By Richard Mandel & Gary Smiley
		Tour Highlights Country France Time of Year May Tour Group Self Miles per Day 40-55 Road Conditions Paved Terrain Flat to Hilly Weather Cool to Warm Riding Days 15 Total Miles 550
Tour Highlights Daily Tour Log May 7-8 Paris May 9-14 Burgundy May 15-21 Dordogne

Bon jour! The following is a description of our recent tour of France from May 6-22, 2005. We spent 2 days in Paris, 4 days riding through Burgundy, 2 days with a family in Givry, a travel day, 4 1/2 days riding through the Dordogne and Cele valleys, and 2 days in Bordeaux. We visited wine caves, prehistoric caves, cities, towns, churches, shrines, vineyards, cathedrals, restaurants, museums, everything else in between, and, oh yes, Paris. We lived on bread, coffee, pastries, salami, wine, cheese, fruit juice, wine, escargots, steak frites, wine, Coca-Cola, more pastries, and more wine. We stayed in everything from bed & breakfasts to cheap hotels, to the beautiful homes of our friends.

Saturday-Sunday, May 7-8 - Paris We flew into DeGaulle Airport from Boston, unpacked our bikes, and took a train into Paris, where we immediately stopped at the apartment of an old friend. From then on I spent the next 2 days exploring Paris by bike. It didn't matter that I didn't know the city- I was on a bicycle and could go anywhere I wanted. Since I only had 2 days, I decided not to wait in any lines (which ruled out the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower). I just went everywhere and took lots of pictures.
Monday-Sunday, May 9-14 - Burgundy We got a ride to Auxerre, where we began the next leg of our tour (through Burgundy). On the first day we went South along the Yonne River, through part of the Parc Morvan, to Vezelay, where we stopped and admired the magnificent cathedral and the surrounding view of the countryside before moving on to Avallon.

On the second day we passed through Semur on our way to Puilly-en-Auxois, also stopping at the Fromagerie Epoisse to sample their excellent cheese.
On May 11 we left Pouilly, passed Chateauneuf, skirted the Burgundy Canal, and rode up the Ouche river (into a stiff headwind). We bypassed Dijon by doing a stiff climb over a large hill which brought us to the Cote d'Or. At this point we turned south, and what was previously a headwind became a tailwind as we glided South, admiring the vineyards and arriving at Nuits St. George. Richard and Jacques (who spoke to us in English) along the Burgundy Canal.	Vineyards in Burgundy.
On May 12, we spent some time in Beaune where we visited the famous medieval hospice, and followed with a visit to a cave where we tasted some excellent wines. Then we moved on to Givry, where we were to spend a few days at the home of Katherine and Fernand Robisson. They were fabulous- they showed us all the sights, took us to the best restaurants, and gave us a ride across the Massif Central to Figeac, where we began the second part of our ride.
M Robisson's wine collection.	Ruins of the ancient abbey in Cluny.
Tasting wine in Givry	Church in Givry with hot-air balloon.

Monday-Saturday, May 15-21 - Dordogne

Marcilhac	Rocamadour at sunrise
Richard and the strawberry lady. Those strawberries were excellent!	Chateau Monbazillac
St Emillion	Street in Bordeaux
Sylvie	Vineyards - St Emillion.
Typical French lunch.	La Rocque Gageac

(This page is under construction- more to follow).
© 2005 Charles River Wheelmen, Inc. All rights reserved. Revised: Saturday,June 1, 2005