Today is a very easy 52kms to Epinal. That leaves me with 72kms to Nancy and a rest day. I realised last night, that I have about 14 days to get to Calais and depending on my route, it should be around 10-12 days of riding. Barring mechanicals, that’s easily done. The only decisions I need to make are where to spend a couple of rest days.
My ride options are to go in almost a straight line to Calais, go north into the Ardenne and southern Belgium then visit the Dunkirk area, or go via Reims (the champagne centre) and Amiens (for the nearby war memorials), then ride up the Brittany coast to Calais. I could always combine two of them …
Anyway, back to today’s ride : First stop was the local Boulangerie for a couple of croissants and there were the usual friendly people laughing and smiling at my hopeless French and wishing me Bon Journee. Then it was across the stream and onto some quiet roads and bike paths. I’d be following the Vois Verte to Remiremont. The Vois Verte advertised itself for this section as more scenic than the southern branch which also ended in Remiremont. Well … it started out very very nice but eventually opened out into a wide valley and became a rail trail. Hrrmmph. As happened yesterday, I saw lots of signs for other bike routes as well, so once again, more research was probably required. However, I’m probably more picky than most, so I shouldn’t complain.
In Remiremont, I found another Boulangerie for an excellent baguette sandwich. I also tried to find some coffee whitener which I use for my coffee instead of carrying milk. I saw some a few days ago but I waited until I’d completely finished the last one. Out of luck again. Usually it’s not so hard to find but in this area of France, it’s probably sacrilegious to use the stuff. It’s not perfect, but it’s easy to carry. I rode another ten kilometres and stopped beside a small road and had coffee and lunch.
Epinal wasn’t far away, so I stopped on the outskirts and checked into the local camping ground. It was full, so Booking.com it was. I found one fairly close to the centre and booked in. To access the building, you had to dial a local number and that activated the security door so you could enter. I haven’t been able to make phone calls since Switzerland for some reason, so I had to wait outside for someone to come out. I later recharged my phone and got calls working so I could access the place.
They didn’t give me the code for the door to my room. I could message the people or call them with WhatsApp but they weren’t answering. In the end,it took another hour to be able to get into my room. Not happy, but walking around Epinal really brightened my mood. This place has a kayaking course through the middle of town. You know – with poles and gates suspended above the water. What a fantastic idea.
I had an extremely average pizza with a nice Chardonnay and watched the word go by from my table on the square
