Tuesday 4 September 2012

Trans Europa Day 58 – Valras-Plage to Le Barcares – 88km



My headcold reappeared in the night and luckily I had my tissues nearby. Although the wind blew incessantly all night, it did not rain so the de-camp was relatively easy although I was one of the last to cycle out.

I had not cycled alone for some days so I took the opportunity to stop for photos through the day. The route notes stopped making sense at around 26km in Gruissan when the flagging disappeared so after a strawberry tart stop I found myself at a corner where a few different groups had converged and with the aid of GPS, maps and local advice we headed in a direction which felt wrong – probably because it was into the headwind – but it was the correct way confirmed after a while by a welcome orange flag.






After a quick stop at the lunch van for watermelon, I headed to the alternative lunch stop which was a small area of seafood merchants on the coast where I dined on oysters, mussels and clams with a glass of white wine as no soft drinks were available! I won’t talk about the mistral because all it will do is make me more crazy. Let’s just say it blew brutally all day either as a headwind or a crosswind. Even the trees have grown as pushed by the wind!























Into camp to set up the tent and a section of one of the poles split when struggling into the wind. Then off to the supermarket for mille feuille and Schweppes Peach which was new taste for me. Not bad!

 

I was quite tired and retired to the tent around 3.30pm for a nap before dinner of spaghetti pesto with rissoles preceded by a champagne toast to honour the birth of Kaye’s grandson earlier today in New Zealand.







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