Sète to Toulouse

October 2, 2024

Trains are Always Stressful

We began the day with another multiple cappuccino breakfast. Today’s breakfast was made stellar because we met Viv and Jude who are on a supported tour. They are having a great time and the conversation flowed easily. We felt relaxed, or as relaxed as one can feel on train day, because our train wasn’t until 11:09 AM.

As are we, some time later, reflecting on our love of bike touring.

On the way to the train station, farewell to the Med.

We arrived at the train station early, and mindful of the Anderson’s recent experiences we were being very careful. We got in line for human help, just to be 100 % sure. Only problem was, a half hour later the line essentially hadn’t moved. I then moved to the ticket machine while Keith held our place in line. No problem buying the tickets, but I didn’t follow through with the purchase because I couldn’t find a confirmation about the bikes and whether they were allowed or not. Fortunately at this point a French speaking SNCF employee arrived to help clear the congestion. I have enough French to understand I had two tickets to Toulouse, bikes were fine.

Next problem though, was that the 11:09 AM train went to Portbau, no mention of Toulouse. Back to my lovely lady, interrupting two other confused tourists, and that is how I discovered we had to make a change in Narbonne.

See where it clearly mentions that on the ticket? Nor do I.

The great thing about all this minor drama was meeting other equally confused tourists and having a lot of laughs and hearing some interesting train stories. Five of us were on bicycles, and two were unencumbered. Then, in teeny tiny mouse print on the screen came the news the train was 35 minutes late, which meant a missed connection in Narbonne.

Tourists waiting. There were three people with obviously complicated issues that brought the line to a standstill. The body language in this photo cracks me up.

But lest you think all this wasn’t fun, it was. The proof is in the picture. Or if not fun exactly, pretty funny. This group should be on the SNCF board of directors. We have some suggestions.

Once in Narbonne we had an hour wait for our next connection to Toulouse. We spent some time talking to Barnaby and his wife who were on a tandem. They took a bus from the UK to France. It picks up and drops off at multiple locations in the UK, France and Spain. A pretty interesting concept. You can check it out here.

https://www.bike-express.co.uk/

One last minor train drama. Another cyclist arrived with a trailer and a dog. A three legged dog! He needed to get bike, panniers, trailer and three legged dog to track B, the classic down a set of stairs up a set of stairs, no elevator situation. We had twenty minutes until our train arrived on track A where we were waiting so Keith gave him a hand. Keith has no idea how he would have managed alone. However, they had no sooner disappeared than our track was changed and now we needed to go up and down the stairs too. You can’t make this stuff up! Fortunately Keith returned just as our train arrived and it wasn’t scheduled to leave for ten minutes so we were fine.

This cyclist told Keith people in wheelchairs are screwed in these stations. Direct quote.

The train from Narbonne left on time but then sat at the next stop for forty minutes. No idea why. We just counted our lucky stars that it started up again. The supported bike tour we met this morning were to train into Sète, but at noon yesterday, unannounced there was a labour dispute. No trains. The bike tour company had to hire cabs to get them to Sète. That wouldn’t really be an option to Toulouse!

The rest of the journey was uneventful, except for an absolutely clueless couple with two kids. All four were oblivious to their noisy and annoying behaviour. You can’t blame the kids, the parents were the problem. Who repeatedly pokes their kids to make them squeal on a train? The irony of the request to keep your phones on silent for a peaceful train ride wasn’t lost on anyone in our car. We had a young woman across from us and when the family got off at Carcassone we locked eyes, high fived each other and burst into laughter. It was blissfully quiet after that.

We rolled off in Toulouse, and there were elevators. You had to line up with the moms with strollers to go down a level to get off the tracks and then back up to exit of course. One bike at a time. Still, elevators. It was appreciated. And hallelujah, our hotel, an Ibis, was only 100 m away. Keith went in to check in, I was already fantasizing about a shower, but they didn’t have our reservation. We had a heck of a time finding accommodation for tonight in Toulouse, so I am very glad I didn’t experience this anxiety provoking moment! All is well that ends well though, we were booked in the Ibis about a km away. Phew.

By the time we got to the right Ibis it was 4:30 PM. Long gone was the plan of arriving in Toulouse by 1:30 PM and exploring the city. We decided to stay another night, and guess what? This giant property is fully booked tonight and tomorrow. So we have booked in a different hotel because we do want to see the city.

We will do a bit of a walkabout and find dinner tonight, but save the sites for tomorrow. Honestly, we got basically zero exercise today but we are both tired. Train travel with bikes isn’t for the faint of heart!

Home from our walkabout and stunned by Toulouse. It is a university city and all the young people create such a great vibe. The buildings are gorgeous, we had a fine, fine meal at a tiny restaurant and are really looking forward to tomorrow.

So many beautiful buildings it is hard to take them all in.

Claude Nougaro. A singer. We listened to some of his music and like it.

Our restaurant. I forgot to mention it started raining in the evening.

The reflections in the rain make great pictures.

The interior of a restaurant we passed on the walk back to the hotel. Picture taken through the window.

So much more to see tomorrow.

Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 1,227 km (762 miles)

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David MathersTrain days can be exhausting but in the end it all works out 👍
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2 months ago

Anne MathersOh, the train stories. We will never forget the young boys heading to summer camp near Bilbao, via the train. Being young boys, trouble was bound to rear its head and it didn’t take long. One of them threw some bubble gum in another kid’s eye. It went down hill from there and soon, his eye was glued shut! Chaperones seemed absent and we were quite concerned for him. He needed to go to a clinic or hospital toute-de-suite. Poor little guy, he hadn’ even made it to the camp!
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonA good train story! I feel so left out. You two get all the fun!
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2 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo David MathersWe will have a few more in our future unfortunately. The big plus yesterday was that both trains were the roll on roll off type with the wider doors. What a difference that makes.
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2 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Anne MathersPoor little guy is right. Probably a story he will tell for the rest of his life.
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2 months ago

Rich FrasierSorry we missed you on this trip! Maybe next time....
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2 months ago

Keith ClassenTo Rich FrasierYes too bad … maybe time. We gave you a wave from the train in your direction.
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2 months ago

Tricia GrahamTrains are a nightmare ! I love your positive approach to them. We now only go where we can bike all the way as now I can’t walk and push a bike so Ken has to deal with the lot. Adds a new level of stresss. Then to be hit with the old chestnut the wrong hotel of a big chain. Something we have done more than once
I do enjoy reading your adventures
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2 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesI hadn't read this post until you mentioned it today. Type 2 fun read!

Steve
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2 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Tricia GrahamI am thinking that is a very good policy. When we do our planning, such as it is, we are always way to optimistic about how much ground we can cover and the result of that is trains. Trains are nerve racking!
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2 months ago

Rachael AndersonAnd I thought we were the only ones with awful train experiences! I’m so glad it all worked out. It was so nice of Keith to help the other cyclist and I’m glad you still made it to the train.
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2 months ago

Jacquie GaudetOf course, it’s great that there *are* trains. Trains aren’t really an option at home.
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2 months ago