"Should I Stay Or Should I Go"

(The Clash)

Leaving Dijon was a pleasure because it was flat all the way to Beaune although I had my second day of rain. Not long after leaving I rolled back into wine country and behold it was the mighty Burgundy with the first stop being Nuits St George. I remember making a pilgrimage here with my ex-brother in law and Poxy Pete (hey…maybe I should get him a Stag T shirt!) and whilst the visit was delightful I was stuck with a lasting impression about the mystery that goes on around wine. The vineyard we visited declared that one year they came across a few hundred unlabelled bottles and so they got the workers together and opened a few bottles and had a guess at the year! A Grand Cru was something that was handed out in the 19^th Century and whilst it generally indicates quality and heritage then it doesn’t indicate the current best wine necessarily. As I cleared Dijon on the quiet Sunday roads then the sky got increasingly grey and it started to rain. Frankly this is not the end of the world. Infinitely preferable to a headwind. I did spot this beautiful Citrȍen (below) whilst driving through Beaune, which I recollect from WW2 war films being driven by the shadier characters. So the roads started to get slower before I got to Autun and wrestled with whether to press on but not knowing if there was camping in cycling distance or stay here. I decided to drop anchor (literally because I had to scurry into the tent as it rained again). Here I met a Kiwi called Keith who was working usually in Dubai but was pottering around this part of France slowly on a bicycle. I met him at just after 7 am the next morning when he was packed and ready to go (it usually takes 90 minutes from waking to departing – it just does!) and as we said goodbye he said “Bon Voyage” and as I strolled back to my tent I was worrying if he knew something about the weather that I didn’t.