Today France was having a national holiday known as 'La fête de la Victoire'. Victory Day. It took us by a bit of surprise, a holiday in the middle of the week. But it is an important day for obvious reasons as it marks the day in 1945 that the Allies formally accepted an unconditional surrender by the armed forces of Germany. And still war is going on everywhere it seems.
For us it was also an important day but not nearly as significant. Today`s weather was to be dry and clearing by mid day. The nice day was perfectly timed to test out ourselves and our bikes. Our tour schedule starts on Thursday and it will be essential to discover any potential issues and remedy them pronto.
Openstreetmaps, Scott`s main mapping tool for routing us, shows two major cycle routes that head southward from Toulouse. One follows the Canal du Midi, where we will start our ride on Thursday, and the other travels south and slightly east along the Garonne River. Today`s ride was planned to be about 60kms along the Garonne to the small town of Rieux-Volvestre. The destination was picked for no real significance other than it would be a reasonable length ride and according to one website, it is ¨ of character, (and) has seven historical monuments. As you wander through the narrow streets, look up and discover its little treasures that make this village a must-see for heritage lovers. ¨
The plan was to follow the Garonne cycle route, see the small town and then to backtrack to the town of Carbonne where we would take a train back to Toulouse. Spoiler- the bikes and our bodies passed the test ride with no issues.
The day felt a bit strange. Many shops were closed and the towns we passed through were all very quiet. The roads were equally deserted and we wondered where everyone had gone. At times it was even a bit eerie. We stayed off all the main roads and mostly followed well marked cycle routes. We saw few other cyclists. Much of the area had a suburbia feel to it but we did have some very nice cycling along the river bank. In the end, after completing 50km we stopped the ride short at Carbonne, had a beer at the only bar open in the town and went to the nearby train station. We felt that it was getting late and we were running short of time. We still needed to pack our bags and prepare to leave Toulouse. Rieux-Volvestre will need to wait for another day.
This carousel is in Place Wilson. We had lunch across the street when we first arrived. The small oval park has six streets that radiate from it and has become a key navigational landmark on all our walks. It is also a really pretty place.
We detoured to see what this cable car lift was all about. There were lots of parking space but very few cars. The ah ha moment happened when we found that at the end of the cable car was a university and hospital which would not be busy on a holiday. It was opened in 2022, is France`s longest cable car and serves 8000 people a day. Come on Burnaby`s SFU campus - you can do it!
Quite the bike lane control contraption. Wheel chairs and strollers on the left in a swinging cubicle. Very strange but it seems intended to stop motorcycles and maybe scooters.
End of the ride. SNCF Gare de Carbonne was quiet but our timing was good as a regional train came in 15 minutes that took us to Muret where we connected to a bus to take us into Toulouse. Our bikes slid easily into the lower cargo area. We suspect a bus was being used due to track maintenance.
Train station in Toulouse looks very grand but we never went inside as the bus took us to the bus station right beside it. We have been in it before and will see it upon our return.
With our packing complete we went for dinner at a nearby pub. We are staying in the Gabriel Péri district and really enjoying it. It has a ¨local¨ lively not touristy feel. From the Cityzia website, ¨
Description of the Gabriel Péri district
Gabriel Péri is a district of the commune of Toulouse (31000). This district, with its urban landscape and lively atmosphere, is home to 3163 inhabitants who have an average age of 36 years, have a comfortable income, live mostly single, and are mainly renters of their homes. The surrounding area has various services and infrastructures for transport, commerce, education, sport, leisure, culture and health.
