Greetings from Belfort

The Hotel had left breakfast out for us in the restaurant which allowed us to get on the road by 06:30, a good thing as we were planning over a 150 mile ride and there was a need to find a bike shop somewhere en route. As we left Les Riceys, we past what I believe was St. Peter’s church, an incongruously large edifice for such a small village - but derelict, a strange thing as we often hear about empty churches in the UK but you never really see a true dereliction with barred doors and broken windows.

It was a misty morning and we made good progress through vineyard lined valleys and villages whose names reminded one of a browse through the pages of the Savoy’s wine list. Our first stop was after 55 miles at the old fortified town of Langres, it was a bit of a peddle to get up there, but the coffee and ham baguettes were more than worth the effort. It transpired that the only bike shop in the town was closed on Mondays and as Jeremy’s makeshift chain seemed to be holding up well, we decided to press on and try our luck in the next large town, Vesoul.

It was another 50 miles to Vesoul and we didn’t get there until about four. On our arrival we contacted ‘Culture Velo’ and the owner agreed to stay open until we got there. The application of some of Jeremy’s mellifluous charm on a little old lady at a bus stop secured us the directions we needed and we got to the place by about four thirty. The bike went straight into the workshop for a new chain and some careful adjustment and half an hour later we were back on the road.

The last 50 miles was tough but more than made up for by the beautiful evening and wonderful countryside. We found the frightfully posh if rather faded Grand Hotel Tonneau D'Or at 21:00, unpacked, washed and went out to an excellent Italian restaurant for huge plates of pasta and an acceptable local Rose.

Tomorrow, Switzerland…

Today’s stats:

Total ride so far 505 miles

Total ride today 155 miles

Average speed today 15.6 mph