The morning news announced rain throughout France, with the potential exception of the coastal strip of Catalonia.  All day long this forecase bore out, with dark clouds to the north but lighter gray skies and occasional patches of blue off the coast.  Once we escaped Narbonne and the surrounding suburbs we made great time as we blew westward on a strong tailwind from the northeast interior.  For the first 30 or 40 km we paralleled the coast, skirting a series of bays and salt flats. Once we reached the shore, we enjoyed a ruler-straight shot through a series of evenly spaced beach communities.  We broke for lunch at one of these, picnicking on the sand in a shelter, out of the biting wind.

This appears to be great sailboarding country.  On the sea as well as inland, boards raced by at amazing speeds.  One stretch of road was completely given over to the sailboarders, their vans parked in an unending series on the shoulder, unrolling their sails on the pavement and even disrobing.

The remainder of the day followed the coast through a series of beach tourist towns.  We had intended to terminate the day's ride at Collioure near the Spanish border, but rain broke out just as we entered the last of the featureless towns, Argelet, and we headed quickly for shelter in the nearest hotel.  After cleaning up and resting a bit, we braved the rain and walked to a nearby restaurnt for a great traditional supper.  We were entertained during our meal by a pair of dogs who carped at each other periodically across the restaurant from beneath their owners' tables.