Biking Day 15
- Length ridden: 54 km (yeah, I know...)
- Ascent: 400 meters
- Rating: 7.5 out of 10 - short, but pretty...
- Highlights: Simon and family, the sunflower field, pretty much everything else
- Lowlight: nothing, really - could have ridden more
- Map of the day
Well, I have not much recollection of what happened in the morning, now maybe I faintly remember, I started off early, just after 7 am, but apparently I hung out in a bar till 10 am? Really? I honestly do not know - but I do remember getting a coffee and some breakfast. But spending three hours there - that surprises me a bit.
Anyhow, I do remember that the next section was a very-very steep unpaved road going up, up, up, I thought I would never reach the top. I did and then I had a beautiful view of a field of sunflowers. Yeah, the time stamps says 11:08, so yes, I left town really late, that is confirmed.
After this wonderful interaction with nature, the cultural heritage of France began to shine yet again - when I reached the town of Druyes-les-Belles-Fontaines, which has a castle from the 12th century.
Now I was headed towards Guédelon Castle, which is a major highlight in Burgundy. It is a medieval castle, which is being built from scratch (!) using only tools of the time when the castle was built. Supposedly, they employ volunteers, who have to pay (!) to be able to take part in this project. I enjoyed the views, except for the thousands of my fellow tourists.
The next notable destination was Saint-Fargeau, yet another medieval town, with an impressive castle. The castle was founded in the 10th century, and is nicknamed the "pink brick giant".
The town itself is also really impressive, as you can see int the below pictures.
It was only 5:30 in the afternoon, I had ridden only some 50 kilometers that day and bought some pasties for a big push that afternoon. There were at least four hours of sunlight and arriving at 100 kilometer seemed reachable.
Faith - or Simon - had it otherwise. Leaving the bakery, Simon tapped me on my back and asked me in English where I was coming from and I told him my story. He told me I would be welcome to have a rest at his place, which was a mile or so away. It was a very kind offer and while I did want to ride on, I thought it might be a good idea for intermingling with the locals. I had talked to many tourists, but not that many French natives.
On the way to house, I rode by the garden of the castle, where a peacock was guarding the entrance.
I found the house, where Simon was waiting with his wife and Alix, his two year old daughter were waiting. It was a huge country house (actually, three) they got from the present and had even some animals on it; and were in the process of rebuilding and reconstructing (no, not with medieval tools). They offered me to drink, some snack and we chatted off, mostly in English, me trying my French (which is rather weak). He told me he is a member of Warm Showers, a site dedicated to long-range cyclists and has offered his place to stay to some other bikers in the recent past. I was a bit torn, as I only made 54 kilometers that day, but on the other side, it was good to have a nice conversation - plus it was already 7 pm - I thankfully accepted his offer to stay, pitching my tent in the garden. We ate some pizza and salad in the evening, then I took a Warm Shower (yes!) and went to sleep. Merci, Simon!
* Well, just 14.5...but , spoiler alert, the next day will be not much longer either