August 6, 2006
Day 28: Gratentour - Bourret: Hungry to bed
Back to the canal. It's a beautiful Sunday morning and many cyclists are out for a morning spin. We stick to the canal, which is very pretty here, until the surface changes from asphalt to dirt, then follow small scenic roads to Montech. Not much traffic but lots of wind.
We didn't anticipate the long climb between Montech and Bourret but if we had studied our map more closely, we might have noticed that the direct route over the old bridge is not open to traffic, just didn't notice those tiny little red lines on our map.
We even consider climbing over the barricade to avoid cycling over the mountain. But Janos is afraid he might not be able to climb back out with his stiff knee so we drop the idea. I would hate to have to go to the police for help to get my husband off the barricaded part of the bridge.
We are now seeing some of the local styles of "pigeonniers", or dove cotes, common in this part of France. In Medieval Europe, the possession of a dove cote was often a symbol of status and power and only nobles had this special privilege. The birds were kept both for their eggs and flesh, the dropping were used for fertilizer.
We ride over the new bridge, up the mountain and down again. The campground on the bank of the River Garonne is quiet and pleasant. The picnic tables along the river are nice, too. One problem - we have nothing to eat. And not a single store in this town is open. The only café sells drinks and has one little peanut vending machine. Okay, we'll have peanuts for supper. Then our coin gets stuck in the vending machine - no more peanuts!
I imagine when the bridge leading into town was closed and no more cars were passing through, the little town of Bourret on the Garonne died. For us not finding anything to eat was perhaps a comical incident, but it also gave us an insight into the history of the town.
Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 1,656 km (1,028 miles)
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