Iโm on one bar of 3G tonight so getting anything uploaded aside from some good old text is very doubtful. No, more than doubtful; it wonโt happen as Iโm not even going to try. Iโll update this post tomorrow morning with the pictures and the video (which is ready to go!) and for anyone thinking of cycling the Canal du Midi, it really is a video you need to watchโฆ
Iโve seen the Pyrenees for the first time this evening. After so much relatively flat or tame topography over the past five weeks, itโs good to finally have a little drama added to the landscape. They are only in silhouette, shrouded in haze and only just perceptible from the sky but they are definitely there. (Or my glasses need cleaning.) Iโm in a place called Alzonne by the way, about 90km along the canal from Toulouse. Carcassonne is a further 20km to the south east.
Iโm still suffering g from the mosquito bites inflicted upon me in Marickโs basement on Thursday night. I really wish I had got out of the bed and killed each one of the little f*****s. Not only would I have gained great pleasure from doing so, I would not now be scratching my way through the day. Last night on the campsite near Grisolles was particularly uncomfortable. On the positive side of things, the bites are receding, slowlyโฆ I need to buy some Autan. Iโm already taking antihistamine tablets but the former was recommended way back in 2010 when I was the victim of a mosquito attack in Italy. I wrote a whole section in โCrossing Europeโฆโ about mosquitoes and their bites; I should go back and re-read it. I seem to remember there being three factors that increased your susceptibility; being pregnant, having blood group O and beer. I need to drink more wineโฆ
I judge my WarmShowers hosts on how I provide for WarmShowers guests when I host back at home. Alas in recent years this has been less frequent. When I lived in that beautiful tourist hotspot that is, errโฆ Reading, I hosted quite regularly in the summer. Since moving back to rural Yorkshire Iโve hosted just three times. In Reading I was half-way between London and Oxford or en route to the West Country. In Yorkshire, despite it being far nicer, Iโm not really on anyoneโs cycle route (although not very far from the Pennine Cycleway – take note!). Anyway, aside from a warm shower, I provide food, drink, Wi-Fi, clothes washing, advice, deep-tissue massageโฆ Well, most of those.
There were times this morning when I thought this particular day – the whole trip perhaps – were being derailedโฆ It all started by me heading over the bridge back in the direction of La Rรฉole. Oops! Wrong direction. No big problem; Iโd only cycled perhaps 50 metres across the bridge and by doing so made a nice video clip (yep, you guessed it – watch the videoโฆ).
Thereโs no mistaking that I have now arrived in the south of France. Not only has it been hot (in fairness, itโs not been in the least but cold since Brittany) but there have been a long list of things that tick the Southern Europe boxes; lavender, a lizard, terracotta roofs, parched fields of crops, hilltop villages, towns that shut down in the heat of the dayโฆ No cicadas yet but they will come in the next week I imagine.
The Cycling Europe Podcast continues to follow Andrew Sykes as he cycles on his โGrand Tourโ of Europe. After a day off in Morlaix, Brittany, Andrew sets off cycling south along the EuroVelo 1 – known locally as the Vรฉlodyssรฉe – following a disused railway track and then the Nantes-Brest Canal before continuing along the west coast of France to La Rochelle. He takes time to explore the attractions along the way including the historic town of Josselin and, with the help of a shuttle bus for bicycles over the bridge, the World War II submarine pens in Saint-Nazaire. The music is by Rob Ainsley.
A short one todayโฆ and no video. Itโs often tempting on a non-cycling day to plunge into full tourist mode and spend an exhausting day visiting the sites. Today I havenโt done that. Iโve spent much of the day wandering aimlessly around – flรขner in French – and sorted out a few bits and pieces along the way. Iโve had the most expensive haircut of my life (I darenโt admit how much but next time I will check the prices before I sit downโฆ) with my developing beard shaved off (which perhaps doubled the cost), bought some replacement sandals, done my washing, sorted out my car tax and the customs issues with the GoPro (ongoing sagaโฆ) and even checked on my plants back home (via a phone call with my mother). But no video. One thing I havenโt yet done is edit the podcast and that is my job for the next couple of hours. It should be available by the end of the day. Still a while for you to catch up on the previous four โGrand Tourโ episodes (numbers 052 to 055). Tomorrow: the Canal de la Garonneโฆ
