As I promised yesterday, I took a dip in the sea – well, only my fingers did. I had no time for pleasure because I had a long day in front of me: I was cycling to Narbonne and wanted to visit Carcassonne using BlablaCar (car share), one of which was departing from Narbonne at 1 pm. It’s about 65 km to Narbonne, so I thought four hours would be enough to get there on time. I did not account for strong head wind, relentless for hours. I could not stop because I didn’t have time to spare, so I didn’t enjoy my surroundings; all I could see were wind turbines. By the time I reached Narbonne, I was exhausted. Narbonne is a medieval center of “l’amour courtois”. I did not feel any love from her though, she was playing hard to get to.
I am a sucker for UNESCO Heritage sites, so I wanted to see Carcassonne’s La Cité, a medieval fortress. The car ride to Carcassonne was 40 min long. I was initially thinking of coming back to Narbonne by bike, but my body said a resounding “No!”. So I hopped on another BlaBlaCar.
I did a quick tour of Narbonne, then cycled another 20 km to the campsite. When I arrived the reception was closed, it’s Sunday and it’s sacred. So, I just put my tent wherever I wanted. When I took a shower, I realized that not only I had my muscles burned, but my skin as well, despite using sunscreen.
By the way, my first-night camping was not all that good, I could not sleep much. Maybe tonight I’ll get luckier, and dismantling the tent won’t take as long as it took this morning.
Today in numbers
89 km – total distance
6h35m – total riding time
0 – stops on my way to Narbonne
12 knots – wind speed
22 knots – wind gusts
1 – proper meal at the end of the day
