- Total 836km
- Today 63km including sightseeing in Besancon
- Orchamps to Chalezeule
- Sunny, high 27c
We woke up this morning to extremely high humidity, with fog and heavy dew. The tent was soaking wet, and even inside was damp. We put some effort into drying the tent, but it wasn’t working, so we packed it up wet knowing we could dry everything this afternoon.
The humidity in the morning made for some sweaty riding, but thankfully it dropped in the afternoon. We were both very salty when we arrived at the campground.
EuroVelo 6 in this section meanders along next to Le Doubs and sections of the Canal du Rhone au Rhin that make the river navigable. Mostly flat with only one good climb, but that also meant one good downhill!
We spent most of the afternoon wandering around Besancon. It’s a beautiful, clean city that would have been strategically positioned along Le Doubs between the high hills. It was a heavily fortified town, and watch towers are atop the cliffs as you ride along Le Doubs.
EuroVelo 6 runs alongside a canal through a tunnel under the citadel as you enter the city. An amazing amount of effort was put into shortening the water route as the river makes a big loop around the Besancon.
I was standing guard on the bikes while Chris was in the organics store, and I thought what a great picture it would make from the end of the street towards where I’m standing, but hmmm it looks familiar. I flipped back in our blog to 2014, and there was the exact picture I was thinking of taking. Well it is a beautiful street.
Still on the hunt for a new kickstand and frame pump, we backtracked to the bike store where Chris had bought a Brooks saddle last trip. They didn’t have what I wanted, but I couldn’t resist the sexy new French made Gilles Berthoud saddle for my bike. I’m hoping it will be more comfortable than the extra firm Brooks Cambium saddle I’ve been using. Not cheap, but comfort is everything in this game.
Tonight we’re staying at Camping de Besancon in Chalezeule. It’s time for a rest, so we’re planning on spending two nights here for some R&R.
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