November 28, 2018
Lagrasse
We hadn’t planned on being in this seaside village at all, but we’re sure pleased with how it worked out. We’re lucky that these winds blew us down here for the day. Without that, we wouldn’t have gotten yesterday’s photo of a flamingo trying to get up to flight speed; or enjoyed our afternoon walk on the beach.
And this morning, we would have missed the best sunrise I can remember. We have a room with a sea-facing view, and when we got up we could see the first sliver of dawn lighten the water. Downstairs for breakfast at 7, it was advanced enough to drive me out the door and on the beach for the first time; and I went out three more times before finishing my first cup of coffee.
And we would have missed the fine view of Caginou off to the west. Seeing it like this, it’s easy to believe that for many years it was believed to be the highest peak in the Pyrenees because it is so prominent.
Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 6 | Comment | 3 | Link |
5 years ago
"This is my opportunity to shine! To glow, in fact. To reflect."
... Oh well. Next time.
5 years ago
Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
We’ve followed a pretty odd trail the past several days, wandering to and fro, a bit bee-like. Yesterday, we backtracked the route from Narbonne to Peyriac-de-Mer. Today, we’re backtracking again, heading north along the Berre. Not the most efficient, but efficiency isn’t our goal here.
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Conditions are really beautiful for a ride today. There’s little wind, it’s mostly sunny, and by the time we stop for lunch it’s warm enough that we both take off our outer layers.
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Just beyond Tournissan we dropped to the Orbieau, the small river that flows down from Lagrasse. We’re only two miles from town at this point, but it’s still early afternoon and such a fine day for riding that we decide to tack on another ten miles with a loop to the west. It was the right choice. These were the best miles of the day, carrying us over the shoulder of a low ridge and dropping us down to the tiny Sou River where we stop to Dmire a beautiful medieval stone bridge.
We were concerned when we saw that the road along the Sou was marked as barricaded, but we decided to hope we could get through whatever the obstacle was rather than backtracking this late in the day. After all, if we can bike through water, we can overcome so many obstacles. It was a relief though to find that the road is just being resurfaced, and the road crew was fine with us walking past the active stretch of the project. Our reward was that we had this delightful road all to ourselves for the last five miles of the day.
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 1 | Comment | 4 | Link |
5 years ago
Mrs. Grumby, bleeped once more.
I'll go wash out my mouth with soap now.
5 years ago
Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 3 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Lagrasse, a small place classified as one of the Most Beautiful Villages in France, is certainly that. It’s also completely dead at this time of year. There are four or five restaurants and a bar, all of which are closed either for the night or for the winter. We didn’t know this when we arrived though, and Rachael eagerly viewed the menu at the hotel next door with a friendly Scottish couple passing by, excited to see that it is listed as open tonight. We enjoyed a brief conversation with them, and discussed possibly continuing our visit at this restaurant over dinner. Then Rachael hustled off to the still-open grocery store to restock and pick up milk for breakfast.
It’s a good thing she went to the store, as we would find later when we discovered that neither this nor any other diner in town was actually open. Fortunately, Rachael is a food hoarder and we had plenty of calories on hand to survive until morning. We’ve done way worse than this in the past. We’ll learn from the experience though, and will check in advance before staying in any other small villages in the coming weeks.
Heart | 1 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Heart | 2 | Comment | 0 | Link |
Ride stats today: 42 miles, 1,700’
Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 2,907 miles (4,678 km)
Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 4 |
Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |