Day 4: Tonnerre to Migennes to Auxerre

July8

Today was a fun day and a longer ride than normal!

I officially finished the Canal de Bourgogne. It ends in Migennes and I rode it till there was nothing left. About 10 miles outside of Tonnerre the nice paved surface I’ve been on disappeared and was replaced by chunky gravel. Luckily that only lasted a few miles and then it was smaller gravel and dirt. The ride was a lot bumpier than I’ve had but doable. I really enjoyed the canal path and it was nice to be sandwiched between a beautiful river and a canal.

From Migennes I used a gpx file I downloaded for my Garmin bike computer to get to Auxerre. Eventually, this region is trying to connect all these paths… but for now, you have to make some directional leaps yourself. I don’t love the Garmin but it got me to where I needed to be better than anything else (longer view coming later – I want to try a phone app that can load gpx and see how it does). The path it routed me on was nice, a few small roads but mostly dirt path next to the river. Auxerre is bigger city than I’ve been in and I am glad to have arrived on a Sunday when things are calmer.

What did I see on my route today?
– About 50 fishermen with huge huge poles. I had to stop my bike so they could move them as the poles were a good 25 to 35 feet long in the path.
– A lot of houseboats like normal.
– 3 river otter things, or possibly river rats? They had rat tails but also whiskers and were swimming all over the place.
– A big 2 foot long fish in the water.
– A lot of beautiful landscapes, bit different than the canal route.

Auxerre is a really cool town, about a year ago I listened to the Hardcore History podcast on Caesar’s gaul campaigns. Cool to be here :). I am hoping in maybe 5 to 7 days to visit one of the most famous sites of a big battle.

Ride stats?

45 miles / 72 km
Time: 3 hours 34 minutes
Avg MPH: 12.7
Average heart rate: 122
Elevation gain: 351 feet
Elevation drop: 344 feet
Average temp: 79F

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Biking Maps…

July7

I don’t have any maps beyond a few websites that I keep trying to hash together and google maps on my phone (which is hard as it tries to navigate onto roads)… this makes navigation after the first canal path ends a challenge. Added to that is that connecting some of what I am doing requires getting from a to b where there is no path… I just wanted to mention that in case anyone who reads this thinks this is all connecting. It would be easy to do this as a simple 215km ride for the first canal but then you have to connect to other stuff… And, I don’t speak/read French which limits research materials. I am using a Garmin touring computer for my bike, so I will review that after I use it more with the gpx files I’ve downloaded.

Adventure!

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Day 3: Montbard to Tonnerre

July7

Day 3 was good, an easy ride and full of sunshine. I saw a ton of cranes, a lot of old quarry sites, a lot of ruins from when the canal was busier, and a lot of old manor/farmhouses.

I stopped in Tonnerre which is a pretty cool city. It blows my mind that the population in 1793 was roughly the same as today… although I am guessing the city is much much older right now.

When you see the huge natural springs below be sure to read up on it as it has a cool history, it is called the Fosse Dionne. Also, check out this amazing story about this man/female famous spy who was born in this town called Chevalier d’Éon. Crazy story!

Ride stats?

35 miles / 56 km
Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Avg MPH: 13.3
Average heart rate: 117
Elevation gain: 89 feet
Elevation drop: 325 feet
Average temp: 80F

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Day 2: Pouilly-en-Auxois to Montbard

July6

Day 2 was good, it started off overcast but by 10 am when I got to my destination it was beautiful and sunny. I am actually staying a little outside Montbard and just stopped in Montbard at a local market to grab some lunch. I am so delusional tired right now, I’ve been waking up at 4 am unable to sleep but last night I fell asleep at 8 pm and woke up at 2 am… hopefully tonights breaks that pattern (it did… had a glass of wine and slept ~8 hours).

I watched the quarterfinals with France and Uruguay at a bar down the street :). Good times! I am so glad France won, Uruguay is an amazing country filled with great people but their soccer team are absolute scum. Karma is a bitch Suarez you piece of shit.

Ride stats?

36.5 miles / 58.7 km
Time: 2 hours 47 minutes
Avg MPH: 13.1
Average heart rate: 109
Elevation gain: 187 feet
Elevation drop: 758 feet
Average temp: 74F

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Wow! Already at a 100 books…

July5

I just realized I hit 100 books read so far this year… and July isn’t even over. This is the fastest I’ve ever gotten to 100. It helps that I have been reading mostly fun books where the words just fly. It also helps when work is currently learning and poking around new ideas, it leaves a good chunk of time open.

I just finished a series of fantastic military/legal thrillers by Brian Haig about a JAG lawyer named Sean Drummond. I highly recommend you grab the first one, Secret Sanction.

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Day 1: Dijon to Pouilly-en-Auxois

July5

A good first day! I started a day later than I planned because i had to run some errands, and I was told it was going to rain…


*Click to enlarge.

It was rainy when I left Dijon, I got soaked but that was kinda fun (plus I made it to the next stop before the supposed thunderstorms). The rain lasted about 12 miles and then it was just overcast and cool. There might be a little more rain tomorrow but otherwise, it is looking sunny for the next 10 days. The ride was beautiful, and I am going up the canal, meaning for the next 200+km I will be going up a slight gradient. I am assuming at some point I will get the benefit of that :).

Ride stats?

37.5 miles / 60.3 km
Time: 3 hours
Avg MPH: 12.5
Average heart rate: 133
Elevation gain: 886 feet
Elevation drop: 443 feet
Average temp: 70F

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Burgundy pack list…

July3

This is my first bike tour, so packing took a little more time than normal as I considered what I would bring. So… what did I pack?

Clothes…

2 pair of bike shorts
visor
gloves
2 pair normal shorts
2 pair of nice shorts
4 pair wool socks
4 pair of underwear
3 athletic shirts
1 3/4 zip up
4 black t-shirts
small waterproof jacket

Worst case I drop a few old t-shirts but going to try this.

Gear…

multitool
water bag
emergency bivy sack for sleeping in woods/parks
big micro towel
sunglasses
bathroom bag
a little tape
duration dry mix +salt pills
waterproof phone holder
sunblock
swiss army knife
massage ball
small little light
plus the bike shop gave me a few spare tubes, a lock, patch kit, and a pump.

Electronics…

laptop
touring computer (hoping it makes nav easy)
kindle
gps watch
external battery
cords…

And, of course, I left some food for food and extra water.

That is basically it…

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Burgundy Bike Tour!!!

July2

I’ve been training hard for a solo bike tour of Burgundy France that I leave for in a few days. I’d rate myself a 6/10 for preparation. Her is what my training looked like:

April – 9 biking days / 108 Miles / 11 Hours / 0 rides over 30 Miles
May – 12 biking days / 248 Miles / 25 Hours / 3 rides over 30 Miles
June – 13 biking days / 316 Miles / 26 Hours / 5 rides over 30 Miles

I wish I had started training seriously a month earlier. I was dealing with a back injury flare up at the time, but I got that sorted and I am feeling great now (thanks to Jeff for a lot of rehab time + Dr. Helburg in Boulder). I am hoping to do around 40 to 60 miles a day, and if I need to take a day off I will. This is my first bike tour and I am really excited :).

Where am I headed?

My plan is to start in Dijon and head north to Migennes, then south along another Canal route, then jump on the EuroVelo 6, and then I think either that or another Canal route back to Dijon (to meet my family there).

I’ll to update later with how I packed, I am curious if I left enough room and packed the right stuff. It was a lot easier for the walking trip in Spain/UK.

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This is bwb’s personal blog, so he can share his thoughts with the world, however scary or silly they might be. Plus family and friends can track what I am up to, and where I am in the world.

I am pretty simple. I love Mangos. I love the ocean (although mostly at sunset, as I’m a ginger). I love to travel, eat exotic food, do long bike rides, read, and use my imagination. At some point, I decided it was better to be a pirate captain than an admiral. I am a globalist and see the entire world as my responsibility and playground. And I am married to an amazing woman who makes life even more fun :)! And we are now the proud parents of Calico Jack :).


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