From where we stayed in the 12th, Fontainebleau would be an hour by car, or an hour and 15 minutes by train. But where’s the fun in that? Where’s the sense of geography and urban transition to countryside? Where, I ask you, are the super muddy trails and deep puddles when going by train? Ok, that last part wasn’t exactly a selling point but thankfully we didn’t know about the bad pavement and mud holes called trails since none of us had ever done this ride before. We did want the sense of accomplishment that comes with leaving a city by bike, that feeling when you load up your panniers and just start pedaling. Self sufficiency, freedom to set your own schedule and stop and look at sights more closely.
Enjoying our start through the Bois de Vincennes, after a stop for lunch provisions.Crossing the Seine and the railroad tracks on Charenton-le-Pont.
As soon as we left the Bois de Vincennes we left the city of Paris. We were cycling through the municipalities which make up the Île-de-France, the most populous of the 18 regions of France with 12m inhabitants. The cycling infrastructure stayed quite good at first, with lanes and signage to guide you along the Scandibérique. The what? The French part of EuroVelo 3, which links Trondheim (in Norway) to Cap-Fisterra passing by Santiago de Compostela (in Spain).
Scandibérique signage. I always snap a photo of the different route signs.So many construction cranes in Ivry-sur-Seine.Vitry-sur-Seine. A nice path separated from the road.The path did look as if it had been flooded recently, with a layer of mud covering it.Looking more country-like in Draveil. Jason would be taking a train back to Paris from Fontainebleau.Étiolles, where the path starts to look a bit less welcoming.The worst trail guards ever. What are these even supposed to accomplish? Fine with an unloaded bike, but the added width and weight of a loaded bike made these barriers so slow and difficult to cross. Saint-Germain-lès-Corbeil.And then the trail got nice again, such smooth asphalt. Le Coudray-Montceaux. A stand up lunch break with map review. Smoked salmon and bread. There was a serious lack of benches along the route so we ate standing by the trail. Dammarie-les-Lys
We were surprised in Bois-le-Roi to discover some truly jaw dropping mansions, known as Affolantes.
They are considered a symbol of 19th-century bourgeois ascendancy. I failed to capture a photo of the horrors of the pavement quality.An unpaved but not muddy section.Coming in to Fontainebleau another unpaved section that got quite muddy. It was surprising to have the marked bike path to the train station be unpaved and muddy.
It was great to ride right out of Paris with our friend Jason, but would we ride this stretch again? Probably not. Jason’s fiancée Katie told us she wouldn’t ride that stretch again, and would prefer to take a train out and ride on from Fontainebleau. I agree with her. It seems to be a big huge missed opportunity to not have a coherent paved or smoothly surfaced trail along that stretch – it would be a huge draw. We had to ride through deep mud on overgrown paths on some stretches. No photos because we were all too busy trying to ride through deep mud!
Château de Fontainebleau the next morning on our ride out. Aww…look at those smiling morning faces. Little did this happy couple know what trials would face them on this ride from Château de Fontainebleau to Sens.The trip leader.
Trials? A bad day riding in beautiful France? Yes, it happens. First, we got stuck in a dead end construction zone leaving the Château. That ate up about 20 minutes.
And then this dead end into a huge processing plant near La Grande-Paroisse. If it hadn’t been a holiday, Ascension Day, we think a connecting gate would have been open to take us back to the river. It was not. That took another 45 minutes or so.But wait! We pivoted to this river side path. We’re still along the Seine and now between the large industrial site and the river.Which became a muddy muddy mess. Swans behind a security fence.There were lovely roses blooming along the mud path. Are we coming out of the mud pit?Nope. More mud ahead. This stretch slowed us down so much. Really threw off the timing of the day.Mud packed fenders. A miscalculation of how deep one mud puddle actually was resulted in very dirty socks and sandals.Finally, one those traditional laundry sites came in handy for me to wash my sandals off.The sun was out and we dried off our muddy bikes. Rich rides past an asparagus field in Vinneuf.Later than usual arrival in Sens, thanks to two dead ends, one long muddy stretch, and a pretty warm day. We’re on the Yonne River now.The beautifully restored Mairie de Sens.
From Sens on the Yonne River we headed to Migennes. We met another bike touring couple from Paris who were headed to Villeneuve-sur-Yonne to take the train back to Paris. We joked to each other that with start of May, and some nice weather, there had been a bike touring hatch out. We saw more cyclists in a few days than we’d seen since we left the Geneva area on March 10th.
Porte de Sens of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, riding through the old gate after a stop for lunch supplies.Ah, a bench in the shade to enjoy the river and the ducks.Enjoying the warm weather as we ride through Armeau. I have two different helmet hats with me. And two other hats. Four hats. Too many?Koomoot had told us this section was unpaved, but not only has it been paved, but some nice bike amenities have been added.We’re headed in the direction of Joigny. We came from Sens that morning.France continues to impress me with the nicely upkept state of historic sites, like this traditional laundry near Saint-Aubin-sur-Yonne.Second lunch break across the river from Joigny.Migennes. Where we spent the night at a decent hotel with a fantastic restaurant. Hôtel Restaurant Le Mitigana. And we meet the Canal de Bourgogne. Hello canal.Happy canal faces which will turn sour in a day or so.
We had some long days cycling into headwinds and through mud patches and getting to towns a bit late, so the discussion in Migennes was whether to ride the entire way to our next stop, in Rougemont – 81 kilometers away – or to take a train hop.
Train hop! It was only a 15 minute ride, but it got us far enough that a day of riding a flat canal path into a headwind was a tolerable notion.Little purple flower field.‘Tis the season of fêtes!The rental boats were out on this lovely long weekend.Oh yes. Canal riding. It’s flat and a bit boring.It was warm enough that we had to search for a shaded spot for lunch (so few benches or tables on the canal trail) at Château de Tanlay.Wheee! A hill! After our off the canal lunch break. So many beautiful irises in bloom.Ravières, another off the canal town. This is what I miss when we ride the canal, seeing interesting architecture and small towns.The Mairie in Ravières. It’s always nice to take a break in a small town and watch life unfold around us.This stretch of the canal, a few kilometers before our lockside accommodation, is quite beautiful. The curve of the canal and the cliffs add drama.Folks gathering to watch a boat go through the lock near our BnB. Big canal activity. The friendly welcoming committee.The lock gate and the old forge across the canal. We could hear the water running through the lock gate all night.Next morning- back on the canal into the headwind.
Any cyclist will nod their head in agreement with this statement: Headwinds are demoralizing. Rich updated his favorite and only client (me) on the day’s agenda: get to Dijon, an almost 90k ride, with a headwind and a lot more canal riding. He knew I would not be thrilled so the next sentence was – or there’s a train hop.
On our way along the canal to the train. Everyone was happy to be leaving the canal behind.Dijon! We had two nights booked and were both looking forward to exploring Dijon.
On any trip you have ups and downs. After more than two months pedaling around in France having fun and staying upbeat and positive, we were due for a bit of frustration and anxiety. We have a deal that we both can’t freak out at the same time. It works out for the most part. And it did this time. We overcame a few trying days, and a few more to come, and pedaled on. More on that with Rich’s next post.
After decades of living and working in wonderful San Francisco we gave it all up to travel the world. Not owning a car allowed us to save money and live hyper-locally. Now we’re living around the globe. Follow along to see where we are and what cats I manage to pet.
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Less Car, More Life 