The cheeky weekend in Provence reminded us that even just a couple of days away can do the world of good. As we roasted in the greenhouse which is the front of Horatio, and considered that maybe, just maybe, it would have been prudent to get up earlier and leave earlier rather than travelling when the day’s heat is at its peak (35 degrees C)….Hang on, don’t be silly, B doesn’t do mornings and we are almost proud now of being the last ones to leave the campsite, just minutes before the chucking out deadline !
So home we headed, all windows and vents open, front fans blowing hot air into our faces, drinking all the water we had left and thinking, well, there is next weekend free…
By the time we got home the plan was set – we would leave everything bar the toothbrushes in Horatio for the next few days and take off again on Thursday or Friday, this time heading for somewhere flatter where we could use our bikes which currently live permanently in Horatio’s garage, having been evicted from the house garage. That’s another story.
Turned out we couldn’t leave until Friday afternoon, after a second visit to the prefecture in Nimes to register our new car. Also, part of that other story…
Meantime B had to build a shed which we picked up on the way back. Horatio wasn’t going anywhere else until all the plastic panels were unloaded!
Voila ! nearly done!
Jobs all done, we jumped in the van at lunchtime on Friday and just an hour and a half later arrived at a campsite next to the Canal du Midi, by a little town called Colombiers. The plan was to cycle the tow path in one direction on Saturday and the other on Sunday. The best laid plans…..
But first, we attended the dinner and music evening at the campsite restaurant. It was rather breezy so we traded the outside table for the “inside” option – semi open air, so a bit more protected, but not much! A French duo sang an amazing eclectic variety of songs in several languages – which she appeared to actually understand, he a little less so. There were songs from Nina Simone, Alanis Morrisette, Charles Asnavour, Madonna, Gypsy Kings and, naturally, Johnny Halliday. The Halliday song was obviously well known – first one guy jumped up and literally took over the microphone from the singer, then 5 more of his friends rushed over – the girl singer handed her microphone to her partner so he could help tidy the sound up a bit – we just laughed and loved the fact that they were all having such a great time. Great evening and totally unexpected.
Saturday dawned, bright and very, very breezy. Nevertheless, we got the bikes out, checked the tyres, checked the map and decided to go upstream, if you can when it’s a canal – for me the Canal du Midi runs from Bordeaux to the Mediterranean. If you prefer, we turned right out of the site and headed roughly west, away from Beziers.
Ready to go!
About an hour later we arrived at a small town whose name I forget, and you will realise why shortly. It was just before noon, a bit early for lunch and late for coffee, but the restaurant by the canal, which had just opened for the former, indulged us with the latter. All going well….
Then, catastrophe! (best said with a french accent) Puncture! We had both thought it would be my bike to let us down (sorry Honeysuckle) but it was B’s. The tow paths had been much rougher than expected, but ultimately it appeared it was probably a random thorn, so bad luck.
Then there was the bad preparation. We had a pump in the van – it’s a battery powered unit which is also a jump starter for cars and vans. I suppose because of that – and the fact then when I cycled in England and got a puncture I just rang B (“international rescue!”) to come and find me with his truck – we forgot we didn’t have a pump on either bike. Doh! I did have a repair kit – but despite trying B couldn’t blow any air into the inner tube by mouth.
Luckily France is a land of cyclists. One turned up shortly. Bonjour, I said, est ce que vous avez une pompe? Yes, she said, and I’m Irish! That helped! Her husband turned up a minute later and she and I had a nice chat while he and B tried to fix his puncture. My kit was old and the glue apparently not great. After 45 minutes it was sort of fixed – as in wouldn’t stay up for ever. We elected to go back by road – further but smoother and faster. Seemed like a plan (another)….
After about a mile his tyre was flat again – and of course we still didn’t have a pump as our rescuers had gone on their way with theirs. We walked. And walked. Thank goodness for the wind! It was a long way. Footsore and fed up we arrived in Colombiers at 5 past 2pm – which is general 5 past when the restaurants will serve you! Another catastrophe!? Happily – non! – we were welcomed for lunch…..
As mentioned before, the French love to cycle, though mostly in Tour de France style rather than our relaxed city bike preference. Encouraged by B, I asked if there was a bike shop in Colombiers – non – but in the next small town, just a mile away there was. We walked back to the campsite, where I finally found the shop, and so the exact location, on the internet (thank goodness for smart phones). Off I pedaled alone – it took ages as it was uphill and into wind, but I found the shop and managed to purchase 2 inner tubes, one self mending, plus another repair kit and a nifty little pump. I returned a lot faster – downhill and following wind – most pleased with myself. Aperos? Bien sûr!
Here we go again!
Next day, and, somewhat surprisingly to me, B wanted to try again. The photo is the canal at Colombiers, we had stopped to fix a wobbly saddle. After that all went well, we cycled for nearly an hour to the 7 Ecluses at Beziers. This is a series of 7 locks allowing boats to ascend and descend between the section of the canal a sea level and the much higher inland part. Quite a spectacle and plenty of café viewing points.
Looking down the 7 locks
We had been here before on our epic 2012 trip with Horatio, but its still amazing to see. After that we returned to Colombiers for lunch, briefly a challenge as only one or two restaurants open, but the practical waitress at the canalside one put us on a “reserved” table as the clients were extremely late, and they never did show so she was smart and we had a very nice lunch and started to plan for future pedal pushing adventures with Horatio 🙂
View of Beziers from the cafe by the top lock.