Day 4 Carcassonne to Olargues
If there is any concern about insufficient pattiserie consumption on this trip, this photo from breakfast should be reassuring. The pains aux raisins were snaffled and wolfed down at the morning snack stop.
We stopped at the village of Caunes Menervois with a huge plane tree and a very photogenic moggy.
Today’s route took us into Haut Languedoc and the route profile looked a bit worrying with a 12 mile climb in the middle.
We started off rolling through beautiful Minervois vineyards in gorgeous sunny weather with spectacular blue skies again.
The daunting prospect of the 12 mile hill actually turned into a enjoyable potter upwards and I managed to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone as the gradient wasn’t too evil. Obviously I also had to stop for photographic purposes...
Lunch was just over the top of the climb with a fantastic view.
There is always a balance between eating enough to fuel the cycling efforts and stuffing one’s tummy to the point of indigestion. I think the latter happened today which apparently also affected my brain cells, so I missed a left turn and carried on down the hill for a mile, which meant more climbing to get back to the route.
After the usual ablutions, I forced the tired body into action and went for a walk around the beautiful, medieval village and up to the bell tower, a remnant of a 11th century castle, with great views of the 13th century Devil’s Bridge.
In these strange Covid times, the pre-dinner history chat was delivered via Zoom by Ben Kane who has written a novel about Hannibal and has ridden this trip as a historical consultant. I do love a bit of history and I knew nothing about that era so it gave an alternative perspective ie not just about climbing big hills on a bike!
We stopped at the village of Caunes Menervois with a huge plane tree and a very photogenic moggy.
Today’s route took us into Haut Languedoc and the route profile looked a bit worrying with a 12 mile climb in the middle.
We started off rolling through beautiful Minervois vineyards in gorgeous sunny weather with spectacular blue skies again.
The daunting prospect of the 12 mile hill actually turned into a enjoyable potter upwards and I managed to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone as the gradient wasn’t too evil. Obviously I also had to stop for photographic purposes...
Lunch was just over the top of the climb with a fantastic view.
There is always a balance between eating enough to fuel the cycling efforts and stuffing one’s tummy to the point of indigestion. I think the latter happened today which apparently also affected my brain cells, so I missed a left turn and carried on down the hill for a mile, which meant more climbing to get back to the route.
After another rather rude hill, it was mostly downhill all the way to Olargues, just as well as the temperature was getting rather toasty.
After the usual ablutions, I forced the tired body into action and went for a walk around the beautiful, medieval village and up to the bell tower, a remnant of a 11th century castle, with great views of the 13th century Devil’s Bridge.
In these strange Covid times, the pre-dinner history chat was delivered via Zoom by Ben Kane who has written a novel about Hannibal and has ridden this trip as a historical consultant. I do love a bit of history and I knew nothing about that era so it gave an alternative perspective ie not just about climbing big hills on a bike!
Dinner was at Restaurant Fleurs d’Olagues, overlooking the old town with a Danish chef who serves beautiful and delicious food. A perfect end to another great day.
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