To Labastide-Rouairoux

May 11, 2024

Windy in the wrong direction

There was no scheduled time pressure to have breakfast today and the hotel was not a place that we wanted to linger. The wifi required regular resigning in with your full personal details including email address and phone number. Irritating and strange. The room windows were also sealed shut so the air conditioning fan was the only air circulation. We were questioning why we picked this hotel other than proximity to the centre, but just maybe there were not that many choices in Castres? The breakfast was redeeming but not what you would call special. We both laughed as we rode our loaded bikes down the hall and one at a time on to the now working elevator. We waved good bye to the nice man at the front counter who was also responsible for looking after the breakfast area. We exited the hotel and headed out on to the warm sunny street.

Our route today left Castres along the D12. It was not really busy this Saturday morning but a dozen kilometres out of town we were pleased to leave it for a much quieter secondary road. It was still early into the ride but we both thought that it was time for a real coffee and almost immediately we saw the Golf Club de La Barouge. We assumed that it was a private club but the members and staff could not have been more welcoming with smiles and robust ¨bonjours¨. It was a really fabulous stop! Caffeinated up, we were now ready to tackle the 300 metre hill that we knew was coming when we left the valley highway.

Another large square in Castres. This one is on the East side of the river. We stopped at a shop along here to buy a sandwich for the road.

Wildlife shot of the day. No need with help identifying this bird as he was very obliging, doing loud ¨cock-a-doodle dos¨ for us!

Now that is what I call a real coffee but I was a bit concerned about the cost. In fact, the cappuccino and an espresso were only five euros. I wonder if the members were subsidizing us?.

Golf Club de La Barouge. Hands down the best coffee stop on tour. We would have liked to play a round as there were only a few golfers out.

Houses across the L`Arn river at Pont de L`arn.

Our lunch stop was very nice. It was a good thing we took on fuel here because we were only half way up the hill and facing a strong headwind.

The D65, a very nice ride. Now if they could only do something about that nasty headwind.

All told, it was a pretty steady 300 metre 7-9 degree climb to the top. Occasionally a switchback would send us in the opposite direction where the wind actually helped. But, even on the rare downhill sections we needed to pedal. Not gonna lie, at times it was a grind.

We reached the top where the D65 road connected with the D53 and we reached a steep enough downhill for a nice coast to give our legs a break. Our route then turned off the main D53 road and on to a very steep side road just before reaching the valley bottom. The road was a bit rough and Scott had both brakes firmly applied to the point they were making squealing noises. The heat from the brakes on the back rim must have been very hot as the seam of the tube exploded and the tire immediately. went flat. A rare event, but it has happened to him once before. Perhaps the tire was initially over inflated or the tube was getting old.

It was a quiet side street and he rolled his bike down to a shady area in front of a large gate leading to a house. Scott sprang into gear and removed the wheel and tube. He then discovered that the new tube he was packing in his trunk had the larger schrader valve and not the presta type that his rim requires. Now this could have been a very very bad problem but he was certain that the other tube in the tool kit had a presta valve. And it did! With no further spare tubes we will need to be visiting a bike shop soon. As a side note, within the short time we were repairing the bike the lady of the house drove up and offered us any kind of assistance we might need including cold water. There were absolutely no issues with being on the road in front of her property!

A flat! Can hardly believe it. We have not completed a tube change beside the road for a long time.

We carried on down the hill where we connected with the Voie Verte cyclepath. It is a converted rail line and at this stage of our day was a very welcomed 1-3 percent grade with a smooth rolling surface but not without the wind. We really enjoyed the beauty of the forested area crossing creeks and streams for the last 12km on route to Labastide-Rouairoux.

Pat entering the Voie Verte path. It is is a really nice ride and well supported with signs and rest areas.

A lush green living wall in a cut from the old rail line.

We missed the easy way off the voie verte and had to take the stairs.

We arrived at Labastide-Rouairoux a bit later than our noted arrival time on our reservation and the gate to our Chambre d'Hote was closed. We tried ringing the bell but could not reach our hosts. We decided to have a quick look at the small town. Although there were no bars for a beer we did find a bike shop and they had suitable tubes to refill our tool kit.. When we returned to Residence Le Petit Paradis the gates were wide open and our hosts were most welcoming. We enjoyed a beer on the terrace in a lovely garden and later had a wonderful dinner with Guy, our host. More about our stay tomorrow.

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Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 221 km (137 miles)

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Karen PoretSo glad the rude farmer was replaced by a nice homeowner :)
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