Along the Saone

Fri 10th apr
Make way into Lyon, find sign for centre and follow it. Suddenly find myself on fast three lane road with inches between a concrete wall on my right and traffic on my left. Judging by the hooting i'm not supposed to be here. Too late now, pedal like crazy trying to keep as close to wall as possible. Notice sign for centre pointing to slip road on left, no way am I going across there. Eventually find slip road on right and get to safety. Stop for a while and wait for trousers to stop smoking; amazing where reserves of energy come from at times like that. Find centre and get map of city. If you're into silk production or puppets this is the place to be; i'm not particularly so not much here I want to see. Stop for a while in the huge Place Bellecour, a sandy rectangle with nothing but a statue of Louis XIV in the centre and a football pitch marked on the floor. Follow banks of Saone then head NW until I find signs for Limonest and campsite at Dardilly where again they only have a price for two people. Lyon is supposed to be cycle friendly but as with most cities its Ok once you're in but getting in and out can be tricky without a map as all the signs assume you're in a car.

Sat 11th apr
Too expensive here so set off for Macon. Not a particularly interesting journey, mainly flat with fields and stuff; most of the villages looked a bit down at heel. Belleville was the exception, a very busy one way street lined with shops and parking spaces. Everybody was crawling along looking for the few empty spaces, took ages to get through even on a pushbike. Nice church as well. Macon has not changed much since I was here last, new commercial centre near campsite which is handy. Thunderstorm and showers in evening but otherwise weathers been cloudy but warm.

Sun 12th apr
Spend most of day wandering around Macon. Noticed a few things I hadn't seen before. Somebody had fun designing the post office, very flamboyant, possibly worth a photo. Interesting ruins, possibly an abbey, that I might look at again when the museum's open. Nice to see some of the things i'd seen before but forgotten about such as the Maison de Bois with its timber framing covered in ornate woodcarvings. Thunderstorms and rain forecast for tomorrow.
Mon 13th apr
No thunder or rain but very overcast and misty. Short journey to Tournus to have a look round. Big abbey but I looked round that last time. They have an arts and crafts festival on with some nice items, everything from modern furniture to traditional crafts. Standing by the river Saone I watched a car pile into a tree on the other side, luckily another car was following to give assistance, they all seemed to be OK. Few minutes later I watch a motorbike plough into the back of a car, he seemed OK apart from a limp. 13th unkucky for some I guess.

Tues 14th apr
Warm hazy day. Decide to take easy ride along country roads to Chalon sur Saone. Cross over Saone to eastern side and cycle north through quiet villages and green fields. A few very old traditional farmhouses to add a bit of variety. Stop in Epervans to get lunch from the boulangerie then sit on park bench to eat whilst watching very little happen. Very relaxing. Pitch at St. Marcel then cycle across bridge into Chalon. I needed food but primarily I was looking for a cyber café or wi-fi connection. No luck so will try tourist info and library tomorrow.

Wed 15th
Sunny but windy day. Walk into Chalon in afternoon and explore. Pleasant place with some interesting buildings. Again, many I recognized but had forgotten about. Called in tourist info but there was a long queue so came straight out. No luck finding cyber café, managed to get wi-fi connection but it kept breaking off as has been happening lately, no idea why. Will try again at Beaune tomorrow.

Thur 16th april
Strong south westerly with showers during night. Continues to rain throughout the day. I had packed everything apart from the tent ready to go during a break in the rain. As there wasn't one I spent most of the day relaxing in the tent, quite pleasant really. Took stroll aroud St. Marcel in the late afternoon when rain finally eased.

Fri 17th apr
No rain but weather looks iffy. Time to leave the Saone. Pack up and head north to Beaune on quiet country road. Sun came out for a while and with pleasant scenery and skylarks singing it was a nice ride. Stopped for a break in the Foret de Beauregard and watched a lorry spin out of control and end up in a ditch for apparently no reason. That makes three accidents this week. Luckily bloke got out and was OK. Campsite is only a few minutes walk from Beaune historic centre so spend afternoon wandering around. Visit fine arts museum and wine museum as well as a general look round. Nice place, lots of interesting architecture. Fine arts museum had some terrific stuff considering its only a small place. Wine museum covered every aspect from history to barrel making, no free samples unfortunately.