Heard during the day that DHBC won 2013 RAW
track club championship AGAIN for the fifth year running. Great work everyone! (I love the interwebs btw)
134 km ride today, not much climbing but it
felt like a long way and we stuffed around.
A lot. Stopped and looked at
things, took some pics and then looked at more things. Drank coffee, beer.
We started the day in Olargues as we had
ended the previous day’s riding on the Voie Verte, the bike path along and old
railway line. We got 14km out of it this
time and along the way we stopped to take a picture at the best spot but that
was after I did the stupidest thing of the day.
I was riding along, looking ahead at a
bridge to see if it was a pick-a-plank bridge (it wasn’t, I don’t think they
have them in France) and didn’t see the barrier that was across the path and in
the shadows. Everyone else saw it but I
went straight into it. Fortunately I saw
it just before I hit it so had slammed the brakes on. It was about chest height. Oops!
Embarrassing! Back wheel lifted
up and everything. The people I was
riding with were somewhat surprised shall we say.
Not content with that, I discovered some of
the barriers were high enough so that if I lay flat on the top-tube and bars I
could go right under with cms to spare – not that I was looking or able to see.
No pic of that, Camilla missed that
photo op, or was more rightly worried about whether I was going to ensure I
never develop a dowager’s hump. Thank
god for 650c wheels and a tiny frame.
Idiocy out of the way, the ride along the
Voie Verte was remarkably pleasant and if you get a chance to ride it around
here, do. It’s still got more to
go. Here’s the next stage ready to be
transformed.
By then it looked like we were in the wild,
wild west of somewhere not France.
Riding on a side road, close to a high speed highway for 10km and feeling
like we were in a time trial before arriving at lunch near the Clamouse cave up
a gorgeous valley.
After lunch, we headed off up the valley
alongside a river then met a grinding hot climb that never got very steep but
snaked up a gorge and promised to reach the pass where every left turn was
cruelly followed by a right turn that took us higher.
Then a long mostly downhill run to
Sommieres which is another beautiful old town.
A long day in the saddle.
Ride and Seek had organised a winemaker and
sommelier to come in for a tasting and to tell us about Languedoc wines. I caught the second half of this and found
out a lot about local appellations and the finer points of roses. But a lurking
migraine turned me away from alcohol for the evening so I didn’t really taste
anything.
And then another 3 course gourmet
meal. Thankfully Dylan organised a
vegetarian meal for me. If I was fending
for myself I think I would struggle. The French cannot comprehend vegetarians. Even a cheese omelette turns up with little cubes of ham in it.
Day topped off by another astonishing
dessert. It had fairy floss on it!
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