September 7, 2016
Day 2 - Labastide-d'Anjou to Toulouse: Shaded paths along the canal all day
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After a restless night, we were up fairly early. The owner had told us that he wouldn't arrive until 1000 so we had settled our bill the night before, skipping breakfast in the hotel. We locked our room, liberated the tandem, left all the keys on the counter, and locked the hotel door behind us as we left.
About .5km out of town was a small bakery where we got pastries and coffee/orange juice. We sat outside enjoying the morning sun. It was going to be another hot one.
The first bit of our ride was very familiar - we've done it a few times. Down to the canal at the "partage des eaux" - the highest point in the Canal du Midi where the water flows one way to the Mediterranean and the other to the Atlantic.
From this point, it was all "downhill" to Toulouse. The path from here to Toulouse is paved the whole way and never wanders more than a few meters from the canal. Lots to look at, and a shaded pathway to ride on. A few tourist boats were out. They go much slower than cyclists do. We passed cyclists and runners out for their morning workouts, and a couple of cycle tourists as well.
We stopped for a coffee across the street from a lock in Montgiscard, and took a couple of breaks from the heat along the side of the canal. As the canal comes into Toulouse, it passes universities and technology companies. There were lots of people out running or cycling during their lunch hour - good to see France staying in shape!
We know Toulouse pretty well and love to visit it. This is the first time we've cycled into it, though. To make things easy, we had lunch at an outdoor cafe that we knew from a previous visit - "Le Kiosque des Nems du Grand Rond" just off the Grand Rond on the south side of town.
We had booked our hotel in advance. It was the "Hotel Le President" on Rue Raymond IV. Again, this hotel is bicycle-friendly and tandem-friendly. They have a gated parking garage under the hotel where we were able to lock the tandem for no additional charge.
After cleaning up, we headed over to Place du Capitole for a celebratory drink. We spent the rest of the afternoon prowling around Toulouse. It was hot, though. We walked on the shady side of every street.
We had dinner at a great Indian Restaurant "New Delhi" on Rue de l'Industrie (recommended) and retired to our (very hot) room. Somewhere in the middle of our second sleepless night, we decided that paying a bit more for air conditioning seemed like a really good idea. So noted: future reservations took this into account.
Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 118 km (73 miles)
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