Iteranti
A twin-rutted dirt track crosses open stubble fields toward wooded hills, with hay bales and farm sheds scattered across the landscape below a storm-lit sky.

Langres to Dampierre sur Salon (day 13)

Ridden · Jamie Brammer

Route map

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So the route today (gpx) again followed roughly the walking route, but with a few exceptions:

  • I went the south side of the reservoir near Langres because it seemed a little shorter, though still off-road
  • I avoided hills and stayed in the forest more before Coublanc
  • Trying to stay on more gravel tracks just after Champlitte

Paris to Langres

So getting to Langres for an early start is very difficult in one day from Copenhagen. I tried all sorts of routes e.g. via Basel but in the end I bet that the best thing to do was spend a night next to Gare de l'Est in Paris.

The idea was take a really early train and get to Langres before 9 to give a good few hours taking it easy on the way to Dampierre-sur-Salon. However it didn't quite work out that way.

About an hour out of Paris the train came to a stop and there really wasn't much communication (that I could easily undestand at least). We simply sat there for approximately 3 hours!

The train got to Langres just before midday and it took another hour getting the bike ready and properly packed. So I finally started just before 1300 on a 70km off road trip on a very hot day.

The good news was that this year I've got a new framepack that can take the bike travel bag (for getting on planes) as well as all the bike tools and spares. This made a big difference keeping the gravity somewhat lower and meant I could use a very small backpack just for water and food.

A hot day for a "sprint" across country

Starting late on a hot day was a new challenge and there was plenty of off-road today. Even some of the official route paths were heavily overgrown and difficult to walk through, let alone cycle.

I ran out of water somewhere just before Champlitte and was glad for the supermarket close to the Chateau.

Overnight: Dampierre sur Salon, Au Bon Vivant

There's only 2 accommodation options in Dampierre sur Salon 1) The glass monstrosity in the middle of town or 2) A local Gite just up the road.

I chose 2). Wise move. Christophe and Helene were fantastic hosts and I got to learn a lot more about Vietnam and also go on a buffalo sightseeing tour.

  • A double-decker regional train waits at a rural station platform under a big sky of white cumulus, a twin-headed lamppost with a speaker standing beside the tracks.
    Arriving some hours late into Langres
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leans against a yellow bench painted with a mural of a train and a signalman beside a sign reading 'LANGRES', with packaging cardboard strewn on the ground where the bike has just been unboxed.
    The old tram shed, now a great place for the annual bike build
  • Langres' hilltop buildings rise above wooded slopes beyond a reed-fringed pond, purple loosestrife flowering in the foreground.
  • A gravel path shaded by a lone tree runs alongside a reed-lined waterway under a partly cloudy sky.
  • Cattle rest in the shade of a tree line beyond a wire fence, with a Via Francigena waymark post, showing a red-and-white stripe and a scallop-shell sign, in the foreground grass.
  • A cyclist's view along the cobbled top of a long stone dam beside a reservoir, handlebar bag and GPS computer visible in the foreground.
  • Langres sits along its wooded hilltop in the distance, church towers and pale stone buildings visible above the ramparts and surrounding fields.
    Looking back at Langres
  • A line of weathered fence posts strung with wire runs across a mown field toward distant farm buildings under a cloud-streaked sky.
  • Traditional turf-roofed stone barns sit low in a stubble field with round hay bales scattered in front, fringed by a line of trees.
  • An old wind-powered water pump stands alone in a field of golden wheat stubble, farm buildings visible on the horizon.
  • A dappled dirt path curves away through a dense green woodland canopy, a fallen log lying beside the trail.
    Tracks like this were amazing
  • An overgrown grassy path pushes through tall nettles and brambles in woodland, a cycling computer mounted on the handlebars in the foreground.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leans against the mossy handrail of a narrow wooden footbridge crossing a stream in the woods, red-and-white waymarks painted on posts either side.
  • An orange gravel bike leans against a tree marked with a red-and-white number 9 waymark, beside a gravel forestry track running off through the trees.
  • A pile of felled branches and logs lies heaped across a woodland clearing, cut trunks stacked at the treeline beyond.
    Trees across the track
  • A gravel forestry track runs between hedgerows toward conifer woodland, a taut wire strung with orange marker tape crossing the path at chest height.
  • A rutted dirt track crosses a mown field toward a distant belt of trees under a sky of scattered cloud, a rider's fingertip and handlebar bag visible in the foreground.
  • A twin-rutted dirt track crosses open stubble fields toward wooded hills, with hay bales and farm sheds scattered across the landscape below a storm-lit sky.
  • Rows of harvested stubble fields stretch toward a wooded ridge, a brick-and-white grain silo standing among scattered hay bales on the right.
  • Ripe sunflowers droop on their stems among tall wild oats, a wooded hillside rising behind the field.
    Even the sun flowers were struggling
  • A stone humpback bridge decked with red flowers leads into a village beneath a tall church bell tower with a slate spire, hills wooded behind.
  • A loaded orange gravel bike leans against the parapet of a multi-arched stone bridge over a river, a village with a church spire and a weeping willow behind.
  • A grand pale stone mansion with a steep slate roof and dormer windows overlooks an avenue lined with clipped box balls in blue planters.
    Champlitte
  • A loaded orange gravel bike lies on its side on a gravel track beside a sunflower field, wooded hills behind under a partly cloudy sky.
  • Rows of empty wooden chairs line the nave of a Gothic village church, leading past a stone pulpit to a candlelit altar beneath tall stained-glass windows and a crystal chandelier.
  • A modern glass-fronted building bearing a large 'HOTEL RESTAURANT' sign rises above a row of shopfronts including a boulangerie and hairdresser, with a red car parked in the square outside.
    The odd hotel/business centre at the heart of Dampierre
  • A hand holds an open tub of cancoillotte cheese with a spoon, ready to spread it on torn bread pieces set on a plate at an outdoor table.
    Cancoillotte, what a find.