DAY 40-STILL TRUCKIN'

Today,I saw the Pyrenees for the first time. I came up over a hill and in the distance I could them in all their glory. The excitement of facing into mountains of this size was immediate,but it was quickly followed by a fear that made me almost weak in the knee(and they are weak enough at present). From there I powered on down a hill into the city of Carcassonne. I have been looking forward to getting to this place for more reason than 1,but I might tell ye more about that later...........Anyway,I'm gonna park up here for a few days and ring in the new year in this town. The OD(Overall Distance) on the bike computer is now reading at over 2000kms and the body wants a rest and maybe around the 3th or 4th of January, I'll select a low gear and head out the other side of Carcassonne

DAY 39 ST. STEVENS DAY

That morning:I dont want to get out of my tent this morning. Its snowing..........

That evening:You have good days and bad days. This day would not be filed under a good day. Its been about 15 or even 20 years since a valve on a tube snapped while I've been pumping it,so it was a bit of a surprise for it to happen this morning.But I always carry a spare tube. It was an even bigger surprise when the valve snapped on the spare tube.These aren't cheap or old tubes(Continental 650A/B). I not sure,maybe its the cold,but its very frustrating.I had no option but to hide the bike and bags in the snow and leaves and walk back the 8kms to the nearest town to go looking for bike tubes. Because I was on a designated bike path there were no cars to thumb a lift and because it was snowing there were no cyclists to get advice on where I might get a tube. It was 3pm when we finally started pedaling today and we only biked 35 kms down the road. I should have stayed in my tent this morning.

DAY 38 CHRISTMAS DAY

HAPPY CHRISTMAS
Whereever I was going to be today, I knew I wouldn't be as warm and comfortable as anyone reading this, and such was the case. I'm camped up by a canal.Although its full of ducks,I didn't have roast duck for dinner. Last night I wheeled my bike down a muddy path to my camp site overlooking the river Vern. It was a cold night and when I had everything packed up, I couldn't get the bike moving as the muck was frozen solid from the wheels,mudguards and brakes. Eventually I made it into the next town,visited the local church and was half-hopeful someone might be on there own for Christmas and invite me back.Not the case. I proceeded on through the towns and was quite suprised by the amount of traffic and the amount of shops open on Christmas day.Every bakery,many florists and bars and even some of the small supermarkets were open. I made my way into Toulouse which is beautiful. I wandered around here for a bit. and eventually followed the Canal du midi, which is a super 100km bike path that follows the canal that conects Toulouse with Carcassone. I'm presently camped up 'down the nal'(no sign of PK Bud)

DAY 36-JUST SORTING THINGS OUT

To get a tasty 9 year old bottle of red for under a fiver aint bad.
Today was a day of sorting out things.I replaced the old tyre,cleaned and oiled (meticulously) the bike,finally got to dry out the tent (and also got to give it a good wash)-did a bit of shopping(everyone else is,so I might as well). Considering I'm back on the small roads tomorrow,I stocked up on food for the next few days.I not too sure what way the shops are open over the coming Christmas days. The hostel I'm in now in Cahors takes guests 365 days a year.I also got myself a new fluorescent jacket. Up until now anyone would think I was been sponsored by Ascon.Then I went for a ride around town in my shiny,freshly greased new wheels to check out all the impressive sights;a 15 century bridge, a cathedral and a amazing market full of all the local produce, including that "tasty 9 year old bottle of red".

DAY 35-LIMPED ON A WING AND A PRAYER

Woke up usual time(early) and packed up all and set off in the fog. But this morning I rearranged how I generally pack the panniers(bicycle side-bags). While I generally put most of the heavier stuff on the back axle, this morning the bike was nose heavy to keep the pressure off the rear axle. After getting 2 punctures in the spaces of 12 kms yesterday evening after a rear tyre blowout,it was a case of nursing the bike to the nearest big town to find a new rear tyre. I pedalled 73kms to Cahors(mostly standing to keep the weight off the rear axle). The tube was visibly sticking out of a 1cm split in the rear tyre and my eyes were glued to the road to make sure I didnt come into contact with any loose stones, Everything went according to plan. I made it to Cahors,checked into a hostel,found a bike shop and I think I have found a perfect tyre for my rear axle. Today was mostly uphill,-Im only in the hills of France but if I was to continue east of Cahors I would start into the Alps,while if I was to head to the west I would be in the flatlands of the Bordeaux region,but my plan is to head south towards Toulouse and Carcassonne(I cant wait to get to Carcasonne)

DAY 34-FROM A CAMP SITE BY 1 RIVER TO A CAMP SITE BY ANOTHER RIVER

Today got off to a great start. I went and visited the "prehistoric Cistine chapel"-ie the Lascaux caves. When you consider that the pyraimds in Egypt were been built around 2500 B.C. and the Poulnabrone dolmen in the burren in Clare in 4000B.C, its a bit of a treat to witness a repicla of the graffi of our great,great,great(multiplied by 250) grandparents.The walls are covered entirely with raindeer,oxen,horses,deer,mammoths as well as humans.The origional cave was painted approx 17000 years ago but because of condensation/body heat no tourists are allowed enter,so it took 20 artists 11 years to painstakingly copy the cave artwork to this other cave closeby.The next few hours were spent pedalling in the sunshine by the river Vezere with limestone cliffs at either side. All was going grand till a bang from the back tyre. A major bummer. The result was a puncture and a 1cm crack in the tyre wall. This was gonna be trouble-a puncture is not a problem,but a crack in a tyre is. I fixed the puncture and 12 kms down the road, another puncture. Its 75kms to the nearest big town and my rear tyre has one foot in the grave. I'll keep ye posted.

DAY 33- IN THE TENT BY A RIVER

"Its times like these you learn to live again"

I'm having a blast.I must admit,I'm really enjoying this.
Today was the kinda day you wish was every day on the bike. This morning I awoke to a dorm room to myself. In fact I think I had the entire hostel to myself. So I got outta bed and collected my laundry (it was scattered around various radiators throughout the hostel-ie, where I left it),packed everything up and made my way into downtown Perigueux. This town is really something else. Its the first town I've visited since leaving Ireland that has loads of Roman building(I must be getting near Italy). So the morning was spent taking photos of a 2000 year old amphitheatre,an 11th century castle,a really old cathedral (date unknown to me) and massive towers that were a world heritage site. Its so cool coming to these places when theres not another tourist in sight. I could have parked my bike in between 2 coach parking spaces and no-one would have cared.Around 11 bells I was leaving town heading in my usual direction (south,south-east) when I was riding by a McDonalds.'Free Wi-Fi',I thought and called in to send off a few emails and update this website with saved diary notes.It was a saturday morning so it was starting to get busy and I couldn't wait to get pedalling.The next few hours were spent riding by the most beautiful terrain;-cliffs,streams,empty villages.old deciduous forests etc etc. It was nearly all up-hill but I just kept surprising myself by how much I was loving this. "I'm loving it".I stopped in some town that had an supermarket and stocked up on goodies for lunch,dinner,breakfast,tomorrows lunch and tomorrows dinner(I think the front axle is overloaded) and then made my way downhill to Montignac.(the cradle of european civilization-it seems)I'm presently camped up in a small forest by a river.Earlier I could hear the sounds of owls in the trees around me,but presently, the farmers' dog from across the river is barking himself hoarse. When you fly-tent you need to generally keep away from from all dwelling as dogs will pick up the new scent and often bark till sunrise. It was getting dark when I noticed this camp spot and I never copped the farm the other side of the river.Oh Well, I'm tired so I'll still sleep but that dog is gonna need the canine equivalent of lemsip for breakfast.This morning I passed busy streets filled full of frantic shoppers(its the 20th of december and I heard my first Christmas song of this trip today.) I crossed into an 11th century castle,a Roman amphitheatre where gladiators would fight to the death and tomorrow I hope to visit the Lascaux caves,where the cradle of european civilisation (more or less) begun.The first people arrived on Ireland 6000 years ago. There are paintings in this cave that are almost treble that time.
As I said at the start,I'm having a blast.