From Toulouse to Tent

Not much of a blog today because the wifi at our campsite stops at 8:00pm, which is in 15 minutes, so here is a 10 point summary of the day!

1. We rode 68km

2. It was a public holiday here, the only one for the Easter period and it was very quiet.

3. The weather was beautiful – sunny, no wind, chilly but it warmed up and the path was perfect again.

4. The first 20km was a bit bleak, with the path running beside the canal, but also beside a railway line and through industrial areas, the second 20km improved and the third 20km was beautiful, with farmland, tree lined paths and lovely scenery.

5. I felt something bite me as I rode along and it must have taken up residence inside my clothes or something because my back is now absolutely covered in big red bite marks. I look like a dot-to-dot page in a puzzle book.

6. There is a great “Bonjour return” strike rate here. I say hello to everyone and when I go out running or riding I always say hello to people I pass. At home when I run around the village, the strike rate of “Hello returns”, (that is people who also say hello or say hello in reply to me), is about 98%. When I’m in other places I tend to judge them by their “Hello return” strike rate and I’ve been in places that rate at 99% and I’ve been in places that rate at 2%. Here, the “Bonjour return” strike rate was at 95%! People were very friendly and we passed walkers, runners and cyclists, who for the most part, gave cheery “Bonjours” or replied to ours. A very friendly ride with nice friendly people along the way. The occasional runner and cyclist didn’t say anything, but I think they were “in the zone” and focusing very hard on what they were doing!

7. We arrived at our pit stop of Moissac, a really nice little town just past Castelarassin. It has a beautiful old abbey, pretty little streets and narrow cobbled passageways.

8. We are back in the tent! Our pitch is also on grass, which is a first so far and makes a nice change from gravel, dirt and sand, so it’s a top little spot, except for…

9. There are lots of flying things all around our site, so I fear I will be feasted on again before too long and add to my already spotted and lumped body, thanks to whatever decided to bite me hundreds of times over. I got Steve to wipe me down with mozzie wipes on my back and then to spray me all over with fly spray, but if something is there that can bite, I will be bitten, because as well as being a road bump magnet, I’m also a magnet for biting things.

10. We had elevenses beside the canal at Grisolles, lunch beside the canal at Montech and had a Trangia feast supper at Chez Tent, sitting in the sunshine.

Well, that’s a brief recap of the day…with very fast typing to make it before wifi cut-off, so please excuse any spelling, grammatical or typographical errors. Hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow!