To Castres

May 10, 2024

A real tester in more ways than one

This morning at Le Clos D`Andre we enjoyed a wonderful continental breakfast of fresh breads, homemade jams, yogurt and coffee at exactly huit heures et demi. It was still almost two hours before we mounted our bikes and departed!

It is always a bit concerning when your host asks, ¨where you are going? ¨ and when you tell them they look at you like you are slightly crazy. Likely from Castelnaudary most cyclists ride on to Carcassonne - about 40KM south along the Canal du Midi. However, our answer was ¨Castres¨ which is due East and a little over 50KM away ..... with about 850 meters vertical gain.....maybe that is why we got the funny look!

Before we get into today`s ride here are a few pictures of Castelnaudary taken during our very nice walk home last night after our dinner.

Cassolet is obvious a very old dish and a speciality at the restaurants in Castelnaudary.

The crossing over Canal du Midi at Rue Riquet.

Looking under the bridge toward the Grande Bassin.

The reflection makes the bridge opening look something like a port hole.

Beside the Canal du Midi at Castelnaudary.

Looking across the grand Bassin in Catelaundary.

We quickly found our way out of town and onto the nearby quiet, narrow farm roads on the outskirts of town that are great to ride. The area is rolling farm land and very scenic as we went up and down the small hills. We could see a low ridge in the distance that we would need to cross. With fresh legs and a reasonable grade it was not too much of a struggle. Nearing the top of the ridge we were delighted to stumble upon a very small village, Labécède-Lauragais.

We will need to cross the ridge in the distance but not before heading down the hill.

Heading up, the trees along road provided some very welcome shade.

The sheep were fine with Scott but when a big truck passed, they bolted!

Looking south we could see the snow capped Pyrenees mountains. They look pretty high from here!

Old buildings in Labécède-Lauragais provide a view of the antique construction techniques.

We had planned to ride a a seldom used road that looked like a bit of a short cut but would connect us to a major road. Unfortunately, when we reached the short cut road we were met with a dead end sign. Our options were to retrace a short way back to the town of Labécède or try the road as it maybe might be passable by bike. Checking our maps, it clearly showed a road went through. Carry on was the decicion. So we proeeded along a road that was not in great shape but not bad. We reached the top of a hill and a farm and a farmer on a tractor. He was not very happy that we were on his land and he would not even consider letting us pass through. The language barrier did not help the situation. He suggested a toll of 50 euros. Our thinking that this was a bit much for 1KM of roadway. We half expected him to just waive us on in disgust. But he said ¨Bon Voyage¨ and pointed back in the direction that we arrived. Retracing our route, added about 7 KM and 150 metres vertical. By the time we connected to the road we had been aiming for we were less than 1KM from the farm and the farmer. Lesson learned - ignore dead end signs at your peril.

We could see where we wanted to go - just up there.

The farmer and his tractor would have nothing to do with a couple of lost cycle tourists from Canada.

Our ill fated road would have come out here - also marked as a dead end.

We stopped for lunch at the very top of the ridge at the almost deserted Montagne Noire aerodrome. Here we were also met by a man who was questioning what we were doing there but this time he had no issues with us sitting on a bench in front of an old deserted building. At the time we did not recognize the importance of this aerodrome but it was listed as a historic monument by decree of 8 January 2009 and the particular location of the aerodrome, on the side of the Montagne Noire, allows gliding all year round, thanks in particular, to slope flight.

Lunch at the historic Montagne Noire aerodrome. We may be sitting in front of the canteen - a building noted of historical importance. It was in pretty rough shape but we needed a break!

Back on the planned route and on the way down.

Lac de Saint-Ferréol is a reservoir and the main water supply reservoir of the Canal du Midi.

The remainder of our route to Castres was on the D85. A nice paved two lane road that included some very patient traffic at times.

The D85 road to Castres. Not overly busy with lots of up and downs. The kind of road that you can roll down one hill and with a dozen or so pedals make it to the top of the next and repeat again.

We arrived in Castres around 5pm, just slightly later than planned. It is a bigger place than we expected split with the L` Agoût river running down the middle.

After a beer we made our way to our hotel and the last hurdle of the day. We were staying at a large formula chain hotel. It had only a single elevator that was broken when we arrived with our bikes at the front desk. It seems that the bikes are to be stored in your room. Three separate trips to carry the bikes and bags up 40 steps to the second floor at the end of a long day was a real endurance tester! Further, our room was the last one at the end of the longest corridor that we had ever seen in a hotel.

Place Jean Jaurés in the center of Castres. We had a beer at one end and dinner at the the far end.

Pat riding her bike to our room. A tough feat after a beer and the narrow corridor.

The sun going down on house beside the L` Agoût River.

We headed out for dinner with a couple of places in mind. One was closed for a holiday and two turned us away as we did not have a reservation. Castres did not seem to have many other choices so we settled on a pub back at Place Jean Jaurée called Brasserie L'European. Not expecting too much, we sat outside in the evening sun and quite enjoyed our meals. We guess you cannot always judge a book by its cover.

Scott`s dinner was their special salad. Lots of great flavours!

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Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 174 km (108 miles)

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Keith ClassenFun to follow you two and compare our experiences on that same route we took last year when we had a major bike breakdown contrasting your grumpy farmer experience with the most helpful family ever also on a farm.
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6 months ago

Scott FenwickTo Keith ClassenYou are right about being grumpy. I think his tractor was giving him issues. But we were fine - more puzzled and surprised than anything as we always find people to be exited to see cycle tourers and are most accommodating with anything required.
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6 months ago

Rachael AndersonWhat a challenging day! I can’t believe the farmer would charge you such an outrageous amount. I’m glad you were finally able to find a place to eat.
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6 months ago