Day 21, 11 6 2013, Lyon to Andancette
We spent a few hours wandering around Lyon this morning before leaving. One of the things that strikes me most about these great old cities is the expansive public architecture, from the town hall to the great squares. And yet, never have I read or heard a comment to the effect that it was all a waste of money. People, both locals and tourists, love to use the public spaces and are proud of the public investment in their cities.
This is such a contrast with the current attitude in Australia where public investment is viewed with great suspicion, unless in it is a road.
We finally left Lyon around 11.30, and used TomTom to get out. Supposedly there is a bicycle route from the source of the Rhone at Geneva to the Mediterranean. But there is a big gap around Lyon. We were aware of this from the guides we got from the tourist information office.
So we rode out through the seamier side of Lyon, which is in great contrast to the polish of the centre part of the city. We rode through a lot of busted old infrastructure, rough suburbs, and large material-processing plants.
We picked up the actual track more by good luck than anything else. We thought it must be close, went through a tunnel under the railway, past a few old factories that there it was.
For the rest of the day we were on mostly dedicated high-quality bike path more or less alongside the Rhone River. The scenery is pleasant without being spectacular, and it was easy riding with a tailwind again, on the flat path.
We stopped at a village at around 5.00 to see if there was a hotel, and as there was not, rode on through a forest on a lovely evening. We were not concerned as this area is heavily populated, so one would turn up.
A few Km further on we passed a large house fronting onto the bike path and we both thought it looked like a chamber d’hote. We passed a sign for it 50m on. They have only just opened so have not yet got the sign on the other side of the path. It looks pretty good so far.
89 fairly easy kilometers for the day, not bad for an afternoon.
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