Marseille - Perpignan 9th - 16th and 25th - 27th October (best riding route so far)

I rolled off the ferry from Corsica at 7am and rode out to the Calanques national park. 10 miles of coast road to get there - pretty special while the sun was rising. 

Leaving Marseille as the sun was rising

Marseille people love their watersports - with good reason

The beginning of the Calanques 

On my way back I stopped in to a little hairdresser for a much needed hair cut. Felt guilty at the amount of time he had to spend getting the knots out of my hair but a relief to have it done before I spent the weekend in a city with non-cyclists who might not have appreciated my wild/campsite look! They arrived late Friday night and it was great to be reunited.

Off the plane post work - impressive stamina

We walked a lot, saw as much of Marseille as we could caught up on everything that's happened while I've been gone. 

Walking Marseille

Cathedrale Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure

Streets in Le Panier

Centre de la Vieille Charite

hooray for reunion

Basilique Notre-Dame de la Garde

Sunset over the port

Does the sea get bluer?!

Last wine and olives

Leaving Marseille was hard work as the busy roads through suburbs felt never ending and it was still 30 degrees all day. Eventually I escaped the city, passed Etang de Berre and found myself in the parc Natural Regional Des Alpilles. Arrived late at a great campsite just outside the very lovely Fontvielle. Next day I rode on to Nimes where I camped in the garden of the Youth Hostel. Met Jonathan - lovely Welsh guy from Porthcawl chancing his luck cycling through France trying to get Rugby World cup tickets and travelling without maps, phone or GPS. Just a compass in his pocket. And confidence in his heart. 

Admiration! 

Finally out of Marseille

Etang de Berre

Ancient church just outside Fontvielle

Nimes Arena

Nimes Fountains

Solo camping at Nimes YH

Jonathan :)

Nimes was impressive, but it got even better after that. Hills got bigger, villages prettier, gorges deeper and roads smaller. I rode in to the Parc Natural Regional du Haut-Languedoc and while some of the inclines made my legs ache, the wilderness and landscapes made my soul happy. I finally felt my cycling legs back in action (5 weeks after almost giving up) and I was relieved to be able to actually ride (not push) up the hills and cover some decent mileage. 

Sommieres 

Ancient entrance to Sommieres

These trees marked arrival to all villages/towns in this route

Saint-Martin de Londres. Loved this village. 

Rocky landscapes

Saint-Guilhem-le-Desert

SGLD - an important pilgrim starting point for Saint Jaques way

Le Pont du Diable

Clermont l'Herault

Climbing out of Clermont l'Herault

Lac du Salagou

Apparent important paeleontologic site (...not sure how to spell)

I accidentally ended up following the St Jaques way and camped by a pilgrim's hostel one night. Befriended three people walking the way and shared a birthday dinner with them for one of the walkers - crepes and cider and singing. The next morning it suddenly felt like autumn. Having been in shorts and t-shirts for weeks on end, I was in three layers for most of the day and looking at orange and brown leaves. In hindsight it was partly because I was up high in the hills, but still, it was a shock to the system! I rode a long route down in to Carcassone where I left my bike and bags with a warmshowers family while I made a quick trip back to London for a week. Not what I'd planned originally - but I just pressed pause on the ride and picked up where I’d left when I returned. 

Up on the hills near Lac du Laouzas

Autumn arriving

So many great lunch spots

Autumnal roads

Made it to Carcassonne after 70 miles that day and all I could find was McD's

Back in Carcassone after travelling, I continued on towards Perpignan, aware now that campsites were getting harder to find. As a result I did a very short first day's ride to the one I found open. Spent the afternoon walking up to a local Abbey where I met the sisters, bought some chocolate and looked around the church. 

The final section of the ride through the Parc Naturel Regional Corbieres Fenouilledes was remote, quiet, beautiful and impressive - with Cathars castles perched right on the top of the rocks and the Pyrenees in the distance. I found an amazing place to camp on a farm between olive trees and with a shared kitchen. Unfortunately the wind was pretty extreme all night so I didn't get much sleep due to the noise! At one point half of my tent unpegged itself and gave me a sudden wake up call as it hit me in the face. Once I'd re-pegged it, I allowed myself a little lie in in the morning before I finished the best-of-all-the-rides route and rolled in to Perpignan. 

Companions at my camping spot

Beloved tent

Loved the chickens, dog and ducks at this site

Morning tea break after a big climb

made it

Pyrenees starting to appear in the distance

The only shop open on my route for the day. Despite best efforts, arrived 2 mins after closing time. Fortunately he responded well to my begging to sell me a quiche and some bread. 

These trees still announcing every village

Rennes-les-Bains - village with hot springs

Another col

More hills and big skies

Fried eggs and sunset for tea

Does it get better...

...than this?

Cathar country

The Pyrenees calling to me as I approached Perpignan

Essential Stats

Miles cycled: 387 - finally managing to cover some decent mileage

Books read:

- Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart ***

- Other Ways to Win - Lee Craigie ***

- Last Devil to Die - Richard Osman ***

Route:

The gap wasn't actually a gap and the days aren't totally accurate - just Komoot's suggestion. I deliberated for a while about whether to ride along the coast or up via the hills. So glad I took the hilly route! Big thanks to the Lonely Planet cycling in France book as I followed their suggestions for most of this section of my route.