There are all sorts of great reasons to visit the Bourgogne region of France. There are the food and wine, of course. If you're interested in art, history or architecture, the place is a treasure-trove. And the cycling is great. I know: three of my bike tours included excursions to the area.
Speaking of which: In 2010, la Musee du Velo opened in the town of Tournus, which is also home to l'Eglise de Saint Philbert, one of the oldest and best surviving examples of Romanesque architecture. Earlier, the Musee had been in nearby Cormatin, where it closed due to financial reasons in 2007.
I saw the museum in its earlier location. France is known for such monumental museums as the Louvre and Orsay, but small, quirky places like the Musee du Velo are found all over the country. (If you're in Saumur, you simply must check out the Musee du Champignon. Really!)
One of the things that makes the Musee du Velo so interesting is its collection. It includes a version of the hobby-horse Karl van Drais created 200 years ago and is considered, by some, to be the first bicycle.
Another fascinating artifact is this brake on an 1869 bike:
I hear someone's still trying to break that saddle in!
There are also a number of penny-farthing (high-wheel) machines and one of the first Tour de France bikes to use a derailleur in 1937, when such mechanisms were first permitted in the Tour.
I got a kick out of this 1938 triplet
with its drop bars in front and two moustache bars (No, Grant Petersen didn't invent them!) for the "stokers". If you want to turn your kids into tandem riders, there is this:
If their legs tire out, let one of them ride this 1950 machine
which can be propelled by pumping the handlebars from side to side!
In addition to these and other bikes, the museum has a fantastic collection of Tour de France memorabilia, items from chinaware to match boxes with images of bicycles and cyclists, and what might be the most beautiful collection of bicycle bells in the world.
The museum's collection might be said to have begun with this:
which was used by a fellow named Michel Grezaud. He was a butcher in the area during the 1950s who used that trike to make deliveries.
He is also the one who amassed the museum's collection and, with his wife Josette, founded the original museum. Sadly, he did not live to see it in its new location.
Speaking of which: In 2010, la Musee du Velo opened in the town of Tournus, which is also home to l'Eglise de Saint Philbert, one of the oldest and best surviving examples of Romanesque architecture. Earlier, the Musee had been in nearby Cormatin, where it closed due to financial reasons in 2007.
I saw the museum in its earlier location. France is known for such monumental museums as the Louvre and Orsay, but small, quirky places like the Musee du Velo are found all over the country. (If you're in Saumur, you simply must check out the Musee du Champignon. Really!)
One of the things that makes the Musee du Velo so interesting is its collection. It includes a version of the hobby-horse Karl van Drais created 200 years ago and is considered, by some, to be the first bicycle.
Another fascinating artifact is this brake on an 1869 bike:
I hear someone's still trying to break that saddle in!
There are also a number of penny-farthing (high-wheel) machines and one of the first Tour de France bikes to use a derailleur in 1937, when such mechanisms were first permitted in the Tour.
I got a kick out of this 1938 triplet
with its drop bars in front and two moustache bars (No, Grant Petersen didn't invent them!) for the "stokers". If you want to turn your kids into tandem riders, there is this:
If their legs tire out, let one of them ride this 1950 machine
which can be propelled by pumping the handlebars from side to side!
In addition to these and other bikes, the museum has a fantastic collection of Tour de France memorabilia, items from chinaware to match boxes with images of bicycles and cyclists, and what might be the most beautiful collection of bicycle bells in the world.
The museum's collection might be said to have begun with this:
which was used by a fellow named Michel Grezaud. He was a butcher in the area during the 1950s who used that trike to make deliveries.
He is also the one who amassed the museum's collection and, with his wife Josette, founded the original museum. Sadly, he did not live to see it in its new location.
