June 21, 2011

We start the day with a leisurely breakfast, say goodbye to Dave and Anne and set off to do battle with the traffic of Montpellier once more.  It is just as hectic as yesterday, but we feel a bit more prepared for it today.  It doesn’t last long though and pretty soon we are fraught again.  A quick stop at McDonalds for a cool drink and a fruit crumble helps a bit.  Fortunately, we spot a cycle track on the other side of a big traffic island and, even though it not exactly going where we thought we might go, we take it anyway – any port in a storm.  Even more fortunately it is a proper cycle track that goes for more than 20 km before ending, which gets us well away from the city traffic.

We feel a bit more relaxed the further we go into the quiet of the countryside again.  We decide we should make a short day of it so that I can catch up on my washing and Ken can fit new brake blocks to his back brakes (they were worn away coming down Mont Ventoux in the pouring rain).  We find a camp-site pretty quickly – it is empty and we find a nice quiet spot for ourselves.  With the washing done and the brake blocks fitted we settle for a nice relaxing evening.  At this moment our peace is shattered when a battered old car pulls onto the camp-site, drives around a couple of times and then pulls up directly in front of our tent.  Out jumps a man, who lets out two big barking dogs from the back of the car, opens both car doors and turns on his radio at full blast.  I would describe him as odd with behavioural issues, particularly when he took off his clothes, wrapped a towel around his middle and started dancing to the music from his car radio – Ken’s description of him was a little more colourful.  So what should we do?  Stay and worry all night that he might go completely loopy, move to another part of the camp-site which might provoke him into a confrontation or leave all together?  We decide to do the latter, which means packing everything up, including two lines full of wet washing, loading it onto the bikes and cycling at least to the next village.  With luck we should make it just before it gets dark. 

We do make it just at dusk, only to find the camp-site gates firmly bolted.  We spend ages looking around the town for somewhere else to stay, but there is a music festival in the centre of town and everywhere is heaving full with people.  Is this going to be our first night without anywhere to stay?  We have come very close before but always found something at the last-minute.  Eventually we spot a sign for a hotel pointing into an industrial estate – doesn’t look at all likely.  Nevertheless, we find it but it is now 11 pm and the reception is closed and in darkness.  There is a call ‘phone on the door to raise the caretaker in an emergency – I give it a buzz and a rather grumpy man eventually comes and lets us in – phew!  We came close to a night in a bus shelter that time.