Cycling from Vezelay, France to Ste. Sabine,
France
Another fine day of cycling in France!
No breakfast
at the old hostel in Vezelay, so I got an early start over the hill on the D957 to
Avallon. On the top, a good chain oiling and wipedown did the mount a lot of good. Avallon was sparking in the morning sun and treated myself to a real cafe petit
dejeuner (including croissants) at the hotel terrace on the main square. Leaving town
on the D427 following the Cousin briefly, then skirting the
N6 on the D360 to Ste. Magnance and Rouvray.
From here
the D4b
is provided a super ride
along the ridge
between the Tournesac and Romanée up to Saulieu.
After 54km in the hot sun I was
really roasted and had an espress in the shade of a cafe's awning and hung out at the
beautiful park in Saulieu to cool off. By the time the heat of the day had passed,
reaching Dijon was out of the question and the first night of the trip in a hotel was
looking pretty certain. Feeling better, I took the N6 south for 4km before heading east on the
D977bis. This 32km stretch offers rolling terrain
with steep descents and climbs out of the valleys of the Baigne and
Serain, climbing to 503m at Sausseau, then the
big drop down to the Canal
de Bourgogne.
Out of the wilderness again at
Pouilly-en-A., I jumped on the D18, hugging the canal south to Châteauneuf, where I thought I could get a
bed at this historic site. Nothing doing so I crossed the canal again and found the
Auberge de Lassey in Ste. Sabine, which served an excellent repas with a demi-carafe.
Dehydration had gotten me again earlier in the day and I feel sure I could have made Dijon if
I had been more careful!
63 miles today.
Cycling in France from Vezelay, France to Ste. Sabine,
France
