Day 6: Transition, freshness & wind 🌬️❄️

Transition, freshness & wind 🌬️❄️

Today we head into the valley.

We set off under fairly kind skies, heading straight south ☀️

We quickly climb onto a greenway — the local RAVeL — offering us a beautiful ride through the Burgundy countryside 🚴‍♂️

The landscapes flow past one another:

wheat fields rippling in the wind 🌾,

the clean, disciplined lines of the Mâconnais vineyards 🍇

Mercurey, Pouilly‑Fuissé, Viré‑Clessé…

We realise how lucky we are to be here, riding for a worthy cause, carried by both effort and comfort 💛

making the most of infrastructure that takes us away from cars and closer to nature — a real luxury 🌿

The legs feel good. We hold a strong pace despite a very present, rather uncooperative wind 😤

The locomotives set the tempo, the group stays nicely tucked in…

Only a TGV manages to overtake us 🚄😄

The midday break couldn’t come at a better time 🕛

After a seriously steep climb, we park the bikes and pull out our treasures:

dried apricots “quietly borrowed” from the gargantuan breakfast buffet — once again 😇

Our nut and dried fruit reserves are melting fast… restocking is now mandatory.

It’s cold, and the sun struggles to warm us 🧤

Back on the bikes, we cross a tunnel carved straight into the rock — long, dark and freezing ❄️

So we sing… 🎶

We even meet a few tourists, treating them to One in their ears to soundtrack the end of their day 😉

A descent follows, a bit of off‑road, then we reach the Saône.

Wide, calm, majestic 🌊

Seagulls escort us, the pace stays solid.

A not‑so‑polite mountain biker is probably still processing his frustration at not being able to stick with us…

He did try to tease — we dropped him 😄

Some things never change.

Final stop in the sun, at last a bit of warmth ☀️

We savour the moment.

The last kilometres feel like a formality.

Arrival at a beautiful stopover, warm welcome and smiles — once again 🙌

As if cycling and our small daily epics were a universal passport to kindness.

After the effort, comfort on the terrace in the sunshine 🍻

In the end, you really only get the good you give yourself.