding first with the stick on my side, I nipped past them, on the basis that there was probably not going to be another snake den in the next 50 yards.

Near Yenne

Rhone near Yenne

Rhone Valley gorge near Yenne

Narrow gorge difficult on bike with so many cars

2,500 miles in just over a year cycling

We've been following these signs all the way

Rhone 60 km from Lyon 

Similar view for miles along Rhone.  Good cycle path surface.

Pelly - a Chateau we found by chance and stayed the night.