Le Grand Tour: Day 38 – Pouzols Minervois To Montagnac Via Sรจte (134km)

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Iโ€™โ€™m glad to have finished the Canal du Midi section of the Canal des Deux Mers cycle route. Now in Pรฉzenas – Iโ€™ll explain in a moment – the highlight of yesterday was cycling along the excellent voies vertes that brought me inland from Sรจte yesterday evening. Cycling at the end of the day is something that doesnโ€™t often happen (the way I tend to organise my days) but the advantages of cycling at that end of the day are similar to those of early morning cycling; quieter roads, cooler temperatures and the โ€˜golden hourโ€™ sunlight that washes a beautiful soft tint over the landscape. Itโ€™s also worth noting (and remembering) that the winds tend to die down in the evening. Mmmโ€ฆ Perhaps I should do night shifts on the bike.

Le Grand Tour: Day 37 – Alzonne To Pouzols-Minervois (71km)

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Iโ€™m on one bar of 3G tonight so getting anything uploaded aside from some good old text is very doubtful. No, more than doubtful; it wonโ€™t happen as Iโ€™m not even going to try. Iโ€™ll 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 watchโ€ฆ

Le Grand Tour: Day 36 – Toulouse To Alzonne (92km)

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Iโ€™ve seen the Pyrenees for the first time this evening. After so much relatively flat or tame topography over the past five weeks, itโ€™s 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.) Iโ€™m in a place called Alzonne by the way, about 90km along the canal from Toulouse. Carcassonne is a further 20km to the south east.

Le Grand Tour: Day 35 – Grisolles To Toulouse (31km)

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Iโ€™m still suffering g from the mosquito bites inflicted upon me in Marickโ€™s 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, slowlyโ€ฆ I need to buy some Autan. Iโ€™m 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 โ€˜Crossing Europeโ€ฆโ€™ 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 wineโ€ฆ

Le Grand Tour: Day 34 – Agen To Grisolles (94km)

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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, errโ€ฆ Reading, I hosted quite regularly in the summer. Since moving back to rural Yorkshire Iโ€™ve 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, Iโ€™m not really on anyoneโ€™s 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 massageโ€ฆ Well, most of those.

Le Grand Tour: Day 33 – La Rรฉole To Agen (89km)

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There were times this morning when I thought this particular day – the whole trip perhaps – were being derailedโ€ฆ It all started by me heading over the bridge back in the direction of La Rรฉole. Oops! Wrong direction. No big problem; Iโ€™d only cycled perhaps 50 metres across the bridge and by doing so made a nice video clip (yep, you guessed it – watch the videoโ€ฆ).