Day 259 – EU – France [Vienne to Lyon Ecully]

19/12/20

36km

  From Vienne (France) to Lyon Ecully (France)

Europe

A beautiful sunrise, dry and sunny day – the last one for a while –

It was pleasing to enjoy a proper sunrise this morning as I left Vienne on countryside roads. It set my mood for the day. I also saw on the weather forecast that today would be the last dry day before long.

I was intent on enjoying my time on the road and taking in all the panoramic views.

Despite the good R&R I enjoyed yesterday and the long night, I felt tired from the get go. I could not quite shake the feeling and carried the fatigue throughout. It’s my third day back on the road and I was expecting to pay the price for the lower volume of running of the past month and a half.

I struggled more than I should have in the few uphills I met on today’s road.

After about 30km I reached Lyon, the second largest agglomeration of France.

I took time to see some of the landmarks: the place Bellecour of course, immense and fairly deserted, with a view of the Basilica Notre-Dame-de-Fourviere, the quays of the Rhone river, the surrounding hills and typical architecture.

One of the things Lyon is famous for is its culinary tradition.
It is a sad thing all the restaurants are shut as it would sure have been an exceptional experience…

I stay tonight in Ecully, north-west of Lyon, and will spend the next few days and weeks heading further north-west towards Roanne, Moulins, Bourges and Orleans – in effect cutting right through to the middle of France.

I am looking forward to a lot of sleep tonight and hoping I will soon be back to my standard energy levels!

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: