Wednesday 30th May. Moissac (12) to Toulouse. (13)
47.2 miles. 4hrs 21m riding time. Average speed: 10.83mph. Total: 606miles
I had an excellent breakfast this morning. The hotel’s maitre’d
(the wonderfully camp Gaby Meouchi) helped me to carry my luggage down to
my bike in the basement garage and told me that inspectors from Michelin
had been in the restaurant last night and had elevated them a level in the
respected Michelin Restaurant Guide.
Well-deserved in my opinion too - the food and service from Gaby and his
staff were absolutely faultless.
The weather today again started cool, but within a few minutes of setting
off I’d crossed the River Tarn on another huge canal aqueduct in warm
bright sunshine.
The towpath continued as far as Castelsarrasin where construction workers
were busy re-surfacing it so I took to the N113 fully expecting to have
to abandon it for smaller roads as soon as possible, but there was no need
as it was very quiet, flat and smooth-surfaced. I re-joined the canal again
near St Rustice as I neared Toulouse because I certainly didn’t want
to be on a busy main N road when entering one of France’s major cities.
I’d read warnings on the internet about junkies, muggers and various
lowlifes lurking beneath some of the canal bridges and underpasses in Toulouse.
The amount of graffiti on walls as I neared the city did nothing to bolster
my confidence but in all honesty I saw nothing to fear. In the heart of
Toulouse I left the Canal lateral a la Garonne at the junction with the
Canal du Midi on a street-level cycle lane into the city centre where Jane
took over the navigation, and led me faultlessly to the very central and
reasonably-priced Hotel Trianon Wilson.
Toulouse is a buzzing university city. I’d just had time to have
a brief sniff around the up-market cosmopolitan Place Wilson and Capitole
before the sky darkened and the inevitable happened - it started raining.
I’m writing sitting in a ‘Routard’ recommended restaurant
having just eaten pâté, goat’s cheese and walnut salad,
rabbit with aioli and green beans, and a crêpe for desert, all for
19 euros inclusive of a bottle of house red wine - fantastic value!
I’m beginning to shuffle around in my chair; thank God once more,
for the Savlon.
My legs today were tired too, not particularly hurting, just very tired.
Fifty miles or so a day in awful conditions is beginning to take its toll
on me. I’d planned to ride 55 miles to Carcassonne tomorrow but I’m
having second thoughts now; looking at the weather forecast I think I’ll
probably call it a day at Castelnaudary, a ‘mere’ 40 miles distant.
Seeking shelter under a bridge
Garonne canal crossing the river Tarn