To Paraza: More baggage drama

October 4, 2023

Our room at the Hotel des Poètes in Beziers is small but has nice amenities. When we arrived yesterday, the young clerk at the desk cheerfully hoisted my bag up two steep flights of stairs and then led us to a locked garage for the bikes around the corner. This morning there is good granola for breakfast and a friendly server who chats with us in English and French. And in our room, a little balcony looks out over the lush green Plateau des Poètes. After breakfast we stroll over there to see the garden.

A tiny balcony is better than no balcony.

In the Plateau des Poetes, a maze of garden paths wind around a lake, fountains, exotic plants and a Poets Circle of statues.

We don't often see swans out of the water. These beasts look like they could make an easy meal of the ducks.

On the Titan Fountain stands Atlas, condemned by Zeus to carry the world on his shoulders for all eternity.

On the other side of the Titan Fountain, Lapetus, the father of Atlas, glares out below.

In the Poets' Circle stand 10 busts of poets with ties to Beziers, plus Victor Hugo who has no apparent connection.

"You have another spirit, my beautiful country, than that which comes from your wine." - Benjamin Fabre, co-founder of the Literary and Artistic Society of Béziers.

Barry wants to change his dollars to Euros and I still have 3,000 in Hungarian Forints, or "funny money" as Peter, our guide back in Central Europe, calls it. It's only worth about 8 Euros and I'd like to get it out of my wallet. Nearby, SG Bank is "open" but we can't figure out how to get past the security doors.

La Banque Postale doesn't change money but they do have stamps for my postcards, so that's a somewhat productive stop. The cashier there refers us to Banque de France so we walk another kilometer to find a sign on the door that says they moved almost three years ago. Unable to decipher the new location, we give up and put off the money exchange errand for Carcassonne.

Walking in the shade of the Plane trees on the Allées Paul Riquet.

By now we must have covered at least 4 km between the garden and the search for a bank that will change our foreign currency.

I read that the view from the Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire is terrific. It's less than a kilometer away so we walk over to see for ourselves.

It boggles the mind to consider what it took to build this massive 13th century church

Rear view of the Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire

The Orb river and countryside from the cathedral grounds. We could hike up the 168 steps of the tower for more but this is satisfying enough, given that it's after 11 and we need to get going on the bikes.

After we hike back to the hotel and gather our belongings, Barry works on his rear brake which is not doing too well. He shortens the cable but may need new brake pads. Shortly after we get going I stop because my right heel is hitting the pannier and he stops in front of me. After I make an adjustment, I look up to see that he's gone. With all the traffic noise and distraction I guess he didn't actually hear or see me there and went on to find me.

Checking his location on Google Maps, I see that he's gone another way and suggest we meet at the Orb river, rather than attempting a meetup on the twisty hills of the old city center. I have to dismount and walk down one particularly steep street that is paved with cobbles. Fifteen minutes later we're back together on the Pont Neuf over the River Orb.

By now it's past noon. Our ride to Parazar is just under 30 miles; that should be doable. Resolving to stay together, we work our way through the traffic to reach a serene bike path that takes us out of the city to the Canal du Midi.

Not far from the Pont Neuf, the bike path rescues us from the busy city streets.

I'm fascinated by Pierre-Paul Riquet's 15 year quest to build the Canal du Midi. With permission from Louis XIV to levy his own taxes, Riquet poured the revenue and his engineering expertise into meeting the challenges of routing the canal around hills and keeping the water flowing in the dry summer months. He designed and oversaw construction of innovative locks, a huge artificial lake and a navigable tunnel to construct the tunnel from the Mediterranean to Toulouse. The project drained his fortune and he died 8 months before it was completed in 1681. It was quite an amazing achievement for the time.

One of the nicer gravel stretches on the Canal du Midi

After 4 miles on the gravel path by the canal we turn off to the south to cut some distance. Over the next 12 miles we ride by farms and vineyards on all kinds of roads - gravel, a busy highway, and an especially lovely paved stretch under a canopy of trees.

I've never been routed on a "road" like this in the U.S. You have to roll with the bumps.

Suddenly Barry realizes his panniers are missing. They are all connected as one unit and have apparently decided to take off on their own little adventure. I wonder if they developed a taste for independent travel when we got separated from them on the trip to Montpellier three days ago.

The time stamp on the previous photo shows that he still had them just 10 minutes ago, maybe 2 kilometers back considering our slow pace on the crappy roads. He turns around to retrieve them while I wait, a breach of our vow to stick together.

Barry turns back to herd his wayward panniers back on the tour.

A half hour goes by and l check his location on Google maps. He's now ahead of me on the route. Luckily we have phone service out here and I'm able to reach him.

Another 20 minutes go by before he's back, with no bags. He explains that his phone goes dark every thirty seconds, making it hard to follow the RidewithGPS route backwards through all the turns out here in farmland. The Wahoo gps device isn't much help because it keeps trying to send him forwards on the route with blue arrows that obscure the previous track. He is used to riding behind me and letting me navigate so he won't get too far ahead of me. We shoulda stuck together.

By now the panniers have been AWOL for almost an hour. Besides all his clothes and gear, his passport is in there. We're keen to chase them down before they make a break for the border. Riding back together, we find them about 2 kilometers away, chilling on the side of the farm road by a vineyard. What a relief!

Barry must be snakebit today because five minutes later he has a flat in front. Sealant is leaking from a big hole in the tube, apparently bigger than the 4mm standard that the blue goo is designed to handle. The sealant has gummed up the stem so he can't get any air in or out of the tube. I'm now on notice not to go near his bike with any more sealant. Shoulda left the bike maintenance to the head mechanic.

The wayward panniers wait patiently while Barry digs out a new tube

It's now going on 4:00 and we're both low on blood sugar. We hit the Carrefour grocery in Cuxac d'Aude for a quick sandwich and continue on our way. There's just 13 miles to go and we're almost back to the Canal du Midi. We can do this.

Back on the path near the canal. Happily it's a smooth stretch again.

Reaching the barrier in the scene above, Barry walks down the hill to our left to reach another track. It's too steep with the heavy bags and the bike tumbles, taking him along for the ride. Another case of the baggage trying to make a break for it? I'm eyeing them with suspicion.

He's going to have a serious chat with the route planner. Umm, that would be me.

About now I hear people talking and laughing and look up to see three people on bikes yukking it up as they ride with ease on the other side of the canal. So that's where we're supposed to be. After patching Barry up we make our way over to the paved road on the other side. There are hardly any cars here. This is definitely the right way.

Another stop for a second leaky tube, ugh

The canal continues through the town of Salleles-d'Aude where the path is mostly fine, other than the cobbles on a couple of steep bridges. It's a pretty area, especially in the late afternoon light.

Rolling into Paraza at 6:30, we find refuge in our room by the gardens at Domaine Mediterranee. I ask Marie-Joseé, our charming host, about restaurants nearby that are still open. She shakes her head, explaining there's not much available this late in the season, then offers to cook dinner for us for 20 Euros each. We'll take it! She brings us beer and snacks and goes out to walk the dogs while we wash off the day.

Dinner is delicious, a combination of fish, fresh vegetables, wine and aromatic herbs cooked in aluminum foil. We've made many a foil pack on camping trips, but nothing this good. Marie-Joseé serves an excellent wine with it and sits down with us for a very pleasant conversation. I would love to find more B&B hosts like this but suspect she is one of a kind.

Takeaways for the day ....

1. Tube sealant is banished for Barry's bike

2. Tighten up the leash on those bags, and get another pair of Tile gps trackers to keep an eye on them

3 . Set a longer timeout interval on the phone screen

And the most important one...

4. Stick together!

What am I missing?

Thank you Marie-Josée, for redeeming our day.

Heart

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Today: 33 miles, 845' ascent

For the tour: 233 miles, 9620' ascent

Today's ride: 33 miles (53 km)
Total: 233 miles (375 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	12
Comment on this entry	Comment	18

Scott AndersonOh my gosh, you poor guys! I’m hurting for you. Thank heavens you found the panniers though. We’ve done that one and it’s definitely not even type three fun.
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1 year ago

Tricia GrahamWhat a day! You must have felt you were jinxed and you coped with it with such good humour! Good wishes for more peaceful days
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Scott AndersonType three fun? I'm not familiar with this term. Is it something we should aspire to?
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Tricia GrahamThanks for the good wishes Tricia. I have to say we weren't feeling all the humor at the time. Writing the journal is therapy.
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1 year ago

Rich FrasierThat was a "challenging" day. I'm sure there were some moments of panic. I would have been frantic to lose the bags off the bike! Kudos to you both for hanging in there and staying (apparently) cool. Tomorrow's got to be easier!!
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Janice BranhamSomething you should be aware of, but by definition something you should definitely not aspire to. Here’s a reference: https://kellycordes.com/2009/11/02/the-fun-scale/
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezI'm sure this was much more entertaining to read about than to experience! I've just had my first flat on the new bike with the disc brakes. It was just a sticker, which sealant (in theory) would have sealed right up.

I found it difficult to get the rear wheel back in without the disc rubbing. I ended up having to get help. That made me think perhaps I should use sealant. Hank was a big proponent. Maybe not.

I'm following your route with interest. I think this is the direction we will go in 2024. We are thinking of starting in either Bilbao or Barcelona, and heading through France.
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1 year ago

Rachael AndersonIt’s not fair to get hit with so many problems at once but maybe it will mean the rest of the trip will go smoothly, you definitely deserve it! FYI, always carry some snacks!
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Scott AndersonScott that is hilarious, especially the comments. We may have to slot this day in the Type 3 fun bracket, so it doesn't slide further into fun that is so un-fun it prevents us from having future fun.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Rich FrasierI hope all the tomorrows are easier than this one. Maybe too much to wish for given our luck. Egads, now I sound like Eeyore.
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1 year ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Janice BranhamMy son introduced me to this.
https://sketchplanations.com/the-fun-scale
He says Type 4 involves helicopters and search and rescue. Don’t go there! Your day makes our mishap yesterday look like a dawdle. Keep on eye on those bags, they have seem to have a mind of there own.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Rachael AndersonOoh, good takeaway to add to the list. I think there's half a Clif bar knocking around in my bag, must stock up.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Kelly IniguezHank made me a believer in sealant after riding the bike I bought from him all over the Northwest with no flats. I'm still a fan. I share your frustration about getting a wheel with disc brakes back on the bike.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Kathleen ClassenI can't even think of where we'd be now on the fun scale if we hadn't found that bag. Probably not here enjoying the fun lessons with y'all.
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1 year ago

Keith ClassenWow - I would have a stern talking with your bike and your panniers to say he, she or they can easily be replaced. What a day! One you will surely remember.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamTo Keith ClassenGood thought Keith. The bags are in time out now in the closet at our Carcassonne apartment to consider the consequences of their misbehavior.
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1 year ago

Keith Adams"3 . Set a longer timeout interval on the phone screen"

Consider combining RWGPS with your Garmin, if you don't already. After laying out the routes in RWGPS export them to your GPS device.

Set RWGPS to announce the cues verbally, and to keep the phone screen on all the time while navigating, but turn the phone screen off manually. Turn it on if you need confirmation or clarification, but rely primarily on the voice cues.

Watch your route roll past on your GPS (Garmin or Wahoo).

For me personally, in the (seemingly inevitable) event that there's a difference of opinion between RWGPS and the GPS device, RWGPS nearly always wins the dispute. There's just enough difference between the RWGPS map data and what's in my GPS that the GPS often tells me to depart from my route to a point 100 feet away- often a cliffside or river bank- and eventually back to the route. These "phantom" deviations are a minor irritation but are better than burning my phone battery down on a daily basis.
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamGreat idea Keith. I find the audio directions hard to follow sometimes, but at least they're an alert to check the map.
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1 year ago