In Narbonne: Day ride

November 26, 2018

What a wild, windy and wonderful day this was! It began though with a disappointment. After 32 years of service, the buckle on my belt broke this morning. I believe it’s the oldest article of clothing I have, and was given to me for my fortieth birthday by my good friend and mentor at the office Patrick. I’m not one to maintain an elaborate wardrobe, and for many years I’ve had just two belts - a simple black one and this one. I’ve probably worn this one four or five thousand times, and the leather itself is getting quite worn by now so I can’t complain. Still though, I feel the loss. I often think of Patrick, a friend I’ve lost touch with over the years, when I get dressed in the morning.

You can’t let yourself get too attached. Nothing lasts forever.

Yesterday we began with breakfast at the indoor market, which was a bit of a letdown. Today we began instead with MY choice, the cafeteria we had breakfast at last year. I have a warm memory of it for some reason, mostly focused around our waitress who helped us steer through our options and was tolerant of our minimal skills with French.

I like it just as well this morning, as does Rachael. We each have an excellent and generous portion of quiche, which I accompany with a Viennoise; plus a few caffeinated beverages. The breakfast itself is good, but best is the waiter, who serenades the customers with a lusty tune sung in Spanish. We’ll be back tomorrow.

🎵All I want for Christmas is the Narbonne Cathedral, the Narbonne Cathedral, the Narbonne Cathedral🎵

An unbeatable start to the day: serenaded by a singing waiter

The main consideration for today’s ride is again the weather. It is expected to be dry, chilly, and very windy. Winds are expected to blow from the northwest and average 15-20 mph, with occasional gusts up to 40. Rachael and I have been discussing whether that fits our definition of bikable conditions or not, but decide to give it a go.

I pick a ride for us that hopefully makes the best of the conditions: a loop in the foothills west of town that we’ll ride counterclockwise, tackling the headwinds first while we’re fresh. We want to get an early start since the winds are supposed to amplify as the day goes on, but we feel conflicted because it’s cold. We finally make it out the door about 10.

The first three or four miles are the expected busy urban cycling experience - not bad, but we’re happy when we escape town and veer off from the main road to Carcassonne and Toulouse; and even happier a few miles later when we branch off again to a really quiet road. For the next fifteen miles, we share the road with very few cars.

We rode the first half of this ride last year, on our loop from Gruissan to Fontfroide Abbey. I remember what a great ride that was, but today it hardly seems familiar at all. Partly this is because my memory is so poor, but it is also because the conditions are so much quieter and it’s later in the year - many fields are brown, and the plane trees are nearly bare rather than still green.

This is so amazing. Just a week ago, the plane trees all had reddish crowns. Nearly all the leaves have been stripped from them since then.

In Montseret, I believe. The villages have a different look now, as we approach the foothills of the Pyrenees.

At about the midpoint of the ride we come to a small but spectacular gorge, cut through the limestone by the small Berre. Stumbling like this across gorges you’ve never heard of is a common occurrence in southern France, but always an unexpected delight. We go off route and upstream along it for a mile, just for the joy of snaking between the cliffs and admiring the last of the autumn colors.

We need to eat, but it’s too chilly to linger long sitting around outdoors. We find a relatively sheltered spot by the stream and hurriedly scarf down our cheese, bread and ham lunch.

Another passable lunch spot. We didn’t sit long though on this cold, windy day.

On the road again, we head down the gorge, and directly downwind. We’re really flying now, but the wind drains the heat out of us and we’re feeling chillier by the mile. I’m starting to get concerned about Rachael, who’s a bit prone to hypothermia, so I’m pleased when we come to an open cafe in Peyriac. We’ve only got about ten miles left in the ride, but it feels like the prudent thing to stop in for some tea and warm up before the last leg.

It’s a friendly, delightful place, one I’d be happy to frequent. No one speaks English, but they’re interested in why we’re there and stumble through a conversation with us.

Put down that cellphone! Alain Delon, Lino Ventura and Jean Gavin (from The Sicilian Clan) enforce the no electronics rule in Peyriac-de-Mer.

Never too cold for a smoke and a pot of tea.

The final miles to Narbonne are some of the best of the day, as we skirt the edge of a lagoon and then ride across an arm of it. More like through it, actually - the road is barely above water level, and the high winds blow water and foam across a broad section of the road, like a small river. It looks forbidding, but the depth appears shallow enough that Rachael decides to just plow through. If she’s going, of course I have to follow. It’s a bit thrilling, and all feels so elemental - the wind, the water, there are even flamingos and a stork nearby. It feels like we’re back in Scotland, except for the flamingos of course.

As I said, a wild, windy, wonderful day. One that just kept improving with every mile.

It’s hard to believe there’s actually a road beneath this.

We have a tablemate at dinner tonight - our server’s dog. Do you think Maya is cute? I think Maya is cute. Should we drop a scrap for her?

I thought we were done with the wine photos for the season, but this bottle from Fontfroide Abbey is too much to resist. We were there last autumn, and I like being reminded.

Heart

Comment

Link

Ride stats today: 40 miles, 1,900’

Today's ride: 40 miles (64 km)
Total: 2,841 miles (4,572 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	6
Comment on this entry	Comment	0