May 3, 2018
Day 38: Castelnaudry to Toulouse
We knew that only 15 km down the way, at Montferrand, the Canal path would become paved. So how bad could it be to stick it out on the Canal until then? We decided to try, but not without scoping out the exit roads for use if the going got too tough.
At first the path was fairly reasonable, much like a normal gravel road surface. So we let one of our exits pass by. That's when the canal smelled some victims, and the path closed down to almost a grass track, with mud. Grrr. We were too close to the 15 km mark to bail out, and far enough that we wasted a lot of time pushing the bikes and cleaning the fenders with sticks.
When we reached a little beyond Montferrand it was immediately obvious that the whole path thing is a political decision. We were leaving Aude department and got a big welcome in signage from Haute-Garonne. And after about 1 km of so so pavement, the path turned to full car road quality and stayed that way all the way to Toulouse!
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Ity was good to put aside the road surface problem, because we still had to deal with a cold and strong head wind. The temperature started at 10 and never rose above 13. By itself that is not bad, but the wind chill had us thinking longingly of the warm things we had already sent home.
Things stayed like that out on the canal for a long time. It was beautiful trees and water, beautiful water and trees. As it happens, it was also not any restaurant or place to buy food, at least not without an off canal excursion. So we just got slowly hungrier and chillier.
Having failed to find an open bike shop in Carcasonne we again had our hopes up, for Toulouse. We knew of one , which we had been in before, and just hoped to hit town in the right window of time.
As we drew closer to Toulouse, the canal filled on one side with parked boats that clearly had people living in them permanently. They were often quite large, and it was interesting that each one was unique. It was not at all like people had parked a bunch of Winnebagos. Each boat mus have been custom made. Maybe that's the way it is with this class of boats. One that we liked a lot seemed like a child's image of a bath tub toy. The boats continued for several kms, all the way into town.
At one time the canal ran outside Toulouse, but as the town grew it came to be the town boundary. With more growth, the town engulfed the canal, which is now an interesting urban feature, in the middle of town.
Beside the canal, on the outer fringes of downtown, we came to something very interesting, in the circumstances. This was a mobile bike shop called CycloStand, which turned out to be run by Mathias Mansuy. Mathias is only at this spot on Thursdays. Otherwise he works for the post office - repairing their e-bikes!
We had a short but important list of things that have cropped up with our bikes, now that they have covered 2500 km since their launch in the Netherlands. First there was the issue with my stand, where one of the two fixing bolts has snapped off, leaving a stub in the frame that refuses to screw back out. Then there was the question of how to centre the brake pads on the Magura brakes, since I had the idea that Dodie's rear ones were threatening to rub on one side. And our chains - how were they holding up? Finally, I have been continually turning the adjusting screw on my rear brake lever, to reduce the lever travel, which keeps growing.
Mathias was really patient with our attempts to explain these items, especially since there are a lot of mechanical terms we don't know - like thread, vice-grip, worn out?, stuck, back out, and so forth.
As it happens, no amount of vice-grips, hack sawing a screw driver slot, filing square edges, etc. would remove that broken off stud. We collectively decided to give up on it. It would take a fully equipped shop to really go after the problem - like by cutting the stud flush, then drilling it out, tapping the hole, and installing an oversize bolt.
Other things will have to wait too. Like my brake lever - probably a symptom of fluid loss, or at least the system needs to be bled. But then there were the chains. Mysteriously mine is fine but Dodie's was worn out. We both went the same distance at the same speed, and both chains were cleaned and lubed at the same times. Ok, her motor is stronger and my legs are stronger, but the final push as felt by the chain should be about the same? Anyway, Dodie now has a shiny new chain.
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5 years ago
5 years ago
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Overall, the bikes have held up well so far. No problems with the assist, no broken spokes, no flats, no out of adjustment shifters, loose headsets, or any of that. Pretty good.
There is something about Toulouse we have always liked. We are not sure quite what it is. Yes it has the canal, and some nice buildings - including impressive churches, but so do other towns. Maybe it's the down south hospitality.
We rolled into the district of St. Sernin, the church with the unique octagonal tower, and gruesome origin story.
Sernin was the first bishop of Toulouse. In 250 a.d. he was dragged through the streets and killed by a sacrificial bull. The church Notre Dame du Taur was built where he was buried. This was followed down the road by a small basilica. This became a popular pilgrimage site, and in the 11th century the present building was put up to deal with all the traffic. Construction continued in the 12th century as well, and of course changes and renovations continue even to the present. Billboards in front of the church explain the history and what is happening even now.
A street called Rue du Taur runs from the Basilica, past N.D. du Taur to Place du Capitole and the general area where the bull ride was said to have begun. This is now a lively part of town, made more so by the students from a nearby lycee who are generally frolicking around.
After dumping our stuff at Hotel St. Sernin, we made a tour of the basilica and the street. Since we are getting ever closer to Spain, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella is getting ever more recognition. At St Sernin they advertise pilgrim support services. Seeing the sign made us a little nostalgic about our last year's trip, although it was at St Sernin that we feel we were dramatically overcharged for a pilgrim's passport.
The Romanesque church seemed a little plain and gloomy to me, but Dodie rebranded this as a feeling of antiquity. It is mainly the outside, surely, that holds the most attraction, with that unique tower. The tower also blends in well with the buildings on Rue du Taur , making for a most pleasing neighbourhood.
We are cooking up a visit with well know Cycleblaze author Leo Woodland, and Steph, who live a couple of day's ride from where we are now. It will be a detour, but we have always wanted to meet this pair, so this will be our chance. But first we need to head off on the Garonne. No fear there - we know its canal has a good path.
Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 2,498 km (1,551 miles)
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Great that you’re going to hook up with Leo!
5 years ago
5 years ago