Deciding to stay a second night, we did a circle around a forested area just east of Dôle. Again, we were expecting to get rained on, but were dry the entire ride.<br /> <br />Stopping in Arc-et-Senans for a bite, we saw both some very modern architecture as well as a number of carved wooden animals.<br /> <br />Surprisingly we found a beautifully-made bicycle path for maybe five miles along D31 north of Arc-et-Senans. It was nice for a change to ride two abreast easily chatting.<br /> <br />Just west of Rans for a few kilometers were some very pretty meadows and hills. Otherwise, with some exceptions, most of the ride was relatively flat. A really relaxing and pleasant ride without the panniers.
Our ride took us for a few kilometers from the Jura Department to the Doubs Department around Arc-et-Senans.<br /><br />Background:<br /> <br />My wife and I have been doing self-supported tours in Western Europe (a majority in France) since 1993. This series of rides covers our 2009 4.5 month route through parts of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and then back to France. Our beginning and ending point is near Chadurie (south of Angouleme) where our friends have a farm with Gites and Chambres d'Hotes.<br /><br />We rode our Dawes touring bicycles purchased in 1993 heavily loaded with 700Cx32 tires. All of our riding was on paved roads, mostly with very little traffic. Pretty much the only unpaved sections were some bicycle paths in Germany and Austria. Sadly, that wasn't so great as Helen fell a number of times on the unpaved paths. Fortunately, though, no serious injury.<br /><br />If any questions, feel free to email me at jeffkadet@netdiving.com<br /><br />Jeff