The Bikepacker: Bikepacking - Neufchateau to Maxonchamps

Day #

State of Legs

:-)

	Distance (miles)	Distance (km)	Ascent (feet)	Ascent (metres)	Punctures
Today	69 miles	km	3599 feet	metres	0
Trip Totals	509 miles	km	21697 feet	metres	0

Today's Route

Route So Far

Travelogue

Rest day over, it was time to hit the road again. But first, the AirBnB apartment needed to be nice and clean, the rubbish (trash) taken out and bed linen stripped. Having left the place in tip-top condition, all that was left was to get the bike down a flight of stone stairs onto the street below! This wasn't going to happen with the bike loaded up, so I carried the bike down first and then took the bags to it and loaded up in the street. Genius ;-)

I set off but stopped a couple of minutes later to take a farewell shot of a nice Neufchateau square that was just around the corner from the apartment.

I was soon out in the countryside again.

Not far from a village called Sandaucourt, I glimpsed another cyclist ahead of me. As I got closer, I could see panniers on the bike and maybe other luggage. Could this be another bikepacker?

I caught up and sure enough, the cyclist was indeed a bikepacker, a French man called Guy. In fact, he'd only just left his village about 2 km away! He spoke pretty good English and we had a long chat. He was heading for a festival in central France, was 70 years old (but didn't look it) and had spent time in England. We quite quickly found ourselves talking about politics and found much common ground. He said he spent a lot of time talking with people and discussing their apparent intention to vote for Le Pen, something he found abhorrent, concerned as he was about the "rise of the right" in Europe. Eventually, we went our separate ways. It's great meeting people on this trip!

I cycled into the town of Vittel, initially alongside a horse-racing track and then through a park. On the high street, I saw my opportunity to have a coffee and went for it. "Un cafe noir, s'il vois plait" I said, with my best (awful) French accent. But once again, and against the odds I was understood and a hot cup of strong coffee was mine!

After my coffee, I headed off again and was soon in the countryside, sometimes off-road, sometimes on. The trails that criss-cross the fields here are fascinating. They're clearly there for agricultural vehicles but equally, they must be old and established because they're on the map! They're quite a mix though.... sometimes gravel, sometimes stones, sometimes grass with a faint impression of a path.

Back on the road again, the landscape was changing. From the arable farming I'd passed through during my first few days in France, I was now seeing much more forest. It became hillier too with meadows instead of fields containing crops. To be honest, it started to remind me a bit of Austria.

I stopped in the town of Remiremont to get a bit of food. I'd seen on the destination campsite's web site that they did pizza so I was hoping for that but bought a few things just in case. I would not be going to bed hungry!

In a forest... but not lost this time!

What did the Romans ever do for us?

Remiremont, home to *both* LIDL and ALDI!

A slight Austrian vibe, no?

Today's accommodation is a lovely small campsite right on the bank of the Moselle river. The reception doubles as a kitchen too and it's from the table in the kitchen that I'm writing this post, having just finished my pizza and feeling good!