Tuesday 11th June, hot hot hot!!
Monday was a work day so B had 2 round trips to Lunel to drop me off and pick me up again. The next few days were forecast as hot and sunny, so it was time to take advantage again. After a couple of hours on the internet we were back on The Beast and heading for Sete, a large port to the southwest of Montpellier, at one end of the large lagoon where the Canal du Midi finishes.
The quickest way there is by the motorway, but we headed due south for the coast near La Grande Motte and then picked up the smaller coastal roads for a prettier and less frantic ride. We were warm to say the least. The 2 exhausts on one side of the bike warm my seat rather well – good when it’s cool but somewhat unnecessary that day! Sticking my knee out to the side helps but is not practical at higher speeds due to increased drag. That’s the day’s physics lesson over…
Sete turned out to be larger than expected with a lot of industrial areas around it due to the port – which is primarily a working port rather than a tourist/leisure one. The boats in the canal were mostly very small fishing boats or private motorboats. At the port we saw the local preference of design for the large fishing vessels – each has a crane and carries 3 or 4 ribs plus a ton of net. I don’t know enough about fishing to know what they are targeting but it seems the ribs must be used to pull the nets around.
We did the tourist thing and had a rather mediocre lunch next to these boats. Then we biked up to the top of Mont St. Clair which is just behind the main part of the town and has 2 viewpoints at the top. We were lucky enough to arrive at one just as 5 water bombers were doing some practice runs for picking up and dropping water in the lagoon. Beyond them you can see the oyster beds and beyond that miles inland. From the other viewpoint you can see the whole of Sete and the coast stretching away to the east, worth the trip up if you are in the area.
The Beast then had a moment and refused to have the alarm deactivated. It doesn’t like being left in the sun apparently. B decided the only thing to do was trigger the alarm and reset it – good plan except then it refused to reset for several embarrassing and deafening minutes!
Time to head back to the ranch and a refreshing beer. Then we got the call – the big ride with our friends was to be the following day – best go easy on the beers then – no hangover required!
Spot the water bomber!
Sete port and canal area