Fair Weather Bikers

Yet again we awoke to stunning blue skies and this time it was warm from the moment it got light. We had the eggs for breakfast, which were OK but a bit bland - need to remember to buy stuff to go with the eggs next time!

Because it was so warm, packing the bikes was very hard work and I nearly overheated before we set off - it was 28 degrees by the time we got going at around 10:30am.

For the first 20 miles I was still very hot and not really enjoying my ride. Then I saw a cafe and decided I needed a cold drink so pulled in. After a very refreshing ice cold coke we set off again, I had cooled down a bit and was feeling a lot happier.

Our destination was Carcassonne which was around 60 a few miles away from the Pyrenees. The roads changed from tight twisty mountain roads to fast open flowing roads through rolling hills and vine yards, which were equally stunning and enjoyable in their own way and a refreshing change.

After a very relaxing and enjoyable ride we reached the outskirts of the town. Carcassonne is a medieval fortified town which has been restored to an amazing level. It looks just like something out of a fairy-tale.

Our camp-site was large and well equipped and located a short walk outside of the town walls. We got camped up for around 1:30pm. As it was still very hot, and our tents were pitched in a cooler shaded area we decided to get an ice-cream and then chill-out by the tents until it cooled down a bit. There was a constant noise of many crickets around the tents which turned out to by quite hypnotic and in no time I fell asleep and had a very pleasant afternoon nap!

When I woke up I noticed a guy on his own on a GSXR1000 with English plates, so I wondered over to say hello. He turned out to be Welsh, and he'd been touring for 3 weeks already. He had been caught up in the really bad floods that southern France had endured just before we set off. I told him we'd catch up with him later for a beer or two.

At around 4pm we walked into Carcassonne. Though it was still very hot, it was a pleasant walk into the town as we followed the river under the shade of trees. We even saw a beaver going about it's business. The town was on a hill and we had to climb a steep narrow cobbled path to the entrance.

The town was very interesting. It was very well preserved and full of various small shops, bars and restaurants. For the most part the town is pedestrianised; only the traders are allowed to bring vehicles into the town itself, and the streets are that narrow that navigating them in a car is an art in itself.

We wondered around the whole town, stopping to pick up a couple of souvenirs for Jane and Rose and then looked for a nice restaurant. We found a nice looking Italian who unfortunately wasn't open for another hour, so we went for a drink around the corner and then returned and ordered a pizza each. I ordered a 4 cheese pizza which comprised of 4 very strong French cheeses, which got a bit much about half way through it!

We returned to the camp-site and stopped off at the on-site bar for a few beers. The Welsh guy I'd talked to earlier was in the bar talking to a Dutch cyclist. The Dutch guy was a fascinating bloke who was doing 100 cols in 6 weeks - the nutter! We had a very entertaining evening having a few beers and talking to these two guys, made even more interesting by the most amazing thunder storm I've ever seen. The storm was in the Pyrenees and luckily we just caught the edge of it with just very light rain. The lightening was spectacular fork lightening accompanied by waves of light that washed across the sky towards us.

We retired to our tents at sometime between 11:30pm and midnight just as the rain started to get a bit heavier. I fell asleep to the gentle patter of rain on my tent and slept very well indeed.