Day 19 Montpellier to Narbonne (then on to Gruissan Plage)

leaving Montpellier

I have done it! I am writing this in the hotel "Accueil des Plages" in Gruissan having cycled through Narbonne to get here. With my many "detours" today may actually have been my first hundred miler. It certainly felt like it. The problem is that the coastline is bordered by many many miles of low lying boggy ground which often turns into shallow etangs. So on the map although Montpellier to Beziers is a straightforward fifty miles, the RN113 routes itself way north of a straight line, and it doesn't have a hard shoulder, so it makes for unpleasant cycling. Every time I tried to find an alternative route I got lost adding miles to the day. The alternative roads were mostly really small roads which don't have many signs so you need to constantly stop to check the map. Anyway enough moaning.  I am here. I am in one piece. Actually the legs are not too bad. I am feeling good and all is well with my little corner of the world.

Florensac monument

As the afternoon progressed it got hotter and hotter, just what I had expected from the first. My water bottles which I had refilled in the park at Florensac at my lunch stop were getting emptgier and I was getting thirstier and hotter by the minute without any signs of cafe or shops. Finally when I was getting desperate I came to a Super U supermarket in Coursan where I attracted very strange looks with my beetroot face and sweat rolling down - I am sure you've got the picture. I got my 1.5 litre bottle of water and promptly drank most of it before I got out of the shop. Nearly back to square one.

Thus refreshed I decided to change my plan to paddle with my bike in the Mediterranean tomorrow and to go do it this evening. So I sailed through Narbonne which was quite quiet traffic wise unusually, and on down to Gruissan where I accosted the poor unsuspecting girl behind the huge reception counter to take my picture. I had arrived and had the photo (but not the t shirt.) Armed with a list of hotels I set off to complete my two remaining tasks - a celebratory drink in the bar overlooking the beach, and to dip a wheel and some of me in the Mediterranean in ceremonial fashion.

Cheers!

The first part was easy and the Pelforth Blonde tasted especially good after a hard day's ride. the second task was a bit harder.

The tide was out and it was really hard work pushing my thin tyred Dawes over the soft sand. As I got nearer the water I began to create quite a stir and people were staring but I didn't care I was on a mission. As I got to the water's edge I heard a cry of, " Don't do it. It won't float!" He would become my photographer. I hoped he would be  a better photographer than comedian.

So it is finished. I have done it. I am camped outside Rome ready to ride in tomorrow to receive my triumph and the keys to the city. (What an imagination.) But I am looking forward to seeing David and Steph (and any other Brits who are there) and Gisele and Andre and Didier and  Collette  and seeing how the vendange is progressing. I plan to arrive at 12.00 which gives me time to have a leisurely breakfast and a very leisurely cycle to Raissac.

How does it feel? I have a sense of achievement and a quiet sense of satisfaction which I am sure will grow as I look back.