The Amazing Cirque du Bout du Monde

Today’s ride was all about this view from the Cirque du Bout du Monde (Circus at the End of the World) …

I know, pretty darn spectacular.

I arrived here via my Plan B, due to a steady drizzle, and it just might have turned out better than my original plan. My Plan A was to ride the Voie des Vignes (Path of Wine) south to Santenay (similar to my Day 1 ride, here’s the link).

And then … rain. A steady drizzle. I didn’t want to get caught up on the ridge/cliffs in the drizzle, especially if the drizzle became a drizzlier drizzle, so a few Ks before Santenay I turned around and headed back toward Beaune. What the hell, maybe it will stop drizzling, and, if so, I can always figure out somewhere else to ride.

While the rain never stopped the drizzle got a little less drizzlier (I seem obsessed with the word drizzle). “Hmmm,” I wondered. “Maybe, instead of going back to Santenay and then Nolay, like I did on Day 1, I can cut up (west) and get to the top of the ridge/cliffs from Meursault (which was a K away on the Voie des Vignes).”

And that’s what I did.

I had no idea if this route to the top would be harder than the way up from Nolay, but I was prepared for any and all hills, no matter how steep. And …

It was a tough but reasonable climb, perhaps a little easier than the route up from Nolay. Then again, maybe I’m in 50-percent better shape than I was a few days ago. C’est possible. On the way up, I went through the little stone village of St-Romain, which just might be my favorite little Burgundy village (so far). Here’s a photo from the village …

And here’s a photo from the village of the cliffs up above I was headed for …

After a few more Ks I was at the top and the views were panoramic and spectacular. You could walk right up the edge of the cliffs, which, I admit was a bit scary. Especially with my bike shoes and cleats. There was no way I was going to get too close to the edge and trip, slip, skid, skate or stumble. Or even drizzle.

While I must have seen 100-plus riders on the Voie des Vignes today, despite the drizzle, I was the only one at the top of the ridge/cliffs (which is called the Cirque du Bout du Monde) and the only cyclist I saw on the way up or down. This is always my goal on these trips … to get away from the more popular routes (which, I admit, are popular for a reason) and find something a little different. This usually involves climbing, but, as you can see, this climb (and almost every climb here in France ) pays off with the view.