Rest Day in Dijon

Team Probert have been enjoying our first rest day of the trip with absolutely zero bike contact. We've spent a highly cultured evening quaffing caraffes of burgundy in the beautiful old centre-ville of Dijon, so hopefully you can excuse the arty noir photography!

We had three main objectives today: wash our dangerously grubby clothing, sleep, and absorb some of the culture of the ancient town we're staying in. With steps 1 and 2 completed, we got the bus with the help of a friendly yet slightly scary local, into town.

Little did we know, this character was just the tip of the iceberg in a town with a population of rich and interesting (crazy) personalities that puts Portsmouth to shame. Once we'd hit the old carved stone streets of the vielle carrre, our mission was simple: find a cafe with beer, showing Le Tour (de France). After a surprisingly taxing search, we struck gold.

As we settled in to follow the final 40km of the race, what started out like any other unassuming bar gradually morphed into a French version if the Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina (the bar full of alien scum and villainy). First there was mozzarella man (who unsuccrsfully dashed out to find the vital ingredient for our meal), mafia man, detective dog kissing all the ladies, cannibal barbecue dude and his sidekick Jazz Man, worried orange juice man and a short cameo from a tracksuit adorned psycho, and keeping the whole volatile mix somehow in balance was the ancient bearded mariner.

Single handedly attempting to serve this band of rogues whilst managing to take a fag and wine break with her mates every 10 minutes, and serve us and an entire Dutch family pizzas, was the wonder-woman bar-maid.

We finished off our lovingly botched together pizzas with some local burgundy pinot noir then stumbled back through the dramatically sunlit streets trying to process what we'd just witnessed- French cafe culture at it's absolute best!