Castelnaudry to Castres

October 5, 2023

Matthew and His Mom to the Rescue

Heart

Comment

Steve Miller/GrampiesAw shoot. It looks like you are heading away from Toulouse, and just as we are getting ready to head towards it and then into Spain. We were hoping we would cross paths and be able to meet up for a visit somewhere. Maybe this winter back in Victoria?
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Keith ClassenTo Steve Miller/GrampiesThere is still a chance that our paths may converge as we loop back to Barcelona. When do you expect to arrive in Barcelona?
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Keith ClassenWe are booked into a Hotel in Barcelona Oct 21 and 22. Any joy?
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Keith ClassenDarn …. We are arriving in Barcelona Oct 24 flying home Oct 26. We will likely take the train into Barcelona from Girona on the 24th, retrieve our bike boxes and pack the bikes. There’s still a chance though our paths might cross.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

If ever you worry that the world is falling apart, having a significant bit of difficulty on the road and being rescued in the kindest of ways reminds one that people the world over are pretty darn special. We had quite the day today.

Our breakfast at our Chateau was wonderful. Everything was homemade, including the bread, yogurt and jams. There was an apple pancake that was absolute delicious, freshly off the griddle, just for us. Once ready to go our hosts offered a hose so we could rinse the bikes, and we left feeling great.

The first 11 km of the ride were wonderful. A quiet, quiet road with beautiful vistas. The goal was Castres, and the plan was to book a hotel while picnicking. We could see there were lots available so felt quite comfortable with that.

Our quiet road merged with a busier than we would like D road. Lots of big trucks for some reason, and no shoulder. The CN spotted a quiet loop that took us off that road for a bit and that was so successful when we saw one on the other side we thought we should try that too. It was great as well, but (you knew there was a but coming, didn’t you) that is where I had a major mechanical. I rode over something…a stick perhaps and I snapped my derailleur right off. Absolutely completely irrevocably broken. We were a bit stunned. Keith said his first thought was “I wonder how this day will end?” Mine was “Sh#%”! Add to that our attempt to avoid the bizarrely busy D road was a dead end and we were right back on the side of the highway.

We certainly didn’t have the tools to deal with this.

We looked at each other in some consternation. We were 13 km from Revel on the side of a busy highway. Keith suggested we could walk. He pointed out I regularly hike that far. Not pushing a bike on the side of a highway I don’t! There didn’t seem any other choice. Then we discovered we couldn’t really walk my bike either. The broken derailleur kept getting caught in the spokes. We took a few deep breaths to consider. I thought of our friend Ted who says sometimes it is better to think slow than think fast. I suggested trying to call a taxi to take us to Revel, but there were no taxi companies we could find online. We also didn’t know if there was a bike shop or not. We had just about come to the conclusion the best course of action was to look pitiful at the side of the road with thumbs out when I had an idea.

There was a farmhouse just across the road and I suggested to Keith I see if anyone there could help, hoping someone was home. I headed in, fingers crossed there were no dogs, and I am still astonished at the kindness we received . Sylvie spoke a little English, and she called her son Matthew who lives in another house on the property and speaks excellent English. We were saved. Matthew called the bike shop in Revel. The proprietor offered to come in a half hour early at 1:30 to try and fix my bike. Matthew drove me and broken bike to the shop at 1:00 PM. I sat in Sylvie’s beautiful garden while Keith rode to Revel, only room for one bike in Matthew’s car. Matthew’s Mom was so kind. She kept trying to feed me. I didn’t want to disrupt her day anymore than I already had!! We felt so incredibly fortunate.

These are two of the nicest people on the planet.

I was comfortable and Sylvie was making me coffee 💕

When we arrived in Revel we knew immediately that Matthew chose the right spot. My bike was on the stand in seconds and the competence of the owner was obvious. We ate our picnic in the shop while the surgery was performed. I found myself new Tour de France sunglasses too. I am not sure they were designed for little old lady bikers but I love them. There may have been some discrete eye rolling from my partner.

When we were driving to the bike shop I couldn’t believe how busy the highway was. I started to worry about Keith but he was able to get off it fairly quickly thank goodness.

Bike repaired we were on our way by 2 PM. It still astonishes me that we were so incredibly fortunate to meet two of the nicest people in the south of France and that there was such a fabulous bike shop in Revel. We went from disaster to on our way in two hours.

Then the ride! There is a bike route from Revel to Castres and it was some of the best riding we have done. Beautiful vistas, and an incredibly well signed route. It was simply fantastic.

There were lots of rollers and such a beautiful route.

This one defeated me. The CN made it though.

The only minor glitch came at the end when Keith switched over too soon to Google maps to find the hotel. We were routed off the amazing bike route and into town during rush hour on busier roads. It was definitely a mistake we won’t repeat.

Castres is beautiful. We have had a good walk around and we’re really impressed. The proprietor of our hotel says he often gets that reaction. People know about Albi and Carcassonne but are surprised by Castres. We love our quirky hotel. The people are fantastic and so is the location. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant and it was excellent.

It has been quite the day. We hope Matthew and Sylvie read this tonight. They were true trail angels and we appreciated it far more than they can imagine. Sylvie and I sat outside in her garden chatting with her much better English than my French and Google Translate. I told her that the idea of walking down that busy highway frightened me and I meant it. As Matthew said later, that would have simply been dangerous. We are so blessed they were there.

Today's ride: 61 km (38 miles)
Total: 677 km (420 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	11
Comment on this entry	Comment	13

Scott AndersonPhew!
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

David MathersOMG, you guys. At first glance I saw terminal failure but I see it has a replaceable derailleur hanger and you’re right you found the shop with the skills! Another story to add to an amazing adventure. You guys are travelling with angels! Take care.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Lyle McLeodLooks like you ended up with a wonderful glass of lemonade at the end of all this! A very fortunate chain of events for deserving folks. Great to see that this all worked out and the day was great. The canal in Castres has a remarkable resemblance to Girona, or that may be the other way around.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Keith ClassenTo David MathersWe were really fortunate how it turned out. We probably only lost an hour before we were back on the road. Speaking of angels … is it just a coincidence that Mathieu’s last name happens to be Angely.
Quite the day!
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Rachael AndersonI’m sorry about your derailleur, but what a great ending! It’s so nice to meet such caring, helpful people!
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Janice BranhamYikes! I've had a turn at trying to walk a bike with a broken derailleur lodged in the spokes. That would be a nightmare for me in a foreign country. We might scout the bike shops in Carcassonne for a spare derailleur hanger to carry along. So glad to read it all worked out. It looks like a fabulous ride once you got back on track.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Scott AndersonI still can’t quite believe how lucky we were. The nicest people, English spoken, Revel had an amazing bike shop. The stars aligned. Earlier in the trip we spent 4 days searching for a bike shop to adjust Keith’s derailleur and none of the communities we went through had one. If we were home I would go buy a lottery ticket!
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Rachael AndersonIf we lived closer Sylvie and I would become fast friends. Her husband was shy, he arrived home a bit surprised to see a loaded touring bike leaning on his house and a total stranger lounging on his terrace. He took it all in stride. With parents like that it is no surprise that Matthew was one of the loveliest young people you could ever meet.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Lyle McLeodIt is so beautiful here. Castres was such a surprise. We had both seen pictures but we were still surprised. I am also more than a little amazed we made it!
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Janice BranhamKeith found a fabulous bike shop in Carcassonne. It was only 2 and a half km from the old town. I will see if he remembers the name.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Rich FrasierTo Janice BranhamHi Janice - I recommend Fun Sports. It's generally considered the best bike shop in Carcassonne. Not far from the Cite. I'm pretty sure that's where Keith went, based on the picture.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Janice BranhamTo Rich FrasierThanks Rich! Barry just got back from there. It turns out our bikes don't have derailleur hangers, but they had some other things he needed, notably a screw that apparently fell out of my rack. He agrees, it's a great shop.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago

Kathleen ClassenTo Janice BranhamSame bike shop. Keith and Rich both were impressed and it sounds like you were too.
Reply to this comment
7 months ago