Day 63: Vias to Beziers

September 19, 2013

The pool area at last night's camping. They had a sauna too.

As we set off this morning, Dodie said it felt like her brakes were on. Usually this would be code for "I'm tired" or "This headwind is a killer", but since we were still in the campground, this was unlikely. A quick check revealed that she was right, and in fact the housing on her right rear spring retainer had cracked off, causing the left arm to apply itself to the rim. Translation, we needed a bike shop, to buy new brakes. Also, how long had this situation been there? Dodie was likely fighting the wind all yesterday with her brakes on? Impressive.

In the town of Vias, just up the road and over the canal from Vias Plage where our camping had been, we found Cyril's bike shop. Inside, the actual Cyril sold us a rear brake set, just €11.95.

Importantly, Cyril made the case that the rotten surface of the Canal du Midi path would rectify itself, and that it was a good cycle way. So that saved us shooting off on some miscellaneous D roads, looking for smoother sailing.

We went to the church yard in town to have a quiet space for me to swap out the brakes. It's a simple job, but takes some fiddling. Meanwhile, Dodie had a look at the church. It was fairly plain buut had nice stained glass windows. A story board explained that during the 1944 German retreat they detonated all ammunition stores in the town, and this blew out the church windows. A piece of the original windows was on display, together with the name of the person who had gone in to save it.

Cyril at Cyril Cycle advises Dodie about the Canal du Midi route.

Brake parts on the church yard pavers. Grrrr.

Back on the canal, we found that the rotten surface persisted, and while unloaded mountain bikes bounced along quite well, it was a different story with the loaded, small wheel tourers. So, mmany stretches got walked.

In fact, 12 km from Vias, with no fanfare, the surface changed to a paved one. Normally that would have been all it took to have us race off toward Beziers and beyond. However, the headwind remained, and at times it was stop you in your tracks strong.

The rotten surface at the Canal du Midi path.

Though not quite at the Mediterranean any more, the environment here can be very lush.

Most boats in the canal are from "Le Boat". Here we have come upon their home base.

The path improved to this, 12 km from Vias.

There are lots of vines by the path, growing in sand.

One or both sides of the canal is always lined with Plane trees.

The headwind masked the fact that Dodie was not going strongly in any event. Two days ago, I had suddenly come down with a cold. It started with as streaming nose, a tough situation in a country so seemingly short of toilet paper. Then it made a move on my lungs. Normally I respond to this by coughing for 3 to 6 months, and I was worried. However, I feel the Mediterranean sun and air put a stop to it. For Dodie, now, it was different. Her nose clogged up, her lungs gurgled, and mainly, she lost all strength.

By lost all strength, I mean she once just lay down by the path, and having recovered a bit carried on, only to come to a complete stop near Beziers.

Good health is a critical factor when cycle touring. You can find yourself miles from nowhere, in the pouring rain, in the cold, etc., and it is your good health and perseverence that pulls you through. But what if you are sick, miles from nowhere? You can hitch hike or call a taxi or something, but what about that bike with its mountain of luggage?

One of the things we had already noticed about the Canal du Midi path is that there are basically no signs telling you where you are, nothing directing to services, and no on path services. So except for the chance to go off route, normally at a vehicle bridge, you are in the middle of nowhere.

With Dodie's illness, in fact the GPS revealed that we were directly opposite downtown Bezier. However, with Dodie so weak, cycling into a busy city looking for services, like a hotel, was almost unthinkable. I did spot one nearby thing, though, an exercise gym. I went in, hoping that someone would know of a hotel or gite right handy. No, there wasn't one, nor did Beziers have a van type taxi that could swallow our bikes. I thought of sending Dodie off to a hotel in a taxi, leaving me to wrangle the bikes, but she would not go alone.

The gym owner put hit finger on the tablet, where the nearest hotel was (the tablet itself recommended two that he said were closed) and I got it to plot a course there. Then, at 2 kph, the courageous Dodie pushed her bike, up hill, through the city.

Dodie is asleep in the hotel now, at 4 p.m., and I hope her system can recover with a long rest. We no longer quite have the Mediterranean sun and air here.

Meanwhile, though there are some pretty scenes along the canal (it is lined with huge Plane trees) we are asking ourselves if this is the place to spend the last weeks of our time in Europe. It is clear that we have no hope at all of actually cycling back to Amsterdam, or anywhere close, so should we fight the wind to Toulouse, cycle the Loire, cycle Belgium,or ?

First we have to see about Dodie. I'm sure glad she is here in bed, rather than sitting out the canal!

Dodie slowly walks the streets of Beziers

Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles)
Total: 4,232 km (2,628 miles)

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