75km on Half a Croissant

Every tour has a "Queen Stage", and the ride from Auxerre to Clamecy was the Queen Stage for our Prologue Ride. Now what is the Queen Stage, you may well ask. No, it is not the stage where we all dress up in fancy dress, it is simply the longest stage of the ride.
After yesterday's 40 km introductory stage, it was time to up the ante a little. Well quite a bit actually. Today's stage was listed as 65 km, but I had already decided to add on a short diversion to Vermenton, which would bring the total up to around 75 km.
Vermenton had a great deal of nostalgic charm for me. Back in 2023, 10 Ghostriders had booked out the old millhouse and we spent an amazing 7 days living in this quiet little village. When we left the millhouse, I never thought I would ever see it again, but this was my chance.
We had a little drama at the start when Tim discovered that his battery had apparently not charged. That is not the ideal way to begin a 75 km ride. I tried to assure him that these bikes are quite happy to cruise along with no motor assistance, but he did not seem convinced. Fortunately it was only a computer glitch, and when he restarted the bike, the comforting sight of 5 bars of power came roaring into life. Crisis averted.
We rode out of Auxerre in cool, but fine weather. It gave every indication that the day would not be punctuated by passing showers as had been the case with the previous day, and that is exactly what happened. "I have a treat in store for you today", I promised the rest of the team. "I am going to take you to the finest Boulangerie in Burgundy". I explained about the "short" detour I had in mind, and somehow managed to convince them that the prospect of fine cakes and sandwiches would be great reward for the extra effort.
At about 22 km from Auxerre we departed from the smooth bitumen path and turned on to the much rougher and tougher side path to Accolay and Vermenton. "Not far to go now", I encouraged. When we neared the old millhouse we had to dismount to navigate the narrow walking path. We were accompanied on this section by a large number of brown squirrels that seemed quite unperturbed by our presence.
It certainly was exciting to see the millhouse again, although I was a little reluctant to intrude since I did not know if it was still a B&B. It looked like it might now be private property. Besides we had cakes and baguettes to feast upon.
It was then that disaster of the direst proportions struck. The boulangerie that I had been so looking forward to was closed, FERME, That was gut wrenching. Why do the French seem to randomly have days off, just when hungry cyclists really need sustenance? The only alternative was the TABAC across the road. At least they sold coffee (or something resembling it) there, but cakes were a different matter. When I asked about gateaux, the owner pointed to two left over croissants that were languishing in a bowl on the counter. It was a very poor substitute for the delicious cakes that I had been so looking forward to, but we had no choice.
For the next twenty minutes we sat outside the TABAC watching enormous and very noisy trucks roar past. Each of us had 50% of a croissant to keep us going. Not exactly a feast.
We then returned to the main route via a different path and we soon resuming our progress toward Clamecy. We soon came across a delightful cafe, right on the side of the bike path. "This looks like a great place for lunch", I announced. The only problem was that the place was booked out and they could not serve us. We went on our way with empty stomachs, again.
We never did find another place that was open. It appears that Tuesday is yet another holiday in this region, along with just about every other day of the week. In spite of our severe lack of food, the ride itself was magical. We rode past a countless number of locks, often stopping to watching the boats as they passed through. When we rode the Nivernais back in 2023 it was near the end of the season and there were only a few boats actually moving. This time we are here a month earlier and it is obviously peak season for canal cruising.
About 10 km from the end of the day's ride, another disaster occurred. Mark O'Connor announced that his battery was flat. Apparently he had been riding it on TURBO the whole way, so it was little wonder it run out of charge. He had no other alternative that to huff and puff his way over the last few km to our destination.
Our home for the next two nights is the Hostellerie de la Poste, right in the centre of the town. In the evening we enjoyed a superb meal under the stars, watching the large flocks of birds circling overhead and the endless succession of vapor trails of the aircraft. It was a perfect ending to quite a long day.Read more