events

Actually it was with another cyclist near here that I came the closest to having a crash.  He was coming from the opposite direction, was chatting to the person with him and simply wasn't looking where he was going.  I shouted and he swerved, missing me by literally two inches.

For the most part though cycling by the canal is a quiet affair, ish, since there are lots of people out on their bikes, jogging, roller-blading and just strolling, at times being on the road is easier.  The other slight problem with the canal is that the tarmac on the towpaths is variable, sometimes it's deeply rutted from the tree roots and sometimes there simply isn't any, more problematic with a loaded tourer.  I also, frankly, find it a bit boring after an hour or two.

Two years ago I couldn't find the right way to get from one side of the river Orb and the other, this year was no different.  Well it was different but it was still wrong.  I found my'self on the wrong side of the canal.  I came out at the 9 locks, which I'd intended to avoid, simply because I knew that the towpath was just earth and gravel and I fancied the easier ride that the road would offer.

Finally found the road and followed it, almost all the way to Poilhès where I'd arranged to Marie-Laure and Carine for lunch.

I was really looking forward to this, meeting up with Marie-Laure, who I'd first met when cycling last year near Agen, her friend Carine; and eating at La Tour Sarrazine again.

We had a very jokey waiter who took this photo for us, actually I think the owner took over since his photo was a bit shakey.  This shot on the left is just of the food, click on it to see the diners.

It was great meeting up again, we had very animated and interesting conversations, largely in French, though helped out occasionally by Marie-Laure and Carine's English (Carine actually teaches English and spoke my language much better than I hers, though she was much too polite to make that obvious).

Marie-Laure had suggested we go to see Malpass, which I would have loved to do but was reluctant to do it and feel rushed, since I knew I had a bit of cycling to do to get to the campsite in Sallèles d'Aude, though it wasn't too far away.

It turned out to be a good job we didn't go since the campsite I'd used last year at Sallèles d'Aude was closed for the season.  I ended up having to do another 15km or so before finding lodging.