Sunday 3rd June Narbonne
I had a long lie-in this morning; the hotel lets its rooms from noon to noon and serves late breakfasts, so I spent a bit of time sorting out the stuff I’d need in my hand luggage for the trip home and re-packed my panniers. I checked out at 11.30 and killed a couple of hours wandering around Narbonne’s Sunday morning market. When I arrived at the coach’s pick up point there was already someone else there which was re-assuring as it confirmed it was the correct place to wait. We chewed the fat in the sunshine for an hour or so with some chat about our respective trips. This chap had been camping and apparently the weather in the coastal area of Languedoc and the Rhone valley had been lovely. I would have given up completely if I’d had to camp on this trip, it would have been impossible to ever get dry. The Bike Express coach arrived 15 minutes early which was a bit of a surprise. The bikes were swiftly loaded and secured into the trailer and I boarded the coach to take my upstairs front seat with its panoramic view of the road ahead.
Well that’s it then - the trip’s over, and what a contrast to my 2005 ride! My only regret is not buying some quality (read expensive) waterproof clothing. Because I don’t ride in bad weather at all at home I was loath to buy kit that I might never have needed or worn – false economy methinks. Would I do it a third time? Hmm…Perhaps… has to be the answer. For although I enjoyed the nice days immensely, I actually had seven full days of soaking, sopping, wringing-wet ‘effin rain’ which was probably as mentally challenging as it was physically. Never mind, we have no influence over the weather…
Many thanks to all who sponsored me for the trip. We raised a fantastic
£632.82 plus £122.68 gift aid for Cancer Research. A total of
£755.50.
And…my weight on my return home was 12st 6lbs.
http://www.justgiving.com/paulatkin
