Friday June 22, 2012... Chateau Thierry to Epernay .... 45 km
There were a lot of rolling hills today. Thankfully, when there was wind as we went up a hill, it was behind us.
This was a new area of France for us - one that is historically and geographically interesting. The Marne is a main tributary of the Seine and was the site of great fighting in WW I between the French and German troops while the Commonwealth troops fought the Germans north of Paris along the Somme.
The Marne valley is a broad valley with gently mounting sides perfect for growing the varieties of grape to make champagne. Of course, sleeping on a barge meant that every night was spent at river level, while most days were spent either on the plain on top of the Valley or traversing the hills on the side of the valley.
Once we left Meaux, each day started with a climb out of the valley. The climbs were long (20 minutes or more). Only one climb on a road out of the valley "defeated" most of the group. The rest were doable by almost all (including me). The other climb that "defeated" almost all of us was the climb to hill 204 (the American equivalent of Vimy). After rainy days, the "mountain bike path" through the vineyards was just watery mud. The final ascent was along a gravel path that was very steep - too steep to ride and on the verge of being too steep to climb. Luckily, the youngest male in our group volunteered to "carry our bicycles up the final slope" (which he did in a trot!).
The tour through the champagne producing region was constant ascents and descents. But, we were "in form" for those hills. The two tasting tours were very interesting with a lot of champagne bought and rapidly consumed.
So... the barge moored above Epernay rather than below it and the location could not be described with enough accuracy on the cell phone for the tour leader to find it! The result was that the group bicycled into Epernay at rush hour to refresh at a café while the tour leader went searching for the barge! Eventually, it was found close by at an abandoned factory site (close to the railway station).
This was the first tour of the Marne for the Elodie and it showed. Given the choice between direct busy roads and indirect scenic less busy roads, the tour guide preferred the safety of the less busy road. That sometimes led us on long detours above the valley (along which were few cafés for breaks). Despite gaining experience on the fly, the trip was interesting and left a feeling of accomplishment after "conquering" so many hills.
The Tour de France traverses these same hills in a few weeks. I suspect the pelleton will have no difficulty whatsoever and will regard "our hills" as almost flat.
Our next trip in the fall will be along the Mosel / Moselle river valley which should be much more scenic and far less demanding!
This was a new area of France for us - one that is historically and geographically interesting. The Marne is a main tributary of the Seine and was the site of great fighting in WW I between the French and German troops while the Commonwealth troops fought the Germans north of Paris along the Somme.
The Marne valley is a broad valley with gently mounting sides perfect for growing the varieties of grape to make champagne. Of course, sleeping on a barge meant that every night was spent at river level, while most days were spent either on the plain on top of the Valley or traversing the hills on the side of the valley.
Once we left Meaux, each day started with a climb out of the valley. The climbs were long (20 minutes or more). Only one climb on a road out of the valley "defeated" most of the group. The rest were doable by almost all (including me). The other climb that "defeated" almost all of us was the climb to hill 204 (the American equivalent of Vimy). After rainy days, the "mountain bike path" through the vineyards was just watery mud. The final ascent was along a gravel path that was very steep - too steep to ride and on the verge of being too steep to climb. Luckily, the youngest male in our group volunteered to "carry our bicycles up the final slope" (which he did in a trot!).
The tour through the champagne producing region was constant ascents and descents. But, we were "in form" for those hills. The two tasting tours were very interesting with a lot of champagne bought and rapidly consumed.
So... the barge moored above Epernay rather than below it and the location could not be described with enough accuracy on the cell phone for the tour leader to find it! The result was that the group bicycled into Epernay at rush hour to refresh at a café while the tour leader went searching for the barge! Eventually, it was found close by at an abandoned factory site (close to the railway station).
This was the first tour of the Marne for the Elodie and it showed. Given the choice between direct busy roads and indirect scenic less busy roads, the tour guide preferred the safety of the less busy road. That sometimes led us on long detours above the valley (along which were few cafés for breaks). Despite gaining experience on the fly, the trip was interesting and left a feeling of accomplishment after "conquering" so many hills.
The Tour de France traverses these same hills in a few weeks. I suspect the pelleton will have no difficulty whatsoever and will regard "our hills" as almost flat.
Our next trip in the fall will be along the Mosel / Moselle river valley which should be much more scenic and far less demanding!
Comments