Day 2 Dole to Nuits Saint George.

A lazy start as there were only 47 kilometres today, our first chateau was spotted and photographed from all angles. Jenni would use theses photo later to sketch and paint.

We set up camp for lunch under some Plane trees using our chairs and a giant slab of carved stone as a table. While we ate children were loaded on and off buses heading to their schools, some were not too happy others content playing while they waited for friends. It was an uneventful day, cycling was pleasant in the warm sunshine.

We arrived at our hotel mid afternoon, showered and changed we walked to Site archéologique des Bolards a Roman complex where wine was produced. We could not enter the area but could view it from the fence.

We returned to the hotel via a super market, boxes of salads for supper and a few treats for the next day.

Day 3 Nuits du Saint George to Buxy

Today the sunshine awaited us.

We were soon on the V51 Bourgogne slicing though the vine fields, to the north Grand Cru at 200 euros a bottle. To the south the peasants table wine for a few euros a bottle. More information we had learnt from the gent two days before.

Each village was crowded with caves and parked outside weird tractors tall and thin fitted with a hoe. The villages were clean and well maintained most showing off a grand chateaux built from the wealth of grapes.

Part 2 of the day started with lunch on the Canal du Centre taking us towards Chalon sur Soane. While we relaxed most of France must have cycled past us.

Just before Chalon we turned south again now on the Route du Bourgogne. France's first velo route. Tree lined and with a slight up hill it took us to Buxy our destination. Tonight we will play hunt the pizza.

Day 4  Buxy to Cluny

Up early today as we want to arrive in Cluny with plenty of time to visit the town but a slight delay as rain stopped play.

Cluny a medieval town founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910 where he later built  Cluny Abbey.  The abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict. It was sacked by the Huguenots in 1562, and many of its valuable manuscripts were destroyed or removed. Part of the abbey church and monastic buildings survived,  most was destroyed as a result of the French Revolution, with much of the stone sold to raise money for the state.

Part of the entrance door frame and towers remain, the inside of the abbey is now marked by the reconstructed pillar bases with the modern town built in and around the base. The cloisters and other buildings where saved for use by the town. Entrance to the museum and remains of the abbey cost 11 euro and take about 2 hours to explore. Panels are in French English and German. After visiting there is a wonderful collection of boutique shops and cafes to explore, we paused and enjoyed a café gourmand.

Day 6 Bourg en Bresse to Champagnole

We had a short ride to the station, Jenni dressed for a chilly morning I was still in summer mode. Daft me was a little frosted by the time we reached the station. We warmed up inside before the sun arrived. Our train was delayed so we found a chair on our platform to wait warmed by the sun.

Not an inch to spare on the train we found a place for our bikes amongst the luggage and stood with our bikes. At our destination we were able to escape the train without running over too many toes.

We knew what awaited us 750m of climbing to our village. Heads down and a few refuelling stops we reached home just before freezing. We forgot the cold when after 20 years of waiting we finally saw our first Lynx pass in front of our eyes.

It was great to be exploring again and next year's route is already in the planning....

Route planning and navigation I used cycle.travel