Day 9 Carcassonne to Roubia 53kms
Another fun day on the canal. There are lots of boats with lots of very happy people on holidays onboard. Many more cyclists to stop and chat too, most of them either off a boat or from a camp site. There are also more locks and cafes to stop at along the way.
The sad part though is that the plane trees that line the canal and really are what make it so beautiful have a canker disease and are being chopped down. It changes the canal scenery dramatically and we are so grateful to be cycling the canal before they are all gone. There is a 20 year replanting programme in place at a cost of Euros 200,000,000 but until the new trees grow that magical feel will be lost.
We have seen some interesting people travelling the canal by different means but this has to be the best. A donkey and 2 men! We did not speak to them but can only presume they were on one of the many pilgrim walks in the area. The note on the donkey’s hat read “you may take my photo but please give me a piece of bread”
Day 10 Roubia to Colombiers 46kms
The track along the canal is still very rough and both of us are feeling very tired today. There were more deviations off the canal due to the tree chopping. Some we ignored and cycled on quite happily but some we couldn’t and had to join some very busy roads. The wind is also picking up as we get nearer to the Med.
We were cycling through a wine growing region here and saw grapes being picked the old way, manually, by a very happy gang of workers!
We stayed in a Chambres d’hotes which was very nice and have decided while these are a little more expensive they are usually better that Airbnb as we are assured of our own bathroom.
Day 11 Colombiers to Beziers 10kms
The wind picked up today quite strong and black clouds threatened all day so we decided to stop in Beziers one stop short of the end of the canal. A little disappointing but also the canal path today has been very narrow, rough and overgrown so the riding has not been so pleasant either.
We went through Point Neuf today which meant nine locks in a row as the canal rises up from the Med. It must take all day for a boat to transit this part.
Beziers is a very old town with tiny cobblestone streets. It was interesting but very dirty and to us it seemed a very poor town with lots of unemployment. Our accommodation was in a house in the old town. Very narrow, just one room wide. Our bedroom was on the first floor up a tiny narrow staircase and we were surprised to find we had our own bathroom! The room itself was very colourful and comfortable. Our bikes were kept in the kitchen downstairs, which tells us that the host relies heavily on Airbnb for income as when the bikes were in the kitchen there was not a lot of room to get around!
We slept very well and the next day we were up early and took the train back to Toulouse. We gave the bikes a much needed wash down and the new owners met us as arranged to pick them up and take them back to Valence sur Baise.
We have cycled a total of 477kms. My daily mileage on the blog may not add up to this as I was using Google maps to calculate the mileage but we have since plotted it correctly and 477 is what we have covered. We both enjoyed the trip very much, the smile on our faces at the end of the 11 days shows that and we would do it all again tomorrow. It was so good to be out touring on bikes.
The accommodation we chose Airbnb and Chambres d’hotes were mostly very comfortable and worked out much cheaper than hotels. Staying with people in their homes is a great way to see local life, learn the language and history of where you are. To have breakfast and sometimes dinner catered for was great, especially after cycling all day. The time of year was perfect, not too hot, not too cold and not too many tourists.
There are a couple of things we would do differently next time. First we would take our own saddles and 2 very good pairs of cycling pants. Second we would give ourselves more time and take a rest day every 4th or 5th day.
We both felt very tired but very fit at the end of the 11 days and very happy with ourselves. This is one adventure I am happy we have done and our thanks to my cycling buddy back home, Carol, for inspiring and encouraging me to do this trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment