September 14, 2023
Day 10 - Plaisance to Albi
Finishing the ride
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After another "coffee in the room with granola bars" breakfast, we emerged to a foggy morning. The staff at Les Magnolias continued to be amazingly chatty, which led to some fun conversations as we extracted the bike from the bike garage and paid our bill.
Despite the chatter, we were on the road in the misty morning shortly after 0900. Today's route was front-loaded, with most of the climbing in the first 10km. With 9 days of riding in our legs, we hoped for the best and planned for several breaks on the way up.
The way up was steep but within our modest capabilities. We climbed through the fog, stopping a few times to rest, and eventually popped out into the sunlight with the fog hugging the valley floor below.
The views over the hills were of never-ending fields of green. I bet you could grow anything in this country. Small villages and isolated farmhouses dotted the hillsides. We heard cowbells but didn't see any animals. An occasional car passed us, maybe 5 or so during the 10km climb. Mostly we just climbed and chatted and enjoyed the visuals.
After over an hour of climbing, we got to the top. Selfies were taken to celebrate.
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7 months ago
We connected with a busy departementale for a thankfully quick downhill into the town of Alban, where we made a grocery store stop for some mixed nuts. We weren't sure we would make it to Albi in time for lunch, and protein is always good to have as a backup.
Diverging from the departementale, we found ourselves on small roads in a land of rolling green hills and deep valleys. We met quite a few tractors as we worked our way across the landscape. It's harvest time and the farmers are working overtime.
A beautiful descent into a small river valley led to a steep climb up the other side. We saw 12 percent go by on the Wahoos. We huffed and puffed, but rode the whole thing. That would not have happened 10 days ago! We took a break at the top and congratulated ourselves.
From there, it was up and down for the final 20km into Albi. We were like old horses smelling the barn. Anxious to finish, we pushed probably too hard and started feeling a little bit of saddle discomfort. We forced ourselves to stop and down some protein and water.
The way into town turned out to be very bike-friendly. We passed under the ring road that goes around Albi to the south, and then we were in the nicely-trimmed suburbs of town. A couple of turns and we were on a bike path. And then, like every ride, magically we recognized that we were right at the place we had started 10 days ago!
We took some celebratory pictures on the Place du Vigan and went looking for lunch. Which we found at the Shamrock Irish Pub. Fish and chips and a chicken burger are not traditional French cuisine, but they did the trick today. We sat under the trees in the beautiful filtered sunshine, talking about our trip and all the things we had seen and done. What a privilege to be able to do things like this! We are so lucky!
The rest of the day is not really a bike trip. Two hours in the car back to Limoux. We got home around 1630. The house was exactly as we had left it. Cool in the warm afternoon from being closed up. We opened all the shutters and noted with alarm that the garden was going to need some attention.
We unloaded the car and dumped our Ortleib bags out. Laundry over here, stuff for the next trip over there. We just somehow slide back into "normal life." It seems impossible that the trip is over.
When do we get to go out again?
Today's ride: 49 km (30 miles)
Total: 446 km (277 miles)
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When do you get to go out again? Anytime you want, you lucky dogs!
8 months ago