On Saturday, the clouds dispersed and the sun came out and we got on our bikes again. This time we headed off to the top end of the three reservoir system to the village of Dienville, a trip of around 42kms there and back to the campsite.
It was absolutley glorious! The sun shone in great golden bars through the trees as we rode along the leaf strewn paths through the woods. Shortly after leaving Plage de Geraudot we crossed the road and found the path along the dyke at the western end of Lac du Temple. The surface was very smooth and the going very easy with hardly any gradient at all. It was warm and calm and quiet. Along the whole route we came across no more than a dozen cyclists. Two of these were on electric bikes and they passed us when we'd stopped to study the map at the road crossing before Lac du Temple. By the time we set off, they had put two hundred metres between us and them. I couldn't let it lie and put the pedal to the metal. I was narrowing the gap between us and caught them halfway along the dyke on Lac du Temple where I had to have a bit of a sit down. It was a warm day, after all.
At Dienville we found a boulangerie, bought bread for supper and a slice of flan each for lunch. A bit of advice, don't buy bread or flan from the boulangerie in Dienville unless you really have to. Whilst it was perfectly edible, it wasn't a patch on yesterday's fare from the patisserie in Lusigny sur Basse.
At Port Dienville the snack bar and bistrot were open. We ordered hot chocolate from the snack bar, which was excellent and asked if we could eat our flan slices at the table, which they said was no problem. The great thing about Dienville is that it is the highest point in the three lake system, so the ride back home was a joy! Ever so slightly down hill all the way.
On our return to Plage de Geraudot a hot air balloon was taking off. A SKY balloon. Blue Sky balloon. Mr Blue Sky!
It was such a beautiful evening we sat outside in the sunshine and enjoyed a well deserved beer. We cooked outside as well, but as soon as the sun dipped behind the trees it was too cold so we escaped indoors to eat.
That evening a van arrived at the campsite selling wine and cider. We bought a bottle of Pinot Noir and a bottle of cider. We drank the cider and decided we probably paid too much for it. We also bought a bottle of champagne from the campsite shop. It was ok, but we probably paid too much for that as well. The quality of the pinot noir remains a mystery. A kind of Schrodinger's cat of wine. Whilst the cork remains in the bottle, it is both a good wine and an awful wine. Maybe it's best left as such.
On Sunday we visited Troyes, had coffee in the square near the Cathedral and walked around a bit. There's not much I can say about Troyes beyond the fact that someone clearly enjoyed building churches here. There are eleven of them. And the ones we saw were all huge. I can also share with you that there is a lot of very interesting historical architecture in the old town and that it is certainly worth another visit. Very picturesque.
We spent three nights at Camping aux Rives du Lac and thought it was great. The facilities were good, staff were cheerful and helpful and the site is well placed for safe, offroad cycling, hiking and other activities. Watersports are also an option when the reservoir is full. It is also handy for the autoroute and we would definitley stay here again.
We also learnt the reason why the reservoir was not full during our stay. This was due to maintenance work being carried out on the damn wall at the bottom end of the system. We also learnt that the purpose of the reservoirs was to keep Parisienne feet dry. When there is a risk of flooding in the French capital, water is diverted to the three lakes to ease the pressure on the Paris drainage system.
What did the fish say when it swam into the wall? Dam!
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