Cycle to Chalfont St Giles via the Beeches 73km

Bucks in the Autumn

Braved the morning rain and headed off towards Dorney. Over the hill to Cookham and then along the Green Route to Maidenhead. On past the posh riverside houses towards Bray and through the Churchyard to the M4 bridge path. The Olympic Rowing Lake soon appeared and then the Walled Garden Centre. Already travelled 19km just to get to the meeting point, could be in for a tough day. The weather forecasters got it right and out came the sun. Joined the group for a coffee and then set off with them towards Chalfont St Giles via Burnham Beeches, Farnham Common and Gerrards Cross. Beautiful in the woods with the sun glistening on the wet leaves. Nearly wiped out by a driver using our quiet road as a rat-run, back roads were a lot quieter before Sat Nav! Had lunch in the Fox and Hounds, at Chalfont St Giles before heading home via Beaconsfield and Cookham. Nice ride, plenty of hills so happy to be home.

Marlow to Henley and back on a bike - 50km

Autumn cycling in the Chilterns - 20km to Henley and 30km back to Marlow

Monday morning, a cold, clear and windless day. Headed into the Chilterns. Some very plucky pheasants on the road, never seen so many. Reminds me of a tongue twister......

One smart fellow; he felt smart.

Two smart fellows; they felt smart.

Three smart fellows; they all felt smart.

Try and say it....

The leaves are just turning and the deer are rutting, it must be Autumn.

On the hill between Hambleden and Fawley

Henley on Thames

One particular Stag was making an awful din whilst chasing his herd around a field near Luxters Winery.

Met TW for lunch at the Henley Tea Rooms in Thameside, Henley. Cycled back via some really good place names, Badgemoor, Bix, Bix Bottom, Middle Assendon, Stonor, Turville Heath, Fingest and Frieth. Roads were quiet, apart from the pheasants of course. Glorius day.

Thames Valley Cycle Tour 82km

A nice way to get weary

Overnight frost was being cleared by bright sunshine as I headed off for my first ride with the CTC. I joined recently to get more access to info on Touring from their website. The local section, CTC South Bucks, wrote and invited me out for a ride. The morning meet was at Bourne End Garden Centre. Doesn’t sound great but it has a really nice cafe hidden inside. Just £1.50 for a mug of coffee with unlimited refills. Plenty of tasty looking cakes and sponges to choose from. It's a a favourite meeting point and I can see why. The cycling group that assembled was friendly and there was a bit of banter about the leader being obsessed with hill-climbing and that it could be tough - but they would wait for me!

So I set off, in a group of about fifteen, with some trepidation up Harvest Hill towards Burnham Beeches. From there the route took us past Cliveden to Taplow, along the Jubilee River to Windsor and then across the Great Park to Ascot Racecourse. Windsor Great Park was beautiful in the Autumn sunshine with the leaves just starting to turn, the lush green grass and no traffic.The Racecourse was about half-way, around 40km, and time to start heading back. We headed for another Garden Centre near Winkfield for lunch. I was starving as usual. After our feeding stop we continued on the back-roads to Binfield, through the ‘Walthams’ to Pinkneys Green, Cookham Dean and back to Marlow. 

Have to say it was good fun, riding in a pack is much easier than solo and there’s probably safety in numbers on the few busy sections. Good job I've done plenty of cycling recently, although there was the option to turn back at any time. No worries with the hills, maybe next time.

Queen Elizabeth - at home in Southampton

Thought we would make a detour into Southampton on the way home to take a look at the new Cunard ship. Very impressive.

The new Queen Elizabeth

TW dreams of going on the maiden yoyage but unfortunately we are the wrong side of the tracks and the ship. QE was loading and getting ready to sail on her first trip.

The Waverley was also in Southampton water

The Waverley is the last sea-going Paddle Steamer in the world. Probably more our style.

Wight lightning - day trip to the Isle

We made a quick trip over to the Isle of Wight to visit TW’s Uncle. Glorious day to see a lovely place. Over on the favourite Ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth then round the south via Waterstone and the Military Road.


  

Disabled parking is free on the Island, here is why!

Lymington Mud

Not a cloud in the sky all day. TW and TMIL had a good old chat with Uncle and we all had a nice pub lunch in Shanklin.On a bright October day cannot think of a better place to be. The only hitch, we paid £2 for parking only to discover that TMIL's disabled badge entitled us to free parking on the Isle of Wight.

Nimes to home, Day12 flying with a bicycle

Homeward bound

Ready for check-in

The wind had a final blow as I took the route from the Hotel to the Airport. Once in the terminal I had plenty of space, and time, to take the trusty TREK 520 apart and put it into its bag along with any other heavy stuff. That left me with one pannier for hand luggage (max 10kg). Right, ready for check-in!. Even though there are only two flights per day they still need all the security paraphernalia. The additional charges lady looked particularly efficient. I suppose with only 300 or 400 passengers per day she needed to justify her existence. My fellow passengers were desperately re-packing, putting on extra layers and filling their pockets to try and avoid excess charges – Bonjour Monsieur et Madame Michelin!
Check-in was not a problem for me as I had paid my 40 Euros for the bike, still a bit of trepidation though, never quite certain I've understood the rules. Or maybe Mr O'Leary has changed them?

I went through security, and the scanner, clutching my lone pannier. Monsieur, you have a ‘permp’. I’d left my pump in my pannier - ‘you should put that in your checked-in baggage’. I suppose they thought I might ‘blow up’ the plane. Didn’t make any smart comments though, could have ended up with an intrusive strip search. Anyway, she kindly let the offending inflator through.

My fellow passengers did not look particularly cheerful, they must have been suffering with the wind as well! I sat in the lounge with my back to the window while we waited for the plane. Without doubt, the landing would be a bit dicey. It wasn’t until I was being blown around on the top of the aircraft steps, some time later, that a fellow passenger revealed that the pilot had really big problems trying to land. Why are you telling me this? Are you one of those people who delight in revealing results of matches or races that friends have recorded? I should have hit him with my permp.Take-off was fine although there was someone across the aisle reading – ‘pourquoi jai mange mon pere’.That seemed to mean ‘why I ate my father.' I felt like pointing out to her that I was all gristle and that, if we crashed and ended up stranded in the mountains, like that South American Rugby team, she should look elsewhere for her next meal.

Not to worry, we were soon at Luton where they charge TWO Pounds for a trolley, non-refundable! My poor bike arrived on the normal carousel, not the out of gauge conveyor, but thankfully survived. Some damage to the bag unfortunately.

For the onward journey to High Wycombe I had the pleasure of the National Express 737 bus. Found a nice, comfortable seat at the front for the trip of about 1hr 15 min. Just one stop on the way,in Hemel Hempstead. The helpful lady driver had no problem getting the 13m bus around the infamous Hemel roundabouts and we had a great scenic ride through Buckinghamshire. The only hitch was that I forgot to claim my senior discount. TW met me at the bus station and was pleased to see me - 'oh you do look surprisingly clean'.


Postscript
Transport costs:. The three trains from High Wycombe to Bordeaux cost £94 plus £20 to take the bike on the Eurostar. The best price was achieved by booking a ticket for all sectors from Eurostar. (http://www.seat61.com/ is an excellent site that has all the train info and links). You can travel and ship a bike to Lille (not just Paris) on the same train. Going via Lille has the advantage that there is no need to cycle across Paris to get to the onward train!
Coming home from Nimes with a bike on Ryanair cost £109 plus £10 for the National Express coach from Luton.

Travel Times: To Bordeaux – 06:55 to 21:00 local time 13hrs. From Nimes - 08:30 to 14:30 local times including bagging the bike. 7 hrs. Both included waiting times when transferring. I had to travel early to Marylebone so I could take the bike and I just missed a coach at Luton and had to wait two hours.

Accommodation: Between 20 and 65 Euros per night. The B &B’s charge per room so it’s cheaper for two, or even 3 if you are Musketeers. An extra bed was typically about 10 Euros. Cheapest was the YH at Carcassonne at 20 Euros including breakfast. Most expensive B & B was the apartment in Bourdeaux but it did have a kitchen. The Hotel at Nimes Airport was the most expensive at 65 Euros plus 9 Euros for Breakfast. It did have a very nice outdoor pool and was pretty comfy, so no complaints..There is a YH in Bourdeaux and another in Sete on the coast, probably should have used them. Had no problems finding accommodation but might be a different story in July/August.

Food: I was eating a lot because I had lost weight prior to the trip. Breakfast was between 5 and 9 Euros, typically buffet style with plenty of cups of coffee. Even though its nice to eat breakfast in a local cafe it is invariably far better value to eat a large buffet breakfast in a hotel or b&b.
Lunch, from a Patisserie, was 4 or 5 Euros and multi-course dinner from a set menu between 13 Euros and 30 Euros.

Best value dinner was at Sauveterre at the Hotel de Guyenne.
Best meal, probably the lamb I had at Le Somail which was mouth-wateringly good.
Favourite restaurant - Le Petit Gazouillis in Castelnaudary, good food, good company.

Best cycling: The whole canal-side route was good although, with hindsight, I would probably plan to take to the roads more often to avoid the ‘bumpiest’ of the canal du Midi sections. It’s not just the hits, there is also the necessity to watch the track all the time. The Canal Lateral sections north of Toulouse were not quite as pretty as the Midi but the track was superb and there were plenty of towns to explore en route.

Would I do it all again? Definitely! Although I would get some better maps and not arrive late at night in Bordeaux.

Bordeaux to Nimes on a bicycle Day 11 to Nimes

Cap d’Agde to Nimes Airport (Garons) - 130 kms



Sunrise over the Mediterranean

I settled on Nimes to Luton with RyanAir. I asked the Hotel Manager ‘how far to Nimes’. About 75 kms he said. No problem, lets book it. Now this man was a keen golfer he is supposed to be able to count, putting in an incorrect card just isn’t tolerated. It was in fact 130 kms! Despite the mathematical incapacity, the Hotel was very helpful and booked and checked me in for RyanAir and printed my Boarding Card. Not an easy process.

Flamingos unruffled

All night I could hear a terrific wind getting up. I don’t know if it was the Scirocco but it came from the south and was warm and humid. The Hotel forecast rain. Set out at first light and headed back to Agde. Was soon lost in the one-way system again but eventually started heading east towards Marseillan.. Horrendous wind! Most of the time it was a warm cross-wind as I worked my way around the south of Montpellier and on towards Nimes.

Not quite there yet

Lot of pain- but don't feed the horses

The Chasse was on! In the early morning, the hunters were out amongst the vines and the whistle of the wind in my helmet was punctuated by shotgun blasts. I assume they were trying to shoot wood pigeons. With my grey wind-proof, grey shorts and funny peaked helmet I couldn’t help worrying that I looked just like an over-sized version of their prey!

Bonjour monsieur, ne tirez pas, je suis rostbif! Perhaps not! I pedalled faster. For once, it was nice to get into the towns and villages as the walls gave some respite from the wind. Came across a wonderful Patisserie on the main road near Fabregues, could have stayed there for the rest of the day, working my way along the shelves. Settled on a ham baguette and an apple tarte.

I actually cycled through Montpellier Airport after 70 kms. That’s where I could have picked up an EasyJet flight to Gatwick. It was too expensive on the day I wanted to fly so I needed to carry on yo Nimes.

Today was a dramatic return to the real world in cycling terms, restricted to the hard shoulder, or road edge, and constantly on guard for traffic. Gusting cross-winds meant extra concentration was needed and a firm grip on the bars. Was the canal with its tail wind just a dream?
Anyway, at least it wasn't raining.

Found Nimes Airport OK. Wasn’t sure I was in the right place as it has more names than Prince Charles. Saw it called Nimes Airport, Nimes Arles Camargue Airport and the local signs only describe it as Garons. It looks more military than civil. I expected a sign on the perimeter saying something like Nimes Airport – Gateway to Luton. Very little signage at all. The only flights I saw on the board the following day were to Luton and some equally forsaken airport in Belgium.

Discovered the only available Hotel after misunderstanding some directions. Les Aubins Country Hotel was the most expensive on the trip but I had done enough cycling in the wind and it was very comfortable. The restaurant was closed on Sunday but the chef made me a nice salad.(There is another cheaper hotel in the village but it was closed on this Sunday). There was only one other guest in the Hotel so my bike was stored in the Gym. Wasn't tempted to get on the treadmill! I was asleep in bed by eight. Did I mention it was windy? It was a bit of a challenging day but interesting cycling. I went through some pretty villages and towns and saw Flamingoes.

Bordeaux to Nimes on a bicycle Day 10 to Cap d'Agde

Narbonne Plage to Cap d’Agde – 52 km

Backbird

Good breakfast at the very imaginatively named Hotel de la Plage. Another cyclist was heading off to Barcelona to compete in the Triathlon. He offered me a lift but I told him my breaststroke wouldn’t be good enough (As if my running and biking would be!) Set off along the coast through St. Pierre sur Mer. At the end of the main street there is a short climb and then a right turn onto a quiet road that follows the coast, the Route des Vins. More vineyards and a few camp-sites. Crossed the Aude and headed on. The area became progressively more developed. I was making good progress until I got near Serignan. My Michelin map indicated a right turn would get me onto a quiet road. No such luck, a ditch that would have deterred Charlemagne stood between me and my side road. I suppose you have to go into Serignan to pick up the road. So I had to grit my teeth and pedal on down the busy road. Eventually, in the distance, I saw the rows of plane trees that meant I was nearing the canal du Midi again. My southerly diversion completed, it was good to be back off-road, ‘do your worst tree roots’! Pretty rutted and bumpy over the latter stages but I made it into Agde.

Went straight to the Gare SNCF to see if I could book my train home. The prices had quadrupled from what I had been quoted on-line at home. Took the bike route to Capd'Agde. Found a very nice Hotel near the Plage de Mole – the Hotel Bellvue. Went for a very brief swim in the sea thankful I wasn't practising for a Triathlon.

Plage de Mole

 Have to admit my last minute travel bookings for this trip were not too clever. I got a very good price on a train from High Wycombe to Bordeaux. Unfortunately, I had totally misread the bike regulations for TGV trains. So, from Lille, I was travelling on a train that would not take bikes. No problem, I will get a bike bag. Would have to be a light one so that I could carry it with me on my tour. Found the ideal bag but there was just one in the country, at an FW Evans in West London. So had to take the train into London and buy the bag. So my fare to Bordeaux may have been cheap but I now had to add the cost of the bike bag and a return train ticket to London. On top of that I failed to book a return ticket and now, at Agde, was being quoted 4 times the price I had expected. So needed to find another option - beam me up!


At Le Port, some very expensive boats

Cap d'Agde is a modern tourist resort that spreads its net very wide. It has everything from beaches, casino, tennis courts, yacht harbour, golf course and a fairground. Must be bursting at the seams in the high season. Don't think it would be everyones cup of tea. The hotel gave me a good restaurant to go to - La Manade just by the port. There are literally dozens to choose from. 

Bordeaux to Nimes on a bicycle Day 9 to Narbonne Plage

Day 9 - Le Somail to Narbonne Plage

Picking in progress

A good night’s sleep was punctuated only by my nocturnal wanderings downstairs and a jet screaming overhead. When you live on the flight path near Heathrow the last thing you want to be woken up by is a plane inches above the roof!
In the early dawn, grape-picking started in the field behind the house. The motorised picker would pass over a full row of vines. At the end it would empty its grapes into a waiting tractor and trailer. The tractor then sped off to the Cave. The picker would then turn around and pick the next row and be met by another tractor – and so on. Much more entertaining than breakfast telly! At breakfast, where I demolished everything, I joined a friendly Swiss/Canadian couple. They talked about disease, not theirs but the plane trees. Apparently the tall trees that line the canals are suffering and many may need to be felled. That could be a bit of a catastrophe! They don’t just look good and give shade. Their roots stabilise the banks and the leaves, when they fall into the water and sink, help to seal the canal. I had seen trees painted with horizontal green stripes but had not realised the significance. Amusingly, the chap was also very keen to loudly point out to Madame a couple of problems with their room. Apparently the shower base flexed when he stood on it and he was concerned that it might fracture and a guest fall through. That was pooh-poohed by Madame. My husband is very fat and he has tested it.

There was also a problem with the toilet flush but Madame said she had to clean it and liked it just the way it was. Wish I had an en-suite to complain about!


Les Escaliers

Anyway, went back to my room to let my breakfast settle, update my diary and watch further grape picking from my room. There was a knock at the door, would I mind leaving now because they had a job to do in Carcassonne and needed to leave in five minutes. Homps! I left. When the latter-day Bonnie and portly Clyde plus two other gang members set off in their Toyota, dragging a trailer, I was out on the street still loading my bike.

Le Comptoir Nature

It was 9am. Think they need to get their priorities sorted out. I headed off to see where the grape tractors were going.

Trees with disease

Soon after Le Somail I said goodbye to the canal du Midi and headed south down the Canal de la Robine. No sign-posting meant that I got lost around Salleles-d’Aude, at the point where the canal crosses the Aude river. Took to the road and headed through Cuxac and onto the D13 before seeing the rows of trees ahead where I could make a welcome return to the canal. The surface was good all the way to the city of Narbonne. Took a leisurely stroll through the town. It's clearly a nice place but not when you are in a canal frame of mind. Not attuned to the hustle and bustle I headed for the nearest Patisserie and picked up my lunch. This included a wonderful lemon brioche.


Canal de la Robine

The wind blew me all the way to Narbonne Plage along a well marked track. The cyclists going the other way were a tad disdainful of my wind borne progress . My merry bonjours were not always returned as they struggled into the wind.

Narbonne Town Hall



Just taking pussy out for a walk in Narbonne

Made it to the Med! Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside.

Bright and breezy by the Mediterranean. Just a few hardy souls on the beach and in the water. Very much an out of season look to the place. Booked into a One Star hotel on the front and went for a paddle. The water felt pretty cold. 

Narbonne Plage - beside the seaside

Bordeaux to Nimes on a bicycle Day 8 - Carcassonne to Le Somail

Day 8 Carcassonne to Le Somail - 70 km

Looking back towards the Citadel

Had a good nose around Carcassonne before the tourists arrived and then headed back towards my canal to resume the journey South.

On the way, I bumped into the nice Swiss couple from Berne who had blanched the previous day when I had brought up the subject of the recent defeat of Young Boys by the mighty Spurs - he-he!

The breakfast at the hostel was good but my route through town took me past yesterday's Patisserie and it would have been rude not to stop in and buy a little something for a morning break. Suitably armed I headed for the canal, took the left bank, wrong! The track petered out after a couple of kms.  I had to go in reverse back to the Gare and set off again this time on the right bank. I wasn't concerned in the least though, it was a lovely sunny day, the track was smooth, any wind was behind and it was downhill all the way.  
 

The canal was quite busy and there were a few cyclists going south, didn't recognise any though. The tree roots returned after a bit and then badly rutted sections. Bought my lunch by the bridge at a lovely Patisserie in Trebes. This was the first place I came across boaters tying up their boats to the trees. So the mooring ropes were right across my path. They should have tied up to stakes, lazy blighters. This meant cyclists and walkers having to weave through a gigantic cobweb of rope. Someone give me my sword!



Ecluse des Aiguilles

Had my lunch by a lock with lots of eccentric art-work – Ecluse des Aiguilles. Spoke to one British boating couple who live on their boat all year. They had just come down the Rhine from Strasbourg. Last year they wintered in Dijon with no heating and it got down to minus 12! They froze. This year they are wintering in Toulouse, did not envy them. Nothing wrong with Toulouse City but surely its going to be damp and cold and the canal area was not too hospitable.

Bit further on I stopped at a little shop in a small town to buy some water. Not knowing quite where I was I asked the lady the name of the town. She cleared her throat and said nothing. I asked again in a different way and she did the same again. It was only on the third attempt that it dawned on me that I was in 'Homps' with a silent H. Not sure why they picked such a boring name for the town, it didn't look too bad. Maybe someone had a frog in their throat and it just stuck? Most French towns and villages have brilliant long names.

Sluice and towpath

Sluice that allows excess water to flow
from the canal into the river below

The good ship Jacqueline

Took a few detours today, away from the canal and into small villages where the wine harvest is in full swing. There is a lovely all pervading smell around the Caves as they ‘tread’ the grapes. Stayed the night in Le Somail, a quiet little place. My B&B was quite a grand house built in 1836. The door bell was one of those pull jobbies, like an organ stop. I rang the bell, the door opened and quite an elegant Lady appeared. She looked me up and down. I could have said, ‘haven’t you ever seen a man in a silly helmet and shorts before’ She let me stay but she asked me to pay on arrival; she wasn't French. My room was on the first floor and bathroom on the ground. I didn't count them but there must have been at least 39 steps of a stone spiral staircase twixt room and shower/toilet. Nice comfortable room though. I ate at the restaurant over the road, Le Comptoir Nature, which was excellent. I had the lamb. The people at the next table were locals out on a treat at their favourite restaurant in the area. Back at my house, all was quiet.

Bordeaux to Nimes on a bicycle Day 7 to Carcassonne

Castelnaudary to Carcassonne - 44 km

The canal basin at Castelnaudary

Spot the hat

 We bumped our way to Carcassonne. Had to focus on the track ahead to avoid tree roots. Took a few hits though – ouch! A mountain bike would be a much more comfortable experience on the Canal du Midi. The canal itself seems to be getting progressively busier with boats jostling at the locks as we moved south, back into grape country.

After a failed inner tube on Stephens’s bike, probably a compression puncture or snake bite, and some leisurely lock watching we still reached the tourist magnet of Carcassonne in time for some lunch. We had to leave the canal shortly before town and take to the road but soon arrived at the Gare and found the necessary Patisserie in the ‘new town’.

We sat in a square and watched the people go by, an admirable past-time on a sunny early Autumn afternoon. The Youth Hostel was located inside the old Citadel so I headed there whilst Les Ecossaise headed for their pre-booked accommodation.

The Musketeers arrive at Carcassonne

Their plan of flying into Carcassonne on RyanAir and then hiring bikes has a lot going for it.

It’s quite straightforward to take the train up to Toulouse or Bordeaux or, alternatively, to come back from Montpellier or Narbonne with the bikes. Not all trains have a bike compartment though. Their hire bikes were not that great and, I suppose at the end of the season, the tubes and tyres can be the worse for wear. It costs about 50 Euros a week to hire a basic bike.

Bringing a bike on RyanAir costs 40 Euros each way. However the Hand luggage allowance is only 10kg so if you can ship your checked baggage in the bike bag you can offset the 15 or 20 Euro each way cost of baggage. Of course, you get the additional hassle of taking the bike apart and putting it back together again a couple of times.

Anyway, I headed for the Citadel, over the draw-bridge and up the hill. I checked in, cost about 20 Euros including breakfast, and set out to tour the ramparts.

And how did Carcassonne get its name?

Charlemagne had the place under siege for about 5 years when Princess Carcas who was the boss lady had the idea of stuffing a pig full of grain and throwing it over the ramparts. When it hit the ground it burst, spreading grain everywhere. Charlemagne and his attackers thinking that, if they can waste all that food they must have plenty left, gave up and lifted the siege. Seeing them leaving, Carcas rang the bells.
‘Carcas sonne’ (carcas rings). Don’t think the legend ‘rings true’ somehow, what parent is going to call their daughter Carcas?

Today, there is no shortage of food within the old city walls, there are literally dozens of restaurants and during the day the place is besieged by tour buses. I think Princess Carcas would have done a runner with the pig in close pursuit. Staying within the walls at least meant I could have a look around after the tourists had headed for their hotels and before they rolled up in the morning.

Had an au revoir meal with the Musketeers in the citadel. I was on the ramparts when I spotted them walking up from the new town. My youth hostel was in a great location, a short-walk to the restaurant and a short hop to bed. This was the cause of some comments from my weary compatriots who had a long walk back home. They had been good company for the past few days and I was sure they would make it as it was partly downhill.

Over the rooftops of Carcasssonne

My convenient hostel was not as convivial as expected, none of the usual travelling banter. The place had wi-fi (pronounced wee-fee) so people had their noses in Notebooks most of the time, that’s progress I suppose. Never mind, it was very good value and clean.