It would be fair to say that yesterday was a bit soggy and it took us a while to dry out, and warm up; I haven’t had white fingers like that for a long time.
The narrowboat though was quaint and cosy & we enjoyed a quiet evening, getting used to the gentle rocking motion, when any boat passed by, sleeping well after the cold day.
Today, we woke to glorious blue skies, with the early-morning sun dancing across the water, with a delightful dawn-chorus too. It was as if yesterday hadn’t happened.
We ambled into the boulangerie in Capestang, buying baguettes for breakfast and lunch, and a little something for a second-breakfast on our ride too.
Having booked 2 days on the boat here, we had planned to do a ride around the villages, so over breakfast, I tweaked the route that I’d planned, and after making a sandwich for lunch, we threw on our cycle kit and set off.
The sun may have been out, but the wind had picked up, so as we left Capestang, taking a back road towards Quarante, we found ourselves pedalling up a long, slow hill into a strong headwind, which cooled us down, and slowed us up a bit.
The benefit of this, coupled with the fact that it was a wonderfully quiet road, meant that we could just sit back in the saddle and enjoy the views, which swept away to our left, towards the Mediterranean.
It was a wonderful way to start the day.
By the time we reached the top, we had to stop to strip off a layer (or two), and noticed a sign telling drivers to slow down for squirrels crossing. We have noticed them before, on this little adventure, but this proved to be just the first one of the day.
I must admit to being delighted whenever I spot a red squirrel dashing around the trees, when we’re out cycling. They are such beautiful little creatures, with their rust-coloured fur and bright eyes; such a far cry from the grey squirrels that we always see in the UK, that used to keep Millie (our old Golden Retriever) entertained for hours.
Once we had tied our jackets around the handlebars, we headed on again, on a beautiful route that took us from pretty village, to pretty village, all having a delightful sleepy feel and a perfect peace too.
The views just seemed to get better. You can watch a video Of today’s ride and views here
And the colours of the wild flowers were wonderfully bright, as if yesterday’s rain gave them an extra boost.
Arriving in the riverside village of Bize-Minervois, we pedalled through the old town gates, parked our bikes and sat on the bridge, watching a fisherman, whilst enjoying a second breakfast (surely one of the delights of cycling)
It was a peaceful little place, with stunning old gates and the coat of arms laid into the cobbles below. We sat for a while, watching the water, listening to the birds, before heading on again.
The route took us from village, to village, along empty roads, many with ribbon-smooth tarmac, that whispered under our wheels.
The verges were filled with poppies, daisies and mallows that added bright splash of colour to every turn of the pedal
And everywhere we looked, the views were stunning. It really is a lovely area to explore, by bike.
We finally came out of our ride through the hills at , where we joined a quiet road that runs alongside the Canal du Midi.
When the boys were young, we stayed here and pedalled along the Canal path, and are slightly scarred with memories of puncture, after puncture (on one occasion 7 in one ride); now we are happy to stay on the road.
We pedalled past villages that held wonderful memories, such as Ventenac, where on a Vide Grenier day, we had watched 2 cars sit on the bridge, bonnet to bonnet, both drivers refusing to cede any ground. They had stayed like that for so long that queues stretched as far as the eye could see, in every direction, whilst we just enjoyed the stand-off.
Today, we were stopped in our tracks by the sight of a poppy field, a bright splash of colour amongst the green
Then, we reached Le Somail, a beautiful little place on the Canal, where we had pedalled to many times with the boys. We had even bought a painting of the barge/epicerie that’s moored by the bridge there, which still had pride of place on a wall, at home.
It’s a gentle place to sit for lunch, so we found a bench and settled down to watch the boats pass by, and seeing how they negotiated the narrow bridge in the heart of the village.
We did have our hearts in our mouths at one point, when a large, hired cruiser approached quite quickly, with the driver videoing his approach using his phone, and a go-pro too. He seemed to realise that what he was doing wasn’t perhaps the best plan,and eventually made it through safely, although we were worried for a moment.
We had to drag ourselves away eventually, although we could have idled away a lot more time there, just absorbed by the excitement of ‘Canal-life’
Pedalling on again, we continued along empty back-lanes, occasionally crossing larger roads, and simply enjoying the ride.
It seemed as if, in no time at all, we could see Capestang across the fields, and the ride was nearly at an end.
It had gone far too quickly and had been a perfectly lovely day on 2 wheels. The route had taken us along the types of roads that we love to ride
And we had enjoyed seeing the charming, sleepy villages that we passed through.
The 62km slipped by with ease and by the time we arrived back in Capestang, we were already talking about how we could spend longer in the area, exploring the backroads and villages, by bike.
By the time we were pedalling back to the narrowboat, the blue skies were being covered by heavy, grey clouds and within 30 mins of getting back, the rain was falling, the heavy drops making patterns on the surface of the Canal.
We certainly made the most of today, and had a wonderful ride. It’s hard to believe that tomorrow, we will pedal into Beziers (I’ll find a long way round), and then we’ll be back on the train to Avignon on Thursday morning, for the final ride home, to The Luberon.
It’s gone far too quickly. The days have slipped past and by the time we get home we will have pedalled over 500km.
It’s been a gentle, easy and simple 10 days away, and has just made us even more excited for our summer cycle adventures, pedalling from Provence to the UK, before pedalling home again.
That all starts in about 5 weeks time, and the way that this year is flying past, it will be here before we know it!
Postcards from Provence and beyond 