PROVENCE TO HEMEL ON TANDEM

Another fab breakfast today - the best croissants and coffee I've had so far this trip - and a charming host. We set off around 9am and managed to navigate rush hour in Carcassonne without too much hassle. We passed through a couple of nice small towns but soon we were in the countryside. We knew that the climbing started just after Castlenaudry but were pleasantly surprised to reach the town around 11am - which meant we were making good progress. The climb was tough although thankfully relatively short but the real challenge came when the route suddenly took us down a dirt track that forced us to dismount pretty sharpish (even Max wasn't brave enough to take it on!). We were relieved to get back to the main road after 30mins which was a country lane across rolling hills.  However our success was shortlived as we soon hit another diversion which in France we've come to realise simply means "you can't come down here so find your own way out.....

Well thankfully (I think!!) the bike was still there this morning so we set off about 10am. Another sunny morning but it was definitely a fair bit cooler which we were very grateful for. We made really good progress to start with as the route followed main (but not too busy) roads which are much faster to cycle on. This took us through some really nice traditional French towns until we ended up on the Canal du Midi which we then followed for a few miles. Even this was fairly fast and very scenic too. I managed to get quite a few waves from those people boating down the canal and we were cheered on by some workmen by the roadside at one point. We'd planned our lunch stop at the 2/3 point on the ride - at a town called Olonzac. Again we struck gold with a fab little cafe doing an amazing value menu du jour for 15euros including wine (which I resisted) and coffee. The scenery for the last third of the ride was very beautiful. Rolling hills, beautiful vineyards ...

After a good night's sleep and a delicious breakfast (home made local bread and orange flavoured brioche being the highlights for me 😋) we set off at about 10am this morning. Max kept reminding me that today is my rest day - only 50 miles and no hills!! It was another very hot day (though the 70mph winds did not reach us) and the cycle paths are very slow going (some 10kph speed limits) so it took us much longer than it should have to arrive at our destination. A couple of times we deviated onto the main road but that provoked a fair bit of horn blowing from impatient French drivers who clearly wanted us back on the cycle path. We came up trumps again for lunch in the lovely historic town of Sete where we found a charming cafe serving healthy food with a Norwegian twist. Max spotted the nod to Tin Tin, we've no idea where that fits in though! We finally arrived at Cap D'Agde around 4.30 with plenty of time to sque...

We set off just after 7am as the forecast for today was scorchio!! 85 miles and, although no hills to climb, it still felt quite challenging. Two hours in we stopped at a lovely artisan boulangerie for a delicious pain au raisin. Sadly no gluten free options though so Max had to settle for some dates instead. 55 miles in we stopped for lunch in Arles and found a fabulous vietnamese restaurant. We both agreed we'd probably chosen the best place in town and left there feeling replenished and ready for the rest of the ride. Just another 30 miles to go 😅   For the most part we cycled along quiet lanes, canal paths and a disused railway. There was just one hairy moment though where we seemed to be heading towards a motorway and then had to cross a busy dual carriageway to avoid that! Luckily we managed to do it and rather surprised ourselves with some good teamwork in the process 😜 We made it to our destination for tonight - a lovely medieval walled town called Aigues-Mores. The burge...

itinerary On Saturday the 28th May we (Sarah & Max) start our 1,000 mile journey from Provence to Hemel on our tandem bicycle.  We aim to do between 60 and 100 miles per day over 15 days. We have a single rest day planned half way with our friends Andy & Helen near Bergerac. The ride is unsupported, so we've got everything crossed that both the tandem and our legs hold up. We start the ride with one frozen shoulder (Sarah) and one swollen knee (Max).  The Tandem Our Route