On our first full day of biking in Burgundy, we were ripe with anticipation. We departed from the former 12th century abbey, Abbaye de la Bussière which is now a resplendent Relais & Châteaux property replete with a small pond, rose garden, ponies walking the grounds, and former monastery turned restaurant where we had a gluttonous 5-course feast the night prior.
Soon we were on a slow climb, cresting a hill that at the top opened to a vast vista of meadows dotted with dairy cows and horses. Next we enjoyed a downhill run through small villages and its requisite stone farmhouse, thickets of forest and its tall trees shading us from the sun, and glorious fields of sunflowers, several weeks past its prime, but the massive flower heads still alive and clinging to its stems. As the backcountry road leveled off, we got our first sight of the legendary Grand Cru Burgundy vineyards, and then we were on a bike trail next to a canal where we followed the flight of herons and the occasional barge going through the locks. All and all, it was a 45-mile ride with some 3,800 feet of elevation gain, worthy of a refreshing swim in a nearby river, still in our bike clothes, which Lisa took full advantage of.
When I ran into Andy Levine, owner of DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co., after the Grateful Dead show at the Sphere in Las Vegas last summer, I told him I’d love to go on another DuVine trip. That’s when he sold me on Burgundy, where he first fell in love with the idea of creating a bike company that took you on the best rides in the region and wined and dined you at exemplary local restaurants before spending the night at a top-shelf property not usually known by the masses. For me, Burgundy always felt too much about the wine and not enough about the biking. Wow, was I wrong. Not only was the diversity of terrain enticing, but there was very little car traffic to contend with the entire week of biking. What a joy!
Our ride two days later from Beaune, the wine capital of Burgundy, was another gem. We biked through the nearby vineyards and ascended the Côte-d’Or hillside, standing atop a cliff wall that looked down at the villages below. We were soon riding past one of those towns, Orches, which clung to the hillside and was recently named the most charming village in France. Then we were riding through the white Burgundy region, places like Meursault, where pickers already started to harvest the grapes in late August. We stopped for a memorable wine tasting at Domaine Evenstad, (so good that I bought six bottles to be sent home) before biking a little bit further to arguably my favorite meal of the trip, a restaurant called Le Terroir in the town of Santenay.
My typical lunch is a slice of turkey breast on one slice of Dave’s Killer Bread with a slathering of mustard. Here we started with escargot, where I dipped heavenly bread into hot butter. That was followed with foie gras and the best coq au vin I’ve ever tasted, all washed down with exceptional white and red wine. Then we went outside in the hot sun to bike back to Beaune. If I was riding my regular Trek bike back at home, I would have found the next ten miles to be a challenge. But since I was riding a spanking new Specialized e-bike, I simply turned on the Sport button and zipped back to my home for the night, the lovely Le Cèdre in Beaune. I actually fell in love with the e-bike on this trip, biking on the lowest speed, Eco, for most of my rides to give me a great workout over the week, but then boosting to Sport after our wine-soaked lunches when I needed the extra push.
For me, Burgundy always felt too much about the wine and not enough about the biking. Wow, was I wrong.
It helped to be riding with two of the finest guides I’ve ever traveled with, Bruno and Charles. Bruno has been in the travel business for decades, working across continents and spending a significant amount of time in South America. His knowledge of France, especially the food, wines, and region is second to none. Charles is from Réunion Island, near the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, before making his way to Paris and starting with DuVine a year ago. He had a great sense of humor and was patient atop the hills waiting for us all to arrive.
We were joined by close friends, Michael and Debbie, who have traveled with us on many trips over the years. Michael was especially handy on this trip, since he’s an avid wine collector, and could peruse the encyclopedic wine options at each restaurant, choosing the best available. The sommelier would come out with a wine list so thick, we thought he’d be daunted by its sheer magnitude and heft. But Michael always prevailed, choosing wine after wine that was just right for the meal and the occasion. Another couple from Bainbridge Island, Jack and Angela, both excellent bikers and Boston-based, helped round out the entertaining group.
That night in Beaune, we would have what I call a “DuVine Event,” a special evening with the group inside the home of a local chef. We have had these encounters on our other DuVine trips, say a cooking class inside a historic trulli in Alberobello, Italy, on our Puglia itinerary, or going to the estate of Dona Maria wines in the Alentejo region of Portugal to first stomp on grapes and then have a sumptuous meal with the owner in her dining room, along with her two cute dogs. This is how DuVine differentiates itself from other active outfitters. With its smaller group size, often no more than 8 people on a ride, you can enter people’s homes and get an authentic taste of the local flavor.
Sylvie Jolivet, who was trained at France’s version of the Culinary Institute of America, the Paul Bocuse Institute in nearby Lyon, started with a chilled zucchini soup, not unlike a gazpacho, made from her own farmed zucchini. Then it was on to tender gravlax that took over 24 hours to prepare. This whet our appetite for the grand finale, a salt-encrusted paillard chicken, one that was free range and had lived on a farm 40 miles away. She drove to this farm to pick up the chicken so she could have it fresh for us. After pulling off her sculpted salt crust which encapsulated the bird, she served us the tender chicken with potatoes au gratin. Ridiculous! Especially when paired with her husband’s own label of red Burgundy.
This is how DuVine differentiates itself with other active outfitters. With its smaller group size, you can enter people’s homes for an authentic taste of local flavor.
Our last lodging was a celebrated stopover for luminaries like former French presidents Francois Mitterand and Jacques Chirac on their drive from Paris to the French Riviera, Le Relais Bernard Loiseau. Loiseau was a celebrated French chef who helmed his own Michelin 3-star restaurant in this small Burgundian town of Saulieu. That was until a food critic from France’s most popular newspaper, Le Figaro, panned the restaurant in a review and Michelin soon removed one of his stars. Devastated, Loiseau would take his own life in 2003. Yet, thankfully his two daughters inherited his love for gastronomy and hospitality and not only held on to his Relais & Château property, but expanded his Burgundian cooking to other regions around France and the world, even opening a popular restaurant in Tokyo.
We would dine that night on savory local trout and veal sweetbreads, among other fantastic dishes at La Côte d’Or, still a Michelin two-starred establishment. Just as much of a highlight, however, was the indoor wellness pool which featured up to 20 stations that focused on each area of the body. There were nozzles pinpointed for calves, thighs, and feet, and a stream of water pouring over your neck and back. We topped it all off with a session in a soothingly hot eucalyptus steam room. After a week of riding, this was what the doctor ordered!
