OK, so today was forecast a bit cooler. We reviewed our route and cut out a couple of needless loops and meanders, but still kept to country roads and canal paths. So we plucked up courage and booked somewhere 95km away on mostly canal paths with a steep ridge between two major canal routes.

Trimming meanders turned out to bring distance down to 85km 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻, but that wasn’t clear until we got there 🙄.

But first we had to navigate breakfast. We were up early and wandered into the breakfast room at 07:50. Nothing doing. We poked around and had some cereal and sniffed the mint tea sachets suspiciously and examined the kettle, noted the dried bread. Then the owner arrived (he of the electric keyboard and singing competition) flustered. He fussed around discovering food in the kitchen and rushing out to present it to us “Look, some fromage Blanc”, “Look, eight different cheeses”. He was really very attentive, but we really needed some coffee and a plate to eat off. “Ah, yes, the plates 🤔”. We found our own cutlery. Anyway we had a fine breakfast and turned down offers of omelettes etc.

We paid and loaded our bikes and set off with what we now regard as a “nip in the air” = 25°C 😂. Today was mostly canal towpath. But we had 10km to get there first. After that we zoomed along wide flat tarmac towpath. Zooooom. So we reached Reims promptly (32km). We entered Reims along the canal, but as we cycled under loads of bridges we were expecting a ramp up to street level to access the city. But on closer exam, neither the map nor reality had an access ramp! Huh? How does that work 😳🤷🏻‍♂️?

I followed a path by some steps coming from a bridge - and found a lift to street level 💪🏻. And it was also working 💪🏻💪🏻😍.

So we made it direct to the Cathedral and locked our bikes. Now Reims turns out to be a major tourist destination so the square in front was full of tours with flag-waving guides. And cafés who were shushing coffee drinkers from shaded tables (meals only 😏) onto stools under the burning sun (we only wanted a coffee). Crowds touring the cathedral and such a long queue at gift shop (we wanted our Pilgrims passport stamped) that we gave up. Now Reims is a truly magnificent cathedral - most impressive yet, but “us pilgrims” felt that the “sanctity” of the place had been disturbed! (Laon still had sanctity in abundance)

We we’re shocked that Reims cathedral had been nearly totally destroyed in the First World War and was broadly restored by 1938, but with the famous Rose windows not until 1980.

We queued for ages at the Tourist info office to get our stamp instead.

We decided that we’d had enough of Reims, bought a couple of sandwiches and escaped down the lift onto the canal towpath and a quiet bench under the trees.

And so we zoomed out of Reims for 15km. We had to leave this canal to cross a ridge (big sigh) to join the Marne canal.

We had to follow a minor road for 3km but this was full of thundering lorries travelling at speed to/from the motorway junction. Eeek. So we bumped along a farm track along this road uncomfortably but with some relief.

Then we started the ridge climb. We discovered that this was a Tour de France route for the following week 💪🏻. Then we realised that we were climbing to the famous “Montagnes de Reims” where the best Grand Cru champagnes are grown. As we breasted the summit we saw vast vineyards stretching into the distance. We sped downhill into the first Grand Cru village Trèpail, which had about 8 champagne houses, but nowhere for an ordinary drink. Then further downhill to cute Ambonnay with at least 15 champagne houses, but still nowhere to get a drink (“Champagne champagne everywhere but ne’er a drop to drink).

So we pushed on to the canal and zoomed along and into Châlons-en-Champagne at 85km.

After supper (with a glass of champagne) we admired from outside, a World Heritage pilgrim’s church 💪🏻. Notre Dame en Vaux.

We have live music tonight too - there is a band playing in the Grand Place right outside our hotel……😬😬😬. Mmmm may not get much sleep 🤷🏻‍♂️.