Mike, You Da Man!!
It was a dark & stormy night, and the rain came down in torrents...
- Thread starter MikeO
- Start date
Gvcrt
Registered user
Great ride report Mike,looking forward to the next update. Keep dry & ride safe
3rd November 2012 - Continued…
The Adv’s packed and I’m on the road at 0900 heading towards dry weather and perhaps a little sunshine…
I get both straight away, as Bettie directs me onto a wide, fast N-road (National) heading vaguely southwest.
The road is the outer ring for St Etienne, by the look of it. There are some huge Stalinist apartment blocks built on the hillside
For the first time this trip, I’m not wrapped to the eyeballs in waterproofs and I feel that I can take time to smell the roses – which is what travelling is all about (to me, anyway). There is a blue sky, decorated with a mackerel skin of stratus, a light breeze from the right and it’s about 55° F.
Life is good…
My target for tonight is Narbonne, where I have a room booked. Bettie reckons I’ll be there for 1430 if I don’t stop.
I intend to stop.
For the time being I'm going to let Bettie get me away from the city - we're heading for a favourite destination of mine in this part of the world - Le Puy-en-Velay.
I use the 110kph limit as a guideline. The Adv is running well and all's right with the world. The misery of the last couple of days fades into memory.
I see a lot of these - each signifying someone killed in a road collision at that spot. Sometimes three or four together...
Onwards!
I start the descent into Le Puy - I intend to refuel here...
Always time for a bridge shot, though...
Le Puy is famous for the enormous volcanic plugs that rise out of the valley floor...
...and more so for what they've built atop them...
I went up there one summer. There isn't a lift, you know...
The red sandstone Madonna & Child on the other outcrop is obviously having a makeover.
I fill the tank at an Intermarche and set off back onto my planned route...
Stopping for a couple of pics as I climb out of Le Puy...
Aah - the pleasure of wearing unlined gloves...
I'm smiling behind the visor...
I get cracking again - great roads and a route I'll definitely be keeping to redo on a summer trip. There's some weather on the horizon to my right, but that's not where I'm headed.
The road climbs and the temperature - in Le Puy a comfortable 58° F, drops to the mid 40s. The humidity is high, which makes the change more noticeable - I switch the heated grips on and ease the power on to my heated jacket.
Well, any fool can be uncomfortable, can't they?
The chap in the silver car was doing 45kph in a 90kph zone - with solid lines preventing overtaking. The Golf and I were forced to sit behind him for eight kilometres, before we both turned off to the right at the same junction.
I'm soon past the Golf as well, heading down some narrower, more interesting D-roads, ultimately heading towards the city of Mende...
Just short of Mende, I pull off into a roadside Aire to have a breather and spend some time chatting to some friends at home. My Vodafone £3 per day Euro Traveller deal means I get to use my phone anywhere in Europe as if I was at home - in my case unlimited calls & texts and 2Gb of data...
It's now a beautiful morning, with the temperature brushing 60° F and bright sunshine. It feels a lifetime away from yesterday afternoon.
Time to move on.
As I enter Mende, I remember that this is the stepping off point for the Gorges du Tarn - a route I discovered by accident when travelling solo several years ago and which Peter and I revisited in 2009 (I think). I turn off my pre-planned route and head for the gorges.
Until I'm distracted...
OK - I need some lunch...
I get a ham salad baguette and a bag of assorted pastries, together with Lipton's Peach Iced Tea.
My tank bag has an extending zip, which I undo to allow storage of said lunch. My bike gear is not so equipped, alas...
There's a considerable climb over a col to get to the gorge on the Tarn valley - several sets of really tight switchbacks - I'm having flashbacks to the Alps...
Once at the top, there's a lovely area of heathland...
...which gives me the perfect place to stop and have lunch...
The baguette was delicious. Unfortunately, it would appear the bag of pastries was a special offer and they were stale, so went to feed the local wildlife (well, except for one pain-au-raisin).
I ride slowly down the gorge - it's very different from riding here in the summer, where there is a continual stream of riders from all over Europe tearing up and down. It's nice to take a little time and enjoy the views...
It is a great road on a bike, though...
I don't know what effect this deviation from my planned route will have on my ETA - but don't really care...
...which is one of the luxuries of travelling solo...
There are houses built in seemingly impossible places...
...and the Tarn has beautifully clear water. It's full of kayakers and rafters every summer - in fact, dodging crew-buses towing boat trailers is an occupational hazard then. But not on this early November afternoon...
Today it's just me and a load of other (four wheeled) tourists...
Another good reason for taking it easy is the work they've been doing on the road surface. The dreaded Gravillons are everywhere - and quite good at disguising themselves...
It's a great afternoon...
...for a ride though...
I'm smiling inside
Onward!
A crafty bonus for bridge fans...
...and for the sub-set of tunnel freaks...
Can't help myself - I duck when riding along here
This is the Hotel Les Detroits...
Closed for the season, but Peter & I stayed here when we last came through and can recommend it...
I duck through the last of the overhangs and then start making tracks towards Millau - some 20km away...
Famous for its breath-taking viaduct - seen here on the distance - Millau will see me re-join my original route. We won't be going much closer to the viaduct, as I steer the Adv up the twisty and fast D999...
Well, one quick snap then...
I'm too busy to take pictures on the way up, but the road is superb and it crests onto a good fast dual carriageway...
...which is exactly what's required to make some progress towards Narbonne - still 100 miles away...
Strange rock formations on the horizon to my right look like ruined castles, but are completely natural...
A great road with very little traffic...
I'm steered through a small town (Cavaliera??), where they've sympathetically renovated this stone barn as a sort of function centre in the village...
I'm soon back out of town. This was obviously the old road before the AutoRoute was built and it's good and fast...
Sometimes it runs directly alongside the AutoRoute for several miles...
Apart from the crucifix, all this is a natural rock formation...
The village of Le Caylar is big on wood carving, apparently...
That reminds me - it's past my teatime...
This is a beautiful part of the world - and, with the leaves turning, a great time of year to see it...
...as usual, the camera doesn't even begin to do justice to it...
I carry on down the 'Grand Route' and seem to be heading directly for the setting sun...
Through some beautiful avenues of Plane trees...
...and past what - if memory serves me correctly - is a six foot replica of a Humphrey Davy safety lamp. Clearly a mining area, then. It was a town called Le Ruffas.
I've hardly seen any other bikes. This clutch were heading in the opposite direction, then turned around and passed me...
Giving me a racer's wave with their right legs as they did so...
Bridge fans are getting a treat today, aren't they?
I turn off the road where that picture was taken and ride up through the town, where the viaduct just continues...
I'm riding into a low sun now - it's very bright and I really miss the peak on my XD.
I notice a natural phenomenon and stop at the roadside. There are tens of thousands of starlings 'murmating' (I had to look it up). They are moving in a swarm, but with some organisation to it. I watch for several minutes and try to capture it on video. I may try to post a link if I can work out how. It's awe inspiring to stand and watch...
But I must move on.
At 1645 I'm about ten miles out from the hotel and I stop for fuel.
Getting back on the road, I'm relieved to see that the sun's behind a cloud formation...
...that looks disturbingly like a scorpion heading for me - or perhaps I've been on the road too long...
Soon...
I'm given Room Number One - with a parking slot right outside - excellent. I unpack and start to upload 230 pictures.
It has been a very good day...
The Adv’s packed and I’m on the road at 0900 heading towards dry weather and perhaps a little sunshine…
I get both straight away, as Bettie directs me onto a wide, fast N-road (National) heading vaguely southwest.
The road is the outer ring for St Etienne, by the look of it. There are some huge Stalinist apartment blocks built on the hillside
For the first time this trip, I’m not wrapped to the eyeballs in waterproofs and I feel that I can take time to smell the roses – which is what travelling is all about (to me, anyway). There is a blue sky, decorated with a mackerel skin of stratus, a light breeze from the right and it’s about 55° F.
Life is good…
My target for tonight is Narbonne, where I have a room booked. Bettie reckons I’ll be there for 1430 if I don’t stop.
I intend to stop.
For the time being I'm going to let Bettie get me away from the city - we're heading for a favourite destination of mine in this part of the world - Le Puy-en-Velay.
I use the 110kph limit as a guideline. The Adv is running well and all's right with the world. The misery of the last couple of days fades into memory.
I see a lot of these - each signifying someone killed in a road collision at that spot. Sometimes three or four together...
Onwards!
I start the descent into Le Puy - I intend to refuel here...
Always time for a bridge shot, though...
Le Puy is famous for the enormous volcanic plugs that rise out of the valley floor...
...and more so for what they've built atop them...
I went up there one summer. There isn't a lift, you know...
The red sandstone Madonna & Child on the other outcrop is obviously having a makeover.
I fill the tank at an Intermarche and set off back onto my planned route...
Stopping for a couple of pics as I climb out of Le Puy...
Aah - the pleasure of wearing unlined gloves...
I'm smiling behind the visor...
I get cracking again - great roads and a route I'll definitely be keeping to redo on a summer trip. There's some weather on the horizon to my right, but that's not where I'm headed.
The road climbs and the temperature - in Le Puy a comfortable 58° F, drops to the mid 40s. The humidity is high, which makes the change more noticeable - I switch the heated grips on and ease the power on to my heated jacket.
Well, any fool can be uncomfortable, can't they?
The chap in the silver car was doing 45kph in a 90kph zone - with solid lines preventing overtaking. The Golf and I were forced to sit behind him for eight kilometres, before we both turned off to the right at the same junction.
I'm soon past the Golf as well, heading down some narrower, more interesting D-roads, ultimately heading towards the city of Mende...
Just short of Mende, I pull off into a roadside Aire to have a breather and spend some time chatting to some friends at home. My Vodafone £3 per day Euro Traveller deal means I get to use my phone anywhere in Europe as if I was at home - in my case unlimited calls & texts and 2Gb of data...
It's now a beautiful morning, with the temperature brushing 60° F and bright sunshine. It feels a lifetime away from yesterday afternoon.
Time to move on.
As I enter Mende, I remember that this is the stepping off point for the Gorges du Tarn - a route I discovered by accident when travelling solo several years ago and which Peter and I revisited in 2009 (I think). I turn off my pre-planned route and head for the gorges.
Until I'm distracted...
OK - I need some lunch...
I get a ham salad baguette and a bag of assorted pastries, together with Lipton's Peach Iced Tea.
My tank bag has an extending zip, which I undo to allow storage of said lunch. My bike gear is not so equipped, alas...
There's a considerable climb over a col to get to the gorge on the Tarn valley - several sets of really tight switchbacks - I'm having flashbacks to the Alps...
Once at the top, there's a lovely area of heathland...
...which gives me the perfect place to stop and have lunch...
The baguette was delicious. Unfortunately, it would appear the bag of pastries was a special offer and they were stale, so went to feed the local wildlife (well, except for one pain-au-raisin).
I ride slowly down the gorge - it's very different from riding here in the summer, where there is a continual stream of riders from all over Europe tearing up and down. It's nice to take a little time and enjoy the views...
It is a great road on a bike, though...
I don't know what effect this deviation from my planned route will have on my ETA - but don't really care...
...which is one of the luxuries of travelling solo...
There are houses built in seemingly impossible places...
...and the Tarn has beautifully clear water. It's full of kayakers and rafters every summer - in fact, dodging crew-buses towing boat trailers is an occupational hazard then. But not on this early November afternoon...
Today it's just me and a load of other (four wheeled) tourists...
Another good reason for taking it easy is the work they've been doing on the road surface. The dreaded Gravillons are everywhere - and quite good at disguising themselves...
It's a great afternoon...
...for a ride though...
I'm smiling inside
Onward!
A crafty bonus for bridge fans...
...and for the sub-set of tunnel freaks...
Can't help myself - I duck when riding along here
This is the Hotel Les Detroits...
Closed for the season, but Peter & I stayed here when we last came through and can recommend it...
I duck through the last of the overhangs and then start making tracks towards Millau - some 20km away...
Famous for its breath-taking viaduct - seen here on the distance - Millau will see me re-join my original route. We won't be going much closer to the viaduct, as I steer the Adv up the twisty and fast D999...
Well, one quick snap then...
I'm too busy to take pictures on the way up, but the road is superb and it crests onto a good fast dual carriageway...
...which is exactly what's required to make some progress towards Narbonne - still 100 miles away...
Strange rock formations on the horizon to my right look like ruined castles, but are completely natural...
A great road with very little traffic...
I'm steered through a small town (Cavaliera??), where they've sympathetically renovated this stone barn as a sort of function centre in the village...
I'm soon back out of town. This was obviously the old road before the AutoRoute was built and it's good and fast...
Sometimes it runs directly alongside the AutoRoute for several miles...
Apart from the crucifix, all this is a natural rock formation...
The village of Le Caylar is big on wood carving, apparently...
That reminds me - it's past my teatime...
This is a beautiful part of the world - and, with the leaves turning, a great time of year to see it...
...as usual, the camera doesn't even begin to do justice to it...
I carry on down the 'Grand Route' and seem to be heading directly for the setting sun...
Through some beautiful avenues of Plane trees...
...and past what - if memory serves me correctly - is a six foot replica of a Humphrey Davy safety lamp. Clearly a mining area, then. It was a town called Le Ruffas.
I've hardly seen any other bikes. This clutch were heading in the opposite direction, then turned around and passed me...
Giving me a racer's wave with their right legs as they did so...
Bridge fans are getting a treat today, aren't they?
I turn off the road where that picture was taken and ride up through the town, where the viaduct just continues...
I'm riding into a low sun now - it's very bright and I really miss the peak on my XD.
I notice a natural phenomenon and stop at the roadside. There are tens of thousands of starlings 'murmating' (I had to look it up). They are moving in a swarm, but with some organisation to it. I watch for several minutes and try to capture it on video. I may try to post a link if I can work out how. It's awe inspiring to stand and watch...
But I must move on.
At 1645 I'm about ten miles out from the hotel and I stop for fuel.
Getting back on the road, I'm relieved to see that the sun's behind a cloud formation...
...that looks disturbingly like a scorpion heading for me - or perhaps I've been on the road too long...
Soon...
I'm given Room Number One - with a parking slot right outside - excellent. I unpack and start to upload 230 pictures.
It has been a very good day...
Starling murmuration
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Please mute the sound - lots of traffic noise. This is only 20 secs or so long - I really didn't have the right equipment for the job - but it was an awe-inspiring sight...
Mike
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Please mute the sound - lots of traffic noise. This is only 20 secs or so long - I really didn't have the right equipment for the job - but it was an awe-inspiring sight...
Mike
Hey mike, could I ask where you got you aux light bar from?
Looks nice n neat.
It's a Micatech titanium bar IIRC - now out of production I believe...
Mike
Watch this professional video - outstanding... 
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eakKfY5aHmY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eakKfY5aHmY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another excellent day's report - I can see this will be the first post I look for every day you're on this trip. I had an Autumn trip recently to the Mosel & realised that the traffic is so much lighter than in the summer, makes it worth taking a bit of a chance with the weather.
Sigh ... I was in the tarn about a month ago (and yes, there was fecking Gravel everywhere 
). We went to Mirepoix from the Tarn and then south towards Luchon.
Happy days ... wish I was back there ....
). We went to Mirepoix from the Tarn and then south towards Luchon.Happy days ... wish I was back there ....
Enjoying this, thanks.
4th November 2012
I awake after a sound night's sleep to a bright overcast morning...
A quick raid of the breakfast buffet...
...and then it's time to pack the bike.
More later...
I awake after a sound night's sleep to a bright overcast morning...
A quick raid of the breakfast buffet...
...and then it's time to pack the bike.
More later...
3rd November 2012
The village of Le Caylar is big on wood carving, apparently...
Enjoying this Mike................
A group of us stopped at La Caylar on the way back from Corsica in 2007 (was it really that long ago......?) for lunch, we met Shenzi (R.I.P.)formerly of this parish who led us over "The Bridge"
We stopped at this lovely family run restaraunt (spot the tossers formerly of this parish.....)
Plenty of parking space near the tree in question;
Enjoy your trip Mike
That's more like it Mike. This now feels more like a proper MikeO ride report.
We've had the food pictures, now need some of the various canines that are so attracted to Mike.
Thanks Mike,
Meself and Mrs Og looking at this - you've reminded us both of some of our favourite bits of France and brought back great memories of past tours and got us hungering for new tours
.
Meself and Mrs Og looking at this - you've reminded us both of some of our favourite bits of France and brought back great memories of past tours and got us hungering for new tours
.
4th November 2012 – Continued
The breakfast buffet was disappointing. Whereas the dining area was much more pleasant than yesterday’s, there was no hot food on offer (normally B&B supply scrambled eggs and ham). Never mind – I pack the bike and set off at the crack of ten o’clock.
It is Sunday, after all…
It’s a muggy, mild morning with a high overcast beginning to break up to the southwest - which is the direction I am heading today.
About ten minutes into the ride, I get my first view of the Mediterranean and pull over to the side of the road and take off my heated jacket. I hadn’t had it plugged in, and was wearing it more out of habit than anything else (I haven’t got a thermal liner in my jacket). But this morning it’s already 60° F and humid – so the liner is banished to the pannier. It feels good to be riding in lighter weight kit – if the cloud will just burn off, there is the making of a lovely day’s weather…
Bettie has directed me - again - down the old highway, which was here before the AutoRoute. To the right, beyond the vineyards...
...is the AutoRoute, whilst to the left...
...are the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse - high speed train) lines, then saltmarshes and the Mediterranean.
It's a pleasant, but unengaging ride - but probably a lot nicer than being back in the UK...
I keep the speed pretty close to the limit and saunter along, enjoying the warmth (and dryness)...
Bettie steers me through a number of small towns...
I stop at the roadside to get a better look at the horizon...
...where the Pyrenees, swathed in cloud, are coming into view.
The temperature is slowly climbing through the mid-sixties and - quite suddenly - a large proportion of the cloud burns off and the day starts to realise its potential...
It's glorious. I can feel the sun hot on my face and all's well with the world...
Time to tackle the Pyrenees, I think...
I come across this road sign. I have no idea what it restricts (unless it means no car bombs or cars that are on fire - the numbers of which, I would think, would be unlikely to be greatly reduced by the posting of a sign). Anyone?
There's a bustling Sunday market...
...but it doesn't hold me up for long...
They have very stylish streetlights.
I start climbing. Traffic is fairly heavy and generally slow moving...
The AutoRoute is elevated way above us...
Ultimately, the traffic comes to a virtual halt, as we enter the border town of Le Perthus...
Border towns the world over have the same feel - a bit seedy and scruffy. We've passed several stores at the roadside offering stuff for sale that is more expensive the other side of the border - this will undoubtedly be mirrored on the Spanish side...
La Perthus is heaving, though - business is good...
Like most European borders, the posts are unmanned...
I notice my phone - plugged into its new cable in the map pocket of my tank bag - isn't charging. I check it and find that the new cable has failed...
There are trucks parked everywhere for the next few miles. Like all other border towns, the local economy adapts to exploit its transitory customers...
I wander what train of circumstances led to these girls plying their trade in a (deserted) rest area this Sunday morning? They were at least more subtle than the last truck stop, where one of the girls was just wearing underwear...
I am approaching Figueres, birthplace of Salvador Dali. I spent a few days with Jorge & Sheila (ADVrider’s Rubber Cow & Rubber Frau) here a few years back. I turn off and ride trough the town, but can't seem to find the main square...
I re-join the highway and continue to press southwest...
I notice some movement behind the grill on this trailer - he has three small dogs in there...
One thing I have noticed in France and now in Spain - Sunday is definitely not a business day. In the UK it's almost the same as a weekday (but with slightly shorter opening hours), but here I pass through huge lines of retail warehouses, all shut.
Unfortunately, all the restaurants are shut too...
I am contemplating doing the unthinkable - going to MacDonalds - when I spot a cafe open for business...
I am served with a delicious pizza...
Whilst I wait for it to arrive I notice that it's not just the Brits who seem besotted with the British Royal family...
I am also forced to have this...
...which tastes better than it looks. And it looks pretty good...
...I spend a few minutes contemplating life, the universe and my expanding girth, before someone lighting a cigarette at the next table spurs me into getting kitted back up and making tracks.
The thermometer on my bike reads just over 80° F, although it's in full sun. It is warm though - in the low 70s I'd think...
For several miles, I ride through a series of retail parks, industrial zooms and town centres - they all merge together...
Traffic is heavy and road users are not paying as much attention as they might...
...so I have to keep my wits about me. No easy thing when you're digesting a large lunch. Perhaps that's why they invented the siesta...
Eventually I'm on a (slightly) more open road and looking with concern at the build-up of cloud ahead. I chose today's route specifically because there was no forecast precipitation...
Autumn colours are everywhere - beautiful...
Onwards!
I get routed through a couple more town centres, some of which have some interesting architecture...
I fill up at 1415. The guy behind the counter had to swipe my card twice, as the first time he couldn't get a connection. When this has happened in the UK, I'm generally given a slip showing the transaction was void - not so here. I ask and he suddenly doesn't understand English nearly so well. I think it's legit, though...
Random Dali-sequel sculpture on roundabouts...
There were lots of stands of these trees (birch?) - so many that they must be grown as a crop - any idea what this timber might be used for?
You didn't think you were going to get away without a picture of a bridge today, did you?
They have speed cameras here too, although these all seem to be signed. They look like this...
Pretty soon I'm entering the northeastern extremes of Barcelona, passing more deserted retail areas. Bettie directs me to...
...the Sidorme Hotel, which I booked online last night. It's a chain that's a partner of B&B and similarly offers free Wi-Fi and good rates. For my €40.50 I get a double room...
...with view of my bike...
...breakfast, Wi-Fi and free tea and coffee. The latter is from a machine and I will not be revisiting it...
As I unload the bike, a few spots of rain start to fall...
The breakfast buffet was disappointing. Whereas the dining area was much more pleasant than yesterday’s, there was no hot food on offer (normally B&B supply scrambled eggs and ham). Never mind – I pack the bike and set off at the crack of ten o’clock.
It is Sunday, after all…
It’s a muggy, mild morning with a high overcast beginning to break up to the southwest - which is the direction I am heading today.
About ten minutes into the ride, I get my first view of the Mediterranean and pull over to the side of the road and take off my heated jacket. I hadn’t had it plugged in, and was wearing it more out of habit than anything else (I haven’t got a thermal liner in my jacket). But this morning it’s already 60° F and humid – so the liner is banished to the pannier. It feels good to be riding in lighter weight kit – if the cloud will just burn off, there is the making of a lovely day’s weather…
Bettie has directed me - again - down the old highway, which was here before the AutoRoute. To the right, beyond the vineyards...
...is the AutoRoute, whilst to the left...
...are the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse - high speed train) lines, then saltmarshes and the Mediterranean.
It's a pleasant, but unengaging ride - but probably a lot nicer than being back in the UK...
I keep the speed pretty close to the limit and saunter along, enjoying the warmth (and dryness)...
Bettie steers me through a number of small towns...
I stop at the roadside to get a better look at the horizon...
...where the Pyrenees, swathed in cloud, are coming into view.
The temperature is slowly climbing through the mid-sixties and - quite suddenly - a large proportion of the cloud burns off and the day starts to realise its potential...
It's glorious. I can feel the sun hot on my face and all's well with the world...
Time to tackle the Pyrenees, I think...
I come across this road sign. I have no idea what it restricts (unless it means no car bombs or cars that are on fire - the numbers of which, I would think, would be unlikely to be greatly reduced by the posting of a sign). Anyone?
There's a bustling Sunday market...
...but it doesn't hold me up for long...
They have very stylish streetlights.
I start climbing. Traffic is fairly heavy and generally slow moving...
The AutoRoute is elevated way above us...
Ultimately, the traffic comes to a virtual halt, as we enter the border town of Le Perthus...
Border towns the world over have the same feel - a bit seedy and scruffy. We've passed several stores at the roadside offering stuff for sale that is more expensive the other side of the border - this will undoubtedly be mirrored on the Spanish side...
La Perthus is heaving, though - business is good...
Like most European borders, the posts are unmanned...
I notice my phone - plugged into its new cable in the map pocket of my tank bag - isn't charging. I check it and find that the new cable has failed...
There are trucks parked everywhere for the next few miles. Like all other border towns, the local economy adapts to exploit its transitory customers...
I wander what train of circumstances led to these girls plying their trade in a (deserted) rest area this Sunday morning? They were at least more subtle than the last truck stop, where one of the girls was just wearing underwear...
I am approaching Figueres, birthplace of Salvador Dali. I spent a few days with Jorge & Sheila (ADVrider’s Rubber Cow & Rubber Frau) here a few years back. I turn off and ride trough the town, but can't seem to find the main square...
I re-join the highway and continue to press southwest...
I notice some movement behind the grill on this trailer - he has three small dogs in there...
One thing I have noticed in France and now in Spain - Sunday is definitely not a business day. In the UK it's almost the same as a weekday (but with slightly shorter opening hours), but here I pass through huge lines of retail warehouses, all shut.
Unfortunately, all the restaurants are shut too...
I am contemplating doing the unthinkable - going to MacDonalds - when I spot a cafe open for business...
I am served with a delicious pizza...
Whilst I wait for it to arrive I notice that it's not just the Brits who seem besotted with the British Royal family...
I am also forced to have this...
...which tastes better than it looks. And it looks pretty good...
...I spend a few minutes contemplating life, the universe and my expanding girth, before someone lighting a cigarette at the next table spurs me into getting kitted back up and making tracks.
The thermometer on my bike reads just over 80° F, although it's in full sun. It is warm though - in the low 70s I'd think...
For several miles, I ride through a series of retail parks, industrial zooms and town centres - they all merge together...
Traffic is heavy and road users are not paying as much attention as they might...
...so I have to keep my wits about me. No easy thing when you're digesting a large lunch. Perhaps that's why they invented the siesta...
Eventually I'm on a (slightly) more open road and looking with concern at the build-up of cloud ahead. I chose today's route specifically because there was no forecast precipitation...
Autumn colours are everywhere - beautiful...
Onwards!
I get routed through a couple more town centres, some of which have some interesting architecture...
I fill up at 1415. The guy behind the counter had to swipe my card twice, as the first time he couldn't get a connection. When this has happened in the UK, I'm generally given a slip showing the transaction was void - not so here. I ask and he suddenly doesn't understand English nearly so well. I think it's legit, though...
Random Dali-sequel sculpture on roundabouts...
There were lots of stands of these trees (birch?) - so many that they must be grown as a crop - any idea what this timber might be used for?
You didn't think you were going to get away without a picture of a bridge today, did you?
They have speed cameras here too, although these all seem to be signed. They look like this...
Pretty soon I'm entering the northeastern extremes of Barcelona, passing more deserted retail areas. Bettie directs me to...
...the Sidorme Hotel, which I booked online last night. It's a chain that's a partner of B&B and similarly offers free Wi-Fi and good rates. For my €40.50 I get a double room...
...with view of my bike...
...breakfast, Wi-Fi and free tea and coffee. The latter is from a machine and I will not be revisiting it...
As I unload the bike, a few spots of rain start to fall...
Excellent, thanks very much.
And the exploding car sign means no flamable materials.
And the exploding car sign means no flamable materials.
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