Day 8 Chatillon to Dijon

I can't believe that it is the start of week two already. To be honest I couldn't have done today's trip a week ago. It became a pretty grueling 70 miler.It all began well enough - I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at the hotel Maggiot then headed to the nearby Lidl to collect supplies of cereal bars. Incredibly I was able to walk straight to them for the store was arranged exactly as the Glenrothes store. I had a notion that today was going to be difficult and it didn't take long to get going.   

My route today was a bit all over the place because there was no obviously simple way to avoid the route national and it's lorries. The start of the route involves 25kms through a forest with no villages or anything else marked. It was the D16 out of the centre of Chatillon. Could I find it? Eventually after a few false starts I asked a local. Bad mistake. He obviously didn't know but wouldn't let me go until he had "helped" some more. He insisted on taking me to "un anglais" whom he knew although we were not having any language difficulties. He didn't know either but produced a better scale map which showed that my first route an hour previously had been correct! So I was off an hour later than planned. When I got to what should have been the turning there was no mention of D16 or anywhere else save "monument de la foret" Should I risk it? Ok I thought it is heading in the right general direction. After a few kms a roadside marker said D16 and I smiled inwardly. The road was straight but very up and down and the forest was dense. I didn't pass another human being or any other live animal for 25kms. It was rather unnerving so I got my i pod out.

20 kms in and I came to the monument. Quite impressive as you can see. This was at a T junction but via michelin had no advice as to left or right. Oh dear. It went from bad to worse and I eventually abandoned my instructions and headed for a more frequented route. I had taken off my cycle helmet for the first time going through the forest but on the first fast descent I felt naked and stopped to put it back on. Reaching the D971 involved a lot of climbing and descending and climbing to reach the route that I had tried to avoid which was practically empty! The odd lorry went by but nothing to worry about. By now the worry was becoming where I would fill up my rapidly diminishing water bottles. It was becoming apparent that the reason there were no villages marked on the map was because there were no villages.
It was around 2.00 when I got to the village of Molloy.

There was a rather grand looking hotel and through the window I could see that someone was eating but, it was starting to rain again, I needed a rest and my water bottles were empty. I was warmly welcomed and discovered that it is still possible get a coffee for a euro somewhere in France. I chatted to the locals at the bar one of whom had attended a bagpiping competition near Glasgow (that could have been Fort William or even further afield. Yesterday someone asked me if Manchester was in Scotland.) They were friendly and we shook hands as they left. I am starting to get the hang of the ettiquette of bars and cafes.The patron informed me that Dijon was only 35kms and so I set off in good spirits.

Anticipating the finish line before I got there was a major mistake that I will try not to repeat. A series of punishing hills, the incredibly busy centre of Dijon and a sudden lack of energy conspired to make the rest of the afternoon a bit of a trial. I finally arrived at the hotel district of Dijon sud at 6pm pleased to have discovered a new chain but glad of a shower and some food. The Bonsai hotel is a mixture of all of the other hotels with some interesting twists of its own. First of all it is priced at F1 levels but its wi fi works!! It has electronic cards to open the doors so no need to memorise six digit codes nand it has an en suite and quite a big bedroom. The biggest difference was that the receptionist was genuinely helpful and showed me where I could stow my bike for the night inside.

I ate in LeClerc tonight for less the €10 including a beer and all the vegetables you can eat ( which is quite a few when you have been in the saddle for eight hours.) I can't say that I was totally comfortable but my rear was remarkably ok after that length of time.

I have finally crossed the less interesting parts of Northern France and reached the start of the wine trail and hopefully better weather. Since I set off a week ago it has rained ever day save two. I have seen the sun on only two days and the temperature has breached 30 degrees only once. The guy I was chatting to at Molloy said it was the worst summer weather ever.

Tomorrow is another day. I am sure it will be sunny. I know that it will be fun and I know that I can do it. I saw signs to Nuits Saint George. Degustation here I come. I wonder if you can be drunk in charge of a velo in France. Somehow I doubt it!