Carcassonne - Durfort - The Grand Tour - 2023

May 23, 2023

Carcassonne - Durfort

Today we come full circle. The end of the day sees us in the same chambre d'hôtes where we stayed eleven days ago.

Today we have a little bit of everything - except rain! According to weather.com it could go either way. Although we cycle on roads that are wet from recent rain, we don't get a drop and the skies get bluer as the day progresses. We do get heavy traffic, rough trails, stiff headwinds and a long climb. We also have some beautiful countryside, good memories of earlier trips and a happy end to this segment of the Grand Tour.

Did you know we slept in Carcassonne? Really, we didn't even enter the Cité or get a single picture. We have been to Carcassonne a few times, but is that good enough reason not to have a look? In the morning we are happy to just make our way out of town. There is a lot of traffic when we leave at ten. Unfortunately, we haven't scrutinized our route very closely and end up riding on a very busy four-lane highway for several kilometers before we are finally off on a side road which soon turns into a nasty rutted trail over the next hill. Nice views do not compensate. I have to get off frequently and push up and down the stony slopes.

Finally back on asphalt another stretch on the D6113, which we already had a taste of, looms ahead. I'm not doing that again and fortunately it can be avoided with a slight detour.

We are now on a route that we did 17 years ago on our way from Munich to my sister's place in Durfort. We were riding mountain bikes which had pretty good gears for climbing, no e-bikes yet, and were carrying camping gear. It was a 15-kilometer slog and I did have to get off and push a couple of times. It is still a slog but I don't have to get off my bike. Janos needs to economize to make his battery last and does a valiant job pedaling using a low level of support.

Just before it closes we find a little market in Montolieu for picnic fixings. We get a nice chunk of cheese but they are out of bread and we aren't willing to cycle down to where the bakery is so we make do with some crackers I have in my bag. Well done. Almost got caught without lunch again! Montolieu, an attractive town, is at the beginning of the climb and we already have a nice view.

The climb begins and when we reach Saissac we know we have the biggest chunk behind us.

Along the way we are flooded with memories from our first time here. And finally we reach Les Camazes and the steep winding road down to the village. I had actually forgotten how pretty it is.

When we get to Durfort we ride down Gwen's street. Nothing has changed. The door to her house is even open...

The house is still used for workshops every summer.

Nese is there to greet us when we pick up our car. We agree to go out to dinner together and celebrate the end of another fantastic tour.

We will now head for Italy by car. There won't be any cycling for a couple of days - but we're not quite finished yet. Stay tuned!

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Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 806 km (501 miles)

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