August 4, 2006
Day 26: Durfort - Villenouvelle: On the road again
Hate these parting scenes. We don't want to say good-bye, but we want to travel, so ... sniff, we're off.
Starting almost from Durfort, we are able to cycle along a hiking path which follows the Rigole de la Plaine, a small canal which channels water from the reservoirs and streams in the mountains to the town of Naurouze on the Canal du Midi. The path is mostly hard-packed dirt and it's pleasant riding between small woods and open fields with lovely views over the plains of the Lauragais. Aside from affording us a pleasant bike path, the Rigole de la Plaine plays a key role in the functioning of the Canal du Midi. From the engineering point of view, the greatest problem was how to feed the Canal du Midi with water. Its highest point at Naurouze, west of Carcassonne, is 190m above sea level and 58m above the Garonne at Toulouse. Riquet responded by building a system of reservoirs in the Montagne Noire, channelling run-off from the heights down to Naurouze. A brilliant achievement of the 17th Century.
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At Naurouze, where our path meets the Canal du Midi, the Obelisque de Riquet commemorates the creator of the canal.
The lovely asphalt bike path along the Canal du Midi will go all the way to Toulouse.
We decide to stop earlier and commence to look for a campground, one listed in our camping guide. Villenouvelle, about 4 km from the canal, sounds good. Villenouvelle is a small, not terribly interesting little town on a major road. We see no sign of a campground. When we show the name in our camping guide to people on the street and ask if they know it, they answer "oui, oui" and point to a large chateau. Unfortunately, it is neither a campground nor hotel, it only has the name in common with the listing in our book. I try the telephone number (we carry a cell phone with us, seldom use it, but upon occasion it has been invaluable). Aha, the number is wrong but they can give us the correct number. When I call the new number, I am told the real name of the so-called campground. It's a little restaurant on the road that we have by now passed several times on our search, with a field behind it. This is definitely not a campground but we are allowed to set up our tent and use the shower and toilet. Fair enough.
The propietor appears on the scene. We will also be able to eat our dinner here. If we want. Which we do. There is no other restaurant in Villenouvelle. I don't like to say bad things about people publicly, but this man was rather disgusting. And the bathroom was very disgusting. The more the proprietor drank in the course of the evening, the worse his jokes and the more suggestive his remarks. I would have loved to sit at the table for another hour, but we fled to our tent. That was a strange experience, but see how pretty the setting was for our tent. I wonder if the wrong address in the camping guide was a joke.
Today's ride: 68 km (42 miles)
Total: 1,532 km (951 miles)
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