Day 2 : Mon, Aug 15, 2011 - 107.27 mi [Cycling] Chalons en Champagne to Nancy

Mon, Aug 15, 2011 - 107.27 mi [Cycling]

Day 2 : Chalons en Champagne to Nancy

Distance = 107.27

Time = 08:25:28 hrs

Ave Speed = 12.70 mph

Total Elevation = 4016 feet

Max Height = 1232 feet

Min Height = 266 feet
Calories = 5210
Max Speed = 37.6 mph


Tour Stats :
Distance = 225.46 miles
Time = 17:28.25 minutes
Calories = 11,740
Elevation = 6661 feet

 

Well day 2 started with a continental breakfast trying to load up the energy for another long day and as I put the tray away I managed to misplace it in the rack and smash all the plates on the floor.

4 miles : An exhibition Hall in Chalons en Champagne and
the biggest bottle of Champagne I've ever seen.

I lingered around town to take some pictures as I had been on an outer Retail Park the previous night and leaving town I stopped in the old centre where there were Tudor framed buildings and chequerbox tiled buildings and as I left Town I passed a mini Arc de Triomphe. Shortly afterwards  I managed to find the biggest bottle of Champagne I've ever seen - standing at an impressive 30 - 40 feet !

12 miles : The beautiful patchwork quilt of fields near Marson
taken early morning on route to Nancy.

46 miles : Some great Graffiti I spotted in Bar le Duc

I headed east again and the countryside was beautiful if somewhat rolling - no sooner was I down a hill when the next one started - if you check the profile you will see I had five climbs of about 200feet and one of 400 in the first 20 miles but the fields were beautiful and like oil paintings. The area around Marson at 12 miles was a mosaic of green and brown fields and looked stunning.

I continued and reached a small village called Nettancourt where a market seemed to be starting - I headed on and I reached Bar le Duc where I followed a cycle path through housing estates to avoid the busy by-pass and I was pleasantly surprised to find some really colourful graffiti which seemed to show to me how much pride they have in their town.

I also found a MacDonalds and as it was about 90 F I stopped for a large coke and a Chicken and Chips meal with plenty salt to replace my electrolyes - I had not eaten very much the previous day and knew this was important if I was to have any chance of reaching Berlin.

47 Miles : The Town Centre in Bar le Duc

61 Miles : Windmills are usually a welcome sign as once you reach
them in general it's downhill - I now had about 20 miles of relatively
downhill ahead of me.

From bar le Duc I cycled along a quiet country road with Herons flying alongside me which was a new experience. The road gently wound uphill until I reached my highest elevation for the day at 1232 feet as I cycled past windmills and more beautiful fields..... and now I had a downhill stretch to pick up with and run parallel to the motorway for much of the way to Nancy - the homeward stretch - it'll be easy from here ... So I thought !!!

I followed the small downhill road to St.Aubin sur Aire which briefly made me think of Yorkshire and our own Aire Valley and I picked up the N4 motorway running very close to it  for the next 10 miles into Void Vacons where I managed to cycle down the wrong side of the rivr and ended in a dead end Industrial estate - route corrected I crossed the river and was off again towards Toul and I would have the benefit of picking up the Marne Rhin Canal soon - Easy Riding !!!

85 Miles : My route met up with the Marne Rhin Canal which then quickly
disappeared into a tunnel through a large hill - you can just see the Canal
below left but as the drop was severe and about 40 feet I didn't get too
close to the edge.

  I crossed the Canal and realised the road was taking me away from my route so I went back across the bridge and followed the track alongside the motorway again but this became rougher and rougher and just ended as a pile of dolomite on the steep motorway embankment - so I retraced the route on my garmin and eventually found the canal track ... only to see the canal disappear into a tunnel and my track veered uphill very steeply and into a thick forest - 2 or 3 times I lost the track but eventually found the smallest of paths through the thickest of the forest with about a 1 in 3 gradient which again took me right up to the edge of the motroway which I could hear but not see above me.

87 Miles : After an extremely rough trek over the hill through which the canal
passed I was glad to emerge from the forest and find the Canal Towpath both
smooth and pleasant 

A further scramble back down a 1 in 3 track & I emerged from the forest and there it was - the marne Rhin Canal and this time it had a Canal path to cycle on all the way to Toul.
Once  I reached Toul I veered away from the Canal which then headed North following the Moselle and I took the direct route once again following the Motorway the last 10 or so miles to Nancy.

The road unfortunatley required a further 600 feet of climb p slowly the large white flats on the west of nancy came into view - I would follow the A33 until it reached the junction with the A31 and then follow it further east until I would cross it and head into the City. I slogged on up the hill to the junction and sooner than I expected I was crossing the motorway and cycling down the Avenue de Boufflers which dropped 500 feet in 2 miles - exhilirating ! It took me down to the compilcated set of one way streets in the City which required me zig zagging a bit to reach my hotel - add to this a series of roadworks and the last 2 miles was quite difficult - at one point I cycled up the closed lane and across a zebra crossing to get across the boulevard just beating the lights and the traffic & at the next lights I had a disgruntled car drvier pull up alongside and give me a mouthful in french about my manouvre being dangerous. Well I'm sure the old guy was only jealous I had bypassed the queue he had been in and after nearly 110miles I wasn't going to stay in the queue !!

I cycled around past the station and across the boulevard once more to reach Stanislas Square which was stunning and only 200 yards from my Hotel.

107 Miles : Stanislav Square in Nancy