Final Day - Gruissan Plage to Raissac d' Aude

Monsieur le maire

The leisurely stuff went out of the window, when I slept in and woke up at 9.37! I hadn't slept past 8 before at any time on the road so I  hadn't bothered to set the alarm.

I hadn’t slept well with various thoughts bouncing around in my head. I had watched France play Belorusse at football on tv which was boring enough to have sent half the population of France off to sleep. “I’m going to be late,” I thought as I hurriedly went through my morning routine. The chamois crème got its last outing just to "stick" to the routine.
It was ironic that the only day there was a timetable I was going to be late!

The welcome offered to all visitors

By the time I had packed everything up for the last time and checked out of the hotel having thrown some breakfast down me It was 10.30 and I wasn’t sure if I could make it to Raissac for 12.

David, a now permanent resident of Raissac,  had phoned me a couple of times earlier in the week to check on my progress and to try to  tie me down to an arrival time, so I knew that something was planned, but I had no idea that I would receive the welcome that awaited me.

However it was not be a leisurely final cycle,  for there was a headwind,  and I was really pushing the pace ( or so I thought until I was passed by another cyclist, who was at least my age, who sped off into the distance) I pushed on and reached the edge of the village with three minutes to spare, so I was able to relax and take a photo before riding in to a wonderful welcoming committee who all began to applaud, seemingly spontaneously.

 I was stunned and found it hard to take it all in. There were three huge, very professional looking banners, which had been hung on the railings, "Bienvenue Welcome" , "brian's big bike ride arrivee", " Calais en velo Raissac" and photos in front of the Mairie,  followed by a little drinks party in the garden of the mairie. Everyone was very welcoming and I felt like a minor celebrity and that I had reached home. It all flashed by and I wish that I could describe it better but it felt very good to receive such a welcome and to know that so many people had come to greet me.

I would like to take this final opportunity to thank everyone for their support. Thank you!

The following article appeared in the Midi Libre ( the local daily newspaper) on Thursday September 8th

Calais-Raissac en vélo

Brian Forrester, instituteur dans le canton de Fife près d'Edimbourg en Ecosse et son épouse Pauline, professeur de collège, ont eu le coup de foudre il y a quelques années pour le calme de notre petit village. Ils y font des séjours réguliers au moment des vacances scolaires et ils apprécient le soleil du midi. Jusque-là Brian pratiquait le cyclisme en dilettante, pour le plaisir. Mais récemment retraité, il avait décidé de parcourir Calais-Raissac en solitaire en vélo pour récolter des fonds pour l'association"Les Samaritains" en Ecosse. Animée par des bénévoles, cette association s'occupe des personnes dépressives de tout âge qui ont besoin d'un soutien psychologique et cela 24 heures sur 24. Brian a réalisé son rêve assez facilement puisqu'il n'a pas eu une seule crevaison sur son long

parcours de 1 500 km. Parti de Calais le 16 août, il s'était fixé comme objectif de parcourir environ 100 km par jour sur les routes secondaires. Il a fait étape à Berk-Plage, Amiens, Soissons, Cézanne, Troyes, Chatillon-sur-Seine, Dijon, Châlons-sur-Saône, Villefranche-sur-Saône, Lyon, Valence, Orange, Montpellier, Gruissan-Plage. Sur chacun de ces sites, il prenait du repos et des forces dans de petits hôtels et il s'est aussi accordé 4 jours de relâche dans son circuit afin de récupérer pleinement. C'est donc le 4 septembre qu'il est arrivé à Raissac tout sourire, heureux d'avoir réussi son pari et d'être accueilli par ses amis devant la mairie comme un vrai champion. Après ce périple mémorable, Brian rejoindra son Ecosse natale où l'attendent impatiemment son épouse Pauline encore en activité mais aussi sa petite fille Rudy. Aux prochaines vacances dans la rue du Tilleul !

If you don't read French this is basically a nice summary of the whole of the blog. If you do read French - I lied!