Day 313 – EU – France [Besancon to Dole]

11/02/21

50.3km

  From Besancon (France) to Dole (France)

Europe

A beautiful long run by the canal, with the sun warming up what started as a pure chilly baltic day

Oh it stung this morning! Officially -5 Celsius with a bitter real feel around -10 Celsius. I had decided to avoid all main axes of traffic for today, due to the icy conditions. I chose to run exclusively on country roads that led to the Canal, which I then wanted to follow all the way to Dole. It meant a slightly longer day, north of 50km, but I thought it would be worth it. And it was!

As soon as I reached the canal, it was all flat, quiet and beautiful. Swans, wild ducks, birds, that would be the company for today. The “Canal du Rhône au Rhin” connects the two big rivers of France and swerves around the river Doubs. Sides have been turned into cycling paths and form part of the “Eurovelo 6” route, one of the major networks of cycling paths in Europe. It was very pleasant to run there. And as the sun came up, it really warmed me up.

I reached Dole, a beautiful city of the Jura region, an entry to the mountainous part of Eastern France. With the sun out, I took some time to go around the awesome cobblestone streets of the centre. The gothic collegiale Notre Dame, the narrow streets and ancient leather tanneries boutiques lining up the streets. As I understand from my host today, Antoine, Dole is a city that really shines in summertime and attracts many tourists. I definitely see the attraction!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: