The last couple of days we have been following the Marne river east of Paris. The river makes some really big oxbows but the bike path tends to go up and over the hill at the neck of oxbow. This has lead to some hills that we are not yet in shape to take with any sort of dignity.
For the past 25 miles or so the north bank of the river has been planted in only grapes. A vast quilt of small intersecting fields owned by a patchwork of different vintners. The resulting harvest is turned into Champagne. Today we visited the small Benedictine Abby in Hautevillers where Dom Perignon pioneered many improvements to wine making and the production of Champagne. We tasted some Champagne at one of the local vintners. The cheap stuff was really good and the expensive stuff could lead to some real problems. . . but at right around $100 a bottle I think we will be ok.
Tomorrow we continue riding east.
Drink up. Life is short. ❤️