Tuesday 31 May - Rest days

Safely on Bike Express to take us home

We planned for the remainder of our time in France to have a few days R&R. Ann wanted to lie on a beach. The weather changed as we arrived in Sete. So we have ridden around Sete, we have walked around and up to the highest point of Sete, we have had a bus ride in Sete. We now know Sete quite well and will move on tomorrow.
We meet up with the European Bike Express on Sunday for our trip home.
I have been unable to add photos this trip. I will put them in an album when I get home and add a Link to the blog.
A great trip, we had no problems, the bike was great, the food was excellent, the accommodation, varied as it was was very good. We are not sure what we are going to do next, the Loire, Eurovelo 6, west coast of USA, endless possibilities.

Saturday 28 May

Parkins leave to catch train to Arcachon.
We head off for Sete. Tarmac path soon ends and we are back on the rough stuff. We saw a pair of storks feeding their young.
Narrow gates at the Libron works caused us to use the road for a couple of miles. The Libron works were a way of diverting the flooding river over the canal.
In Agde we saw lots of people dressed up in historical costumes, tents were erected around the town and music and markets.
A very hot and open stretch of busy road led along the narrow strip of land that separates the bassin from the sea. We eventually found the cycle track which took us into Sete, found hotel and stopped.
Mileage 29 Total 718

Friday 27 May

The Med - notice warm clothing!

 Left tents and bags and rode down to Portiragres Plage and the Med. Weather was overcast and windy. Coolest day for weeks. It had rained heavily through the night.
The Plage was deserted, beach was empty. We took all the obligatory photos but refrained from swimming. We went to visit Seringnan which was surprisingly busy.
Enjoyed a last meal with John and Jenny.
Mileage 23 Total 689

Thursday 26 May

Another glorious day weatherise. Path still very narrow, bumpy, many tree roots and very close to canal. Have to think about which foot to put down when stopping. Canal side could be 2 wet people and kit.
Path eventually improved near Bezier. Arrived at an amazing set of 9 (8) locks, with options to choose different canals on the way down. We met a large crowd of French road cyclists who had completed Bordeux to Bezier, but had avoided all the rough bits by staying on the roads.
John and Jenny managed to book on the train for Sat. We carried on and camped in Villeneuve les Bezier.
Mileage 30 Total 666 miles

Wednesday 25 May

Close to the route!

After an enjoyable short day on Tuesday we set off back to CDM. The path quickly became very narrow, rocky, lots of tree roots and rutted. We had another puncture and fell off the bike twice. This continued the whole way to Le Somail, where we stopped for a Chambre d'Hote which turned out to be a gite. We arrived very dirty and tired, but after a few beers, showers and a meal we were fine. Temperature was in low 30s.
Mileage 41 Total 633 miles

Tuesday 24 May

John had a puncture before we left Les Magasin, but still away at a good time. We planned a short ride to Carcasonne, so we could have a look around the Citie, and have a bit of a break. Campsite was good and walking distance from the Citie. It was very impressive. Being on a hill there were great views.

Monday 23 May



The End of Tarmac

 We left campsite, shopped at Leclerc and were on our way by 10.30 After 20km Tarmac stopped and we were down to single track bumpy path. Character of canal quite different , lots of bends, narrower and older buildings. All very scenic. Path not as rough as expected. Port was very picturesque. We continued on to Bram where we are staying in an old store used by Pierre Riquet when building the canal.
Domaine les Magasins so far we have seen someone on a penny farthing bike, 2 pairs canoeing in double canoes and tonight chatted with 2 guys who are running the Canal du Midi.
Mileage 36 Total 574



The path narrows