Carcassonne to Castelnaudery

October 4, 2023

A Short Day but Windy

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Bike touring is always full of surprises, isn’t it. We expected an easy day to a beautiful property in Castelnaudry, and it was a fine ride, but when you beat into a head wind all day, even a short ride becomes a lesson in perseverance. Lingering over a delicious breakfast in Carcassonne we had no idea we would both need a nap when we got to Castelnaudry!

We left Carcassonne with no difficulty thanks to the CN. The D road we were on was fine, but a little busier than we like, so he rerouted us onto a quiet parallel road which was much more pleasant. The darned wind though. Right on the nose.

Leaving Carcassonne. I followed the woman with the yoga mat all the way to her hairdressers.

We had a remarkable encounter with a beautiful horse on one of the gravel sections. A gorgeous white horse, unaccompanied, cantered towards us. Then we were charmed when a wee pony emerged to check us out as well. I dug an apple out of our snack stash and coaxed them over. Once they realized what a delectable treat I was offering they were delighted to make my acquaintance. Then a third horse appeared and our hearts were broken. Ribs showing prominently and barely able to walk, his left rear leg very badly injured. It certainly didn’t look like anyone was attending to the raw wound and he looked like he was suffering badly. There was nothing we could do and I had to ride away I was so distressed by the sight.

We have no idea how they came to be running free.

Once they realized what I was offering they were happy to enjoy the apple. They each got half.

On a happier note, our scenery today was varied. Lots of vineyards in the beginning, with accompanying wineries and lots of harvested fields. Some had clearly been corn, and some were sunflowers. The ride was a gentle gain in elevation pretty much all day. Between that and the wind, we were pretty tired when we arrived at our beautiful accommodation.

We crossed over the Canal de Midi, but chose to ride on the lightly traveled road rather than the gravel canal side path.

Although things got a little rough at times off the canal as well!

What a beautiful spot. We highly, highly recommend the Domain de Lanis. They have only been open since July. It is a former bourgeoise farmhouse, built as a priory in the 16th century by the de Lanis family, and includes a magnificent park. It took the couple who have taken on this project 18 months to renovate and complete the guesthouse. We feel lucky to be here.

King size bed, high ceilings, lovely proprietors. We feel very fortunate.

I love that the tea cups match the chairs and wall.

We have wandered through the property. Hanging chair, hammocks, lounges by the pool. This is a spot that would make an ideal weekend away. We absolutely love it. As I write this we are sitting by the pool, drinking an ice cold beer courtesy of our hosts, and awaiting that famous event, a Cycleblaze meetup. Rich and Robin Frasier are coming to pick us up and we are going out for dinner in Castelnaudry.

What a delightful evening we had. It was so kind of them to go out of their way and pick us up. We ate outdoors, canal side in Castelnaudry. There was no shortage of things to talk about and the discussion was wide ranging, from bike touring of course, to travel in general and even our kids (probably to their collective horror if they knew). We hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 616 km (383 miles)

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