Canal de Bourgogne - Fifth Day

After breakfast the next morning, David went off on his bike to look at some more sights while the others got organized.  Included were the Fosse Dionne, a mysterious old water source bubbling from the ground, and an empty Art Nouveau building that had once been a tea and ice cream salon.

Fosse Dionne

 Vacant Art Nouveau Tea and Ice Cream Salon

Tea and Ice Cream Salon Interior

The weather for the day was supposed to be nice in the morning with thundershowers and rain in the afternoon.  So we decided to push ahead rapidly with a view to reaching Migennes, our final goal, in time to catch a train to return to the car and then Lyon that night.  Trail was sometimes good sometimes not.  After two hours or so we went up the hill into St Florentin and bought sandwiches at a boulangerie.  We went back to a small park on the canal and ate while watching the boats tied up nearby.  We debated switching to the highway as the trail had not been good, but looked at the next section which looked good and decided to stay on the trail as long as it remained good.  After few kilometers the trail again deteriorated so we went into the nearby town of Brienon-sur-Armançon for a beer and while there decided to switch to the highway for the last 10 km to Migennes. 

View of St Florentin From Lunch Area by Canal

Canal From Lunch Area at St Florentin

 Except for the large trucks passing us on the highway, the section to Migennes was uneventful.  We had a bit of difficulty finding the train station, but once there discovered there was a train to Dijon in an hour and a half.  We bought tickets on that train, with a continuation on another train from Dijon to Saint Jean de Losne where we had left the car.  French local trains are great - they usually have a car or two equipped with hangers for bikes.

This entire trip was in Bourgogne, one of the world's premier grape-growing and winemaking areas, yet we saw not a single vineyard!

Gare in Migennes - Tom, Roger, Gerard

Bikes on Their Hangers on the Train

The threatened rains did not materialize - in fact it was warm and mostly sunny when we arrived in Dijon to change trains.  We arrived at the car about 7:15, and got back to the center of Lyon about 9:45.  66km for the day, 307km for the trip - another successful bike adventure!