Cycling in Burgundy

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Carlyle Stout cycling into Beaune.

Last September my wife, Barbara, and I took a week-long, self-guided bicycle tour of Burgundy.

We rode through vineyards, down narrow lanes, wound along hillsides and cruised through picturesque villages surrounded by acres of grape vines that stretched to the horizon in all directions.

We strolled through open-air markets, our senses overwhelmed by a cornucopia of sights, sounds and smells — fresh bread, an endless palette of cheeses, roasted quail, garden vegetables, bouquets of flowers covering every color of the rainbow, dazzling arrays of fresh fruit and a seemingly infinite variety of Dijon mustard sauces.

We booked our trip through Cyclomundo, a French company specializing in cycling tours (www.cyclomundo.com). The itinerary was fantastic. It covered varying terrain — flat river valleys, bike paths along canals, rolling hills and summit ridges. Our route took us from cities and towns to rural villages and tiny hamlets. Cyclomundo provided us with maps, very clear written directions, and deluxe hybrid touring bikes with comfortable seats and panniers for our camera, foul-weather gear and our typical lunch of a baguette, cheese, fruit and chocolate that we purchased during our rides. Our luggage was ferried to our hotel in each town, and we averaged about 50 kilometers a day (31 miles), giving us enough time to explore and sightsee as much as we desired.

We started in Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy, which is world renowned for its Chardonnay and pinot noir vintages. We arrived a day early to relax from our long flight, explore this small city of 25,000 and immerse ourselves in its history, architecture and cuisine. The Saturday open-air market here is one of the best in France, offering clothing, vegetables, fruit, cheeses, olives, wine, flowers, linens, meat, fish, bread, mussels, mushrooms, spices and, of course, mustards. The cultural gem is the Hotel Dieu, a medieval hospital that is now a museum preserved exactly as it was in the mid-15th century. Roger van der Weyden's "The Last Judgment," a masterpiece of Flemish art, can be seen in a special room.

From Beaune we rode through vineyards to Rully, stopping halfway at Meursault, a postcard-perfect small town, to buy a lunch of fresh bread, goat cheese, fruit, chocolate and juice, which we enjoyed in a vineyard later that day. We speak halting French, but our efforts to speak the native language endeared us to the locals everywhere, brought smiles to their faces and opened cultural doors for us.

Day three took us along the foothills through picturesque villages with manicured vineyards to Buxy. The rural roads were lightly traveled and we were blessed with blue skies and moderate temperatures. It was chilly in the mornings, requiring leggings and jackets, but after lunch we were riding in jerseys and bike shorts.

On our fourth day we had our longest ride, 75 kilometers (46.5 miles) to Cluny and back, but it was worth the effort. In the morning we rode along rolling foothills, often shrouded in mist that would suddenly clear and reveal fairy-tale villages set against the hillsides. It seemed that every other building was a winery, and the villages were like extended families that participated in making wines.

We descended into Cluny about 1 p.m. and were famished, so we employed our foolproof method of selecting a good place to eat: we asked the locals. I saw a businessman leaving his office and asked in passable, if imperfect, French whether he could recommend a good restaurant for lunch. To our delight, he escorted us to his favorite haunt, and it was superb. We were the only foreigners there and the food was delicious right down to the decadent crème brule for dessert.

Afterward we toured the famous Abbey of Cluny, which in the 12th century was the headquarters for more than 10,000 monks and controlled thousands of monasteries, making the Abbot of Cluny one of the most powerful men in Europe. We rode back along a Voie Verte, a bike path similar to the Bear Creek Greenway that is built along an abandoned railway line. It is straight and flat, a welcome ride after a long day.

Day five brought some challenges as we rode 45 kilometers (28 miles) to Nolay, with a "nice 350-meter climb the first 12 kilometers," according to our guide. It was a grind climbing out of the valley up over a pass that afforded breathtaking views of the valley and vineyards along the slopes. At one point I could tell Barb was redlining, so I hopped off my bike, ran back down to where she was riding and ran along beside her cheering like the fans in the Tour de France. She burst out laughing and crested the summit with a smile on her face, where we celebrated by devouring a chocolate bar.

Our lodgings were at Logis Hotels, which are two- or three-star accommodations located all over France, all of which are independently owned by families. These are fantastic places to stay, each with its own restaurant that serves regional cuisine. We had our most memorable and delicious dinners at these family-run hotels, including Burgundian specialties such as coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon and sublime pinot noirs.

Our last day took us back to Beaune, past a chateau, up a steep climb, down an exhilarating seven kilometers into the valley and through the vineyards of the legendary Romanee Conti, a grand cru pinot noir grown since the 2nd century that fetches $25,000 a case and is pre-sold every year to European royalty.

Our tastes were less expensive. We sampled different vintages at one of many tasting venues in Beaune, where we joined the locals at an outdoor table and watched the sun set over the town square.

Barbara and Carlyle Stout have lived in Ashland for 29 years.

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