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Monday, May 13th - Bourg-Argental to Lyon, 3300 km
Our ride from Bourg-Argental to Lyons is straight-forward and smooth. It is a better day, weather-wise. It is sunny and somewhat warmer. It is mostly a downhill ride through pleasant countryside. There are no passes to conquer, like yesterday, and the uphill climbs we do find are either very gradual or stepped. Furthermore, the traffic is quite light, which always makes cycling much better.
We follow the same minor highway we were on yesterday, which takes us north and slightly east into the Rhone Valley. It reaches the valley a few kilometres south of Lyons, following along the west side on roads raised 100m or so above the valley floor. Our only hindrance is a stiff breeze from the north. In spite of the wind, it
is a gentle day. We glide into Lyons in mid-afternoon, 86 km from Bourg-Argental. We are at the tourist information office in the city centre by 3pm. We have a contact in the Lyons area from our Gai Pied ad last winter, an ex-Canadian living the town of Villefranche-sur-Saone, about 40 km north of Lyons. I try his
number but there is no answer or answering machine. Our next stop is the main office downtown where I hope there will mail waiting for me, including a letter from Gordon, as I had written to him from Avignon a week ago. There is no letter from Gordon, or my sister, who has written to me, according my mother. My camera sent from Cotignac has not yet arrived, but my new Visa card is here. At least that is something. 
For a place to stay, we agree on the youth hostel on the east bank of the Rhone. As it turns out, it is in a drab, newer area, far from anywhere of interest. The office is closed when we get there, but having done the ride to get out here, we wait. While we wait, we chat with two other Canadian cyclists from Vancouver, Phil and Phil. The two Phils have been riding for four months together and are set to return home via London in a few days. They are hungry for English dialogue. After more than an hour wait, the office opens and we are told there is no space. They referred to the C.I.S.L. (Centre International de Sejours de Lyons) that honours International Youth Hostel memberships. The CISL is also located in a boring suburb more than walking distance to the downtown core, but we get two beds in a 4-bed room for only 74.5 F ($15). We are sharing the room with two handsome men in their 20s – Tim from Victoria, BC, who is a tall, dark man with a bright, open face
and friendly disposition, and Mike, a quiet, composed, muscular Kiwi with white white skin and a shock of red hair. Both are straight, I suppose, but Tim’s friendliness has me wondering.
Since there is simply nowhere else to eat in this neighbourhood, we eat at the CISL. It is a pity because Lyons is famous for the finest of French cooking. The best cooking schools and many of the highest-rated restaurants in France are here. I am prepared to pay for a very good meal, not just an adequate one, but at least the cafeteria here is cheap.
I try again at 10:30 to reach Gordon Carmen by phone, without success.
PHOTO 1: Lyons riverfront along the Rhone
PHOTO 2: in old Lyons
PHOTO 3: street in old quarter, Lyons
PHOTO 4: CISL
PHOTO 5: Archdiocese of Lyons
PHOTO 6: palace in Lyons
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