After two days of glorious cycling in the sunshine, rain was predicted for Wednesday so I declared it a rest day. I puttered around with the journal and decided that Vivien George need a bit of washing up and some new chain oil. During these tasks, the rear brake stopped working - I could fully depress the brake lever but there was no braking action. Vivien George has hydraulic disc brakes, which meant that I had either gotten oil on the disc brake pads, or there was a leak/air in the hydraulic line. In any case, I knew that the solution was beyond my capabilities so I waited to talk to Peter in the morning. Of one thing I was certain - I was not cycling in this hilly terrain without a functioning rear brake.
I was nagged by the brake problem, but had arranged for a tour of Saint-Antonin with a local guide – something I had never done before. The theme of the tour focused on architectural clues/evidence that showed how the village had evolved over the centuries. I found it quite interesting, but I was a bit overwhelmed by all the information – my biological hard drive lacks a coherent classification system for cataloging medieval facts. Maybe I should work on that this winter. I did take photos of some interesting features of the town and have tried to relay their significance in the captions.
The legend of Saint Antonin depicted over the entrance of The Church of Saint-Antonin. The image shows his bones being brought back to the village in a boat towed by an eagle
After King Louis XIV declared that all of France was to be Catholic, parasol pines were planted to indicate that residents of that house were "Protestant friendly"
In the morning, Peter diagnosed the brake problem as one of either air in the line, or a fluid leak – neither of which he could fix. In anticipation of this, I had considered several options and thought the best might be to take the train to Toulouse where there were plenty of bike shops and thus a good chance that one may be able help me out. The closest train station was in Lexos, 8 miles away. It was a bit tight to catch the next train, so I stayed on the main road, which was the flattest, and kept a steady pace. I arrived with about ten minutes to spare, strapped Vivien George to the designated railing (thankfully no bike hooks) and settled in for the two-hour ride to Toulouse.
Just before Toulouse, a man boarded with his bike and took a seat across the aisle from me. He had put his bike in the designated space, but the strap holding both bikes was pretty loose and it didn’t take long for bikes to fall over. However, the problem was easily corrected by wrapping the strap a few times around, and we both returned to our seats. The bike tumble had broken the ice for conversation, and Frederic had lots of suggestions about where to bike in the area and, more importantly, where I might go to get help with the disc brakes. He took me to Maison du Vélo, a sort of bike repair co-op and restaurant across from the train station. He was a little skeptical that they could help, and so recommended another bike shop that he was sure set me straight. Since it was lunch time, and bike stores were closed, I had lunch at the restaurant and afterwards decided to go directly to the recommended bike shop. Unfortunately, they said that they had never worked on brakes like these, and sent me to yet another shop. The mechanic there was also hesitant to work on it, and said I would have to call back the next day to see if their expert mechanic Vincent, had the expertise and time to fix it. The brakes are Shimano disc brakes, nothing exotic, and I was at a loss as to why they were such an unknown quantity in such a large biking city as Toulouse.
I began to think that my bike trip might be over. If the brakes couldn’t be fixed here in Toulouse, I would just wait to get back to the US and take Vivien George to my local bike store. In the meantime, I would spend the next week in Sète. Christine had given me the keys to her condo, and it was a great place to camp out while I waited for my Paris Airbnb rental. I found a nearby hotel and booked for one night, but didn’t sleep well. I called Vincent as soon at the bike shop opened, and he said to bring the bike right over – he could fix it today. And he did. As Peter had suspected, I’d gotten air in the lines. As Vincent bled the brakes, we had a great time talking about gear ratios and the Tour de France coming through Toulouse. On the day before Stage 11, the stage the Tour entered Toulouse, the bike store and a group of their customers had ridden the last 50 km of the route into town. Fans of the tour were already camped out along the route and gave big cheers to all the riders, making everyone feel as if they were participating the real Tour.
My hero Vincent - putting Vivien George back in working order
Edward HitchcockInteresting to read your story. I have been to many of the places in your journal, often with my Bordeaux cycle club. Curiously , in 2021 I also had cause to take a train from Laguepie near Lexos to Toulousse to sort out a hydraulic brake problem. Hydraulic brakes are great, but you do need to do the routine maintenance! Reply to this comment 3 years ago
I left the bike shop elated, and decided to spend the rest of this sunny day in Southern France exploring the city of Toulouse. Tomorrow, I'm back on the bike!
Interior of Church of Jacobins showing the ribbed vaults supporting the massive pillars running down the center of the nave. I was struck by the amount of color and light in the church, and can only imagine how vibrant it must have been centuries ago
Standing behind the row of columns. I normally try to avoid having a lot of random tourists in my photos, but here it helps to show the enormity of the structure.
The Chapel of Saint-Antonin located in the monastery. The walls are decorated with scenes from Saint Antonin's execution following his return to Pamiers, his home town. The miracle of how his bones found their way back to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val is shown on the ceiling keystone as well as in sections of the stained glass
