A funny story, and an update on Ellen's ailing left knee. A few days ago, we had stopped mid-ride for a navigation check. We often do this at a confusing intersection or to confirm we are on the correct path. As some of you know, we ride with clip-in pedals. A tandem requires coordination: we always start by clipping in the left side with the pedals down, raise the pedal about a third of a turn, count to three, and off we go. At the end of this stop, we had clipped in to get going, but just before we started out our weight shifted slightly left and--because our feet were clipped in--we toppled over on that side. Embarrassing for sure, but not injurious. When we stood back up, Ellen immediately remarked that her knee felt much better. Weird, but we'll take any improvement that comes along. The dramatic improvement continued the rest of that day's ride. We've now had two (three!) full days of riding since then, and the knee is greatly improved. Why? We know that Ellen has been dealing with a torn meniscus and an adjacent cyst; she is scheduled for an arthroscopic repair shortly after we return home. It's possible that the extreme pain plaguing her on this trip was due to a piece of the meniscus that was lodged in a bad place, and that the fall shifted it to a better spot.
Our ride from Chagny to Bragny-sur-Saone started out very challenging but ended better. We departed in light rain and were soon following a canal path. Rain varied between light and quite heavy. When we rolled into the larger city of Chalon-sur-Saone, the bike path ended and we had to shift to city streets for several km. Fortunately we were mostly in an industrial area so the traffic was light. We ended up stopping at an industrial building with a small covered area to wait for the rain to slack a bit.
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| Sheltering under an underpass |
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| Shelter at an industrial building |
As we continued through the city, the traffic picked up quite a bit; we were fortunate that drivers were considerate as we worked our way through urban traffic in the rain. By early afternoon the rain let up, and we were back on a nice path along the river. Stopped for lunch at a great riverside restaurant. 45 km for the day.
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| Signage along this section of the route. The 6 is for Eurovelo 6. |
With limited lodging options in the area around Bragny-sur-Saone, we'd reserved a teepee at a small "resort": four large tents in a grassy area, plus a nice shared space with kitchen, showers, and a dry toilet. After settling in we walked about 30 minutes to the next village for some groceries to bring back for dinner. Also staying at the place was a very nice couple from the Netherlands; we enjoyed talking over our dinners and into the evening.
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| Along the river near Bragny |
Next morning we set off from Bragny under cloudy but dry skies. The provided breakfast at the teepee place was very minimal, so around noon we stopped in the lovely small town of Seurre for a small meal. A bakery provided a nice slice of quiche and a great sandwich on a small baguette. As we continued the sky gradually cleared and the weather warmed.
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| Seurre |
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| Along the Saone |
We ended in Saint-Jean-de-Losne after 46 km. The apartment we'd reserved here has a Harry Potter theme: it is packed to the gills with every possible decoration.
And walking around in the evening. There is a marina filled with barges and other boats for cruising the rivers and canals.
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| The Camino de Santiago is everywhere. |
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