A Rocky Ride

To Narbonne, France -- 43.4 miles, 10.3 mph, 675 ft

This morning, a miracle occurred, and we were on the bikes at 8:45. Who knew camping would crimp the kids sleeping-in style. Ok, so we hadn’t had breakfast yet at 8:45, but still, we were rolling and stopped a few miles later for bread and pastries.

The day went smoothly for the first 17 miles or so. We had a nice lunch of paninis, quiche, and pizza at Chez Marco. The owner, an older Italian man, took a little getting use to, but turned out to be incredibly friendly as we struggled to communicate with our abismal French. In a few cases, I've resorted to my limited Spanish (since I know zero French), which here, so close to the border, works surprisingly well.

Based on today's ride, our Komoot App is starting to lose a little credibility... even with me. Apparently, it thought we were on unloaded mountain bikes (instead of fully loaded tandems) as it guided us down from a ridge it had just led us up. The way up was fine and the views were great overlooking the cold, clear river and huge, wide expanse of sand meeting up with the Mediterranean. 

However, the narrow, steep single track with bowling ball-sized rocks, was definitely not what our tandems were designed for, and the bottom of the frames definitely gave up a little bit of paint on the way down.

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On the other hand, I have to say, I’m pretty happy we decided in 2011, when we ordered our first tandem (the green one), to switch from the 700c wheels (road bike version) to the 26” wheels (mountain bike version). We did that specifically because we thought, “Hey, what happens if we end up on some dirt road in another country some day and need a little extra traction.” Seems to be happening an awful lot the last few days.

As we spent most of the day riding along the water, the kids made their desire to play at the beach known at the first sighting of sand at mile six. We stalled them until we were just ready to turn inland along the levees toward Narbonne, our destination for the night. Once we parked the bikes, Meg went in search of a Coke Light while I cooled off with the kids. The water is still fairly chilly, but not as cold as the Northern California water we’re used to back home.  It’s amazing though how clear the water is.

We finally arrived at our budget hotel around 7:00.  

We we’re slowed down a bit by being old and out of shape, but also by the dirt and gravel roads and our first flat, Meg and Dex’s rear tire. Nevertheless, it was incredibly scenic along the water ways.

I'm a little embarrassed to say, after taking much needed showers, that we couldn't pass up dinner at the nearby McDonalds we’d seen signs for as we rolled into town. It was awfully nice to sit in the soft upholstered seats with free WiFi and a cold drink (but no refills). 

The kids played in the play structure while Meg and I navigated the French language website to make reservations at Camping Le Castellas. This will be our destination for tomorrow, and the site of our first biking rest day. Yipee.