Today we rode from Paray le Monial over to Mâcon, and when I say ‘over’ I mean it because there are nothing but hills between the two. We looked at alternatives but selected one using smaller roads, but not ‘smallest’. It was a lot of climbing anyway and this one was fine with little traffic. The weather has now decided to be hot for our last few days so at the end of it we were well spent. At one point we lucked out and came upon a bar at just the right time as they are not frequent out in the agricultural hinterland. Terrific views were had along the way and also a 1.6km tunnel under a hill (thanks!). We were also happy to be back in the vines as we neared Mâcon. We are staying at the same apartment we were in 3 weeks ago and really liked. Mâcon seems much more alive now as we strolled about in the evening.
Back to canal riding for our last one but a bit of a problem. Tara has hurt a toe by stubbing it on a corner and it is hurting her. She is okay with cycling but not good for walking as we think it may be broken. It is another hot day for cycling and a long way but flat again. This stretch is probably the best one for beauty as well as services like water , toilets, and cold drinks. It got busy as we got close to Lyon as cities often are, but also we got to ride through another tunnel which dropped the temperature likely by 15 degrees for an excellent break from the 30+.
Now we sit waiting for the hotel to find our bike case which has gone astray. *** ten days later *** The hotel LOST OUR BIKE CASE! This was a biblical level disaster for us and we are now home but there was a lot of angst, tears, and total mystification and disbelief along the way. The short story is a) the hotel has taken full responsibility (in writing) and will reimburse us for a new case and expenses, b) the manager found us a bike box just under the maximum size allowed by the airlines, c) we packed the bike in with a lot of padding also hotel supplied, d) we got a huge taxi to get us to the airport, e) we got it on the flight to London ok, f) we had to plead with a bus driver at Heathrow to allow it on his bus to go between terminals, g) we got it on the flight home, h) and finally, our brilliant friend Rob came to pick us up in his van rather than Lyndsay and her smaller Subaru.
Alas, no relaxing and re-visiting Lyon in our final 2 days. C’est la guerre. Au revoir. p.s. Tara’s toe is recovering but carrying rather than rolling bike cases didn’t help.
geeteetravels 