If you are chilly, here take my socks...

Tuesday, September 28
Autun to Dijon 96km

Yesterday we took a train from Nevers to Autun because 1) it was too rainy and cold outside to ride (we didn't want to press our luck) and 2) there were no hotel rooms left anywhere in Nevers! So we spent most of the day in sitting in McDonalds because of number 1, realizing number 2. We arrived in Autun, with only a slight hitch. I (Erin) was unable to get my bike off the train before the doors closed (despite having gotten my bike ready before the train stopped, by the time Amie and McKayla got off, the door was closing and the train took off to the next stop). Now, when I previously almost got separated from the group we made the rule that if the group is split, then the lone sailor would stay put and the pair would come to the rescue. We all laughed at the irony of finding ourselves at the seemingly only exception to our rule, what do you do when the single person is stuck on a moving object? Luckily we all came to the same, separate conclusion that I would hopefully be able to take a train back to Etang (where we were supposed to make the connection to Autun). I was able to get off the train about fifteen minutes later, I stepped off onto this tiny, rinky dink platform of a train station in the middle of no where. Luckily, there was a train heading back to Etang in about twenty minutes. I caught the train and was fully relieved to see Amie and McKayla waiting for me in Etang! It was the first time I realized how vulnerable we are without any way of contacting each other.  I'm grateful everything worked out.  That night we watched a movie on Amie's ipod thanks to our new ipod speaker purchase.

This morning we woke up to a thick, cold fog, clinging to the air and almost looking like snow, brrr. We rallied for our ride to Dijon, but after about 15 minutes I had to stop because my hands were numb. I was so grateful when McKayla loaned me a pair of her wool socks to use as mittens, they made the rest of the ride much more enjoyable. However, Amie (who is quite sick of biking, even in the sunshine, after her summer adventure) opted to take a train and meet us in Dijon.

Now, when McKayla and I workout together, we build off of each other and tend to get intense. So, after a few minutes of riding, I said to McKayla, "let's go faster." She agreed, told me to take the lead, and we decided we'd switch off breaking the wind every ten minutes or so. As soon as I took the lead, we started heading uphill. After a few minutes I immediately regretted that I wanted to push the pace. My legs started to tire and I began to slow down, so McKayla passed me, and, characteristically, she kicked up the pace another notch. This was our first day of riding on extended periods of hills. Some were so steep that even riding in my lowest chain ring, my legs were burning badly and my lungs were screaming at me to slow down, but I couldn't or else I'd lose my upward momentum and keel over (either McKayla or I am reminded just about everyday that it's very dificult to get your foot out of the pedal when you have no forward momentum...).

Riding flat roads, as we've been doing, is tiring because your legs are moving in a constant, unrelentless motion, but your heart rate never gets up high. The hills today were magnificent. I remembered how great it is to feel my heart pounding in my throat and to feel the lactic acid building up in my legs. I started feeling even better as we hit long descents where we'd cruise above 50km per hour (max speed of the day was 53.7km/hr).

We took a rest in Beaune, where I bought a delicious, cheesy, eggy pastry for lunch (photo coming soon). It was so cold however, I started shivering violently, so we cut our break short and hit the road again. We followed a larger road to Dijon, so the hills were of more gradual gradients. The sun came out, warming our toes, filling our hearts, and illuminating the hills and vineyards we were passing through. It's nice to be out of the Loire valley and see some new terrain. As we reached Dijon, McKayla spotted a bicycle shop and I purchased full-length bike gloves and a new handlebar bag (mine was getting dangerously saggy). It took a while to navigate through the city of Dijon because they are putting in a new tram system, leaving the entire city under construction. We met Amie at the hostel, and cooked a fantastic one-pot dinner (another, lentil and bean stew with onions, peppers, and tomato topped with cheese and tortilla chips). Tonight we are doing our laundry!!