Had a good meal in Briare last night: Perch en papillote with a good bottle of local Pouilly-Fumé.
As expected, today’s cycle from Briare to Vézelay was hot and hilly. By early afternoon it was in the low 30’s and, with no clouds, was somewhat testing. Thirsty work.
Our navigational app. (maps.me) had done well so far but for the last 20 miles of today’s route it took us on an extraordinary course. Up 20% climbs, across fields, through remote farmsteads and along narrow country footpaths. We saw hardly a car all day long. At the end of the stage was a sharp climb up to the hilltop village of Vézelay.
Only problem en route was when Jackie went behind a bush for a Jimmy. Appears she squatted on some kind of thistle and ended up with a load of prickles in her rear. She needed to stop several times subsequently to extricate the offending objects. Not something that I could help with. It could have been worse.
Vézelay is a commune in the north of the Bourgogne -Franche-Compté region. It’s one of four ‘official’ starts, in France, for the (idiotic) Camino de Compostela or Pilgrim’s walk to Santiago de Compostela (although I’m told that some pilgrims now use a bike. Maybe e-bikes will be allowed too? Thereafter, what? Harley-Davidsons!). Evidently, some monk in 9th century, found and stashed the bones of Mary Magdalene here - I’m sure the monk carried out the appropriate scientific testing (apparently a subsequent pope confirmed that the relics/bones were indeed genuine - so that was alright then!)
Whatever, the Abbey here is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the bones seem to qualify it as a place from which to begin the ‘long walk’ to the NW corner of Spain.
Bernard de Clairvaux, the “Godfather” of the Knights Templar, ‘preached’ his support for the 2nd Crusade here.
The Third Crusade also amassed and set forth from Vézelay, prior to going off and meting out its ‘justice’ in the Holy Lands.
More importantly for us is that Vézelay marks the gateway to National Park of Morvan and we’ll now cycle south through it. Tomorrow.