Angelique prepared a delicious breakfast for me and we talked more about guests who have stayed with her. I charted out my route and then reluctantly left. It'd been such a pleasant ride here and such a warm reception, it was tricky to get back to work!
I hopped back on the canal route and found it took me longer to progress than I expected. Scenery was beautiful and it was only slightly cool so things were good. Sundays are dead quiet in the towns so I'd bought food from the night before. I stopped at a rest stop which had every convience for the cyclist! It was incredible. I tucked into my beans with duck grease but just couldn't do it. I ate my bagel and corn happily though.
The rest of the ride was event free with the exception of losing my green bike men as I went through a town. I ended up on the wrong side of the canal and did some off roading until I turned myself around and got back on the path. Saw a neat lock system where the boat is picked up by crane/truck and moved uphill. By afternoon, it had turned cold (10) and rain fell very lightly. I made it into Toulouse when the canal ride just stopped and I couldn't go any further. Picked up some wifi at Mcd's which is turning into a very important sponsor here. The ones in Toulouse have gold lettering instead of yellow plastic arches. Lots of Africans and students here. Also, there seems to be more street people and they all seem to have dogs. I met up with Jean-Remy who was my first French couch surfing host. Nice guy. I think he overestimates my ability but is good to break things down when I don't understand. Difficult to speak still but I'm surprised how quickly my French is improving. It's there, I just need to practice it. JeanRemy is a violin player and we do a few tunes together. I'm not sure how many uke-fiddle combos there are but it was good. He just plays on his own but he was way better than me. My legs are sore from the intensive riding over the last few days. Will be nice to rest in Toulouse as I sightsee.
I hopped back on the canal route and found it took me longer to progress than I expected. Scenery was beautiful and it was only slightly cool so things were good. Sundays are dead quiet in the towns so I'd bought food from the night before. I stopped at a rest stop which had every convience for the cyclist! It was incredible. I tucked into my beans with duck grease but just couldn't do it. I ate my bagel and corn happily though.
The rest of the ride was event free with the exception of losing my green bike men as I went through a town. I ended up on the wrong side of the canal and did some off roading until I turned myself around and got back on the path. Saw a neat lock system where the boat is picked up by crane/truck and moved uphill. By afternoon, it had turned cold (10) and rain fell very lightly. I made it into Toulouse when the canal ride just stopped and I couldn't go any further. Picked up some wifi at Mcd's which is turning into a very important sponsor here. The ones in Toulouse have gold lettering instead of yellow plastic arches. Lots of Africans and students here. Also, there seems to be more street people and they all seem to have dogs. I met up with Jean-Remy who was my first French couch surfing host. Nice guy. I think he overestimates my ability but is good to break things down when I don't understand. Difficult to speak still but I'm surprised how quickly my French is improving. It's there, I just need to practice it. JeanRemy is a violin player and we do a few tunes together. I'm not sure how many uke-fiddle combos there are but it was good. He just plays on his own but he was way better than me. My legs are sore from the intensive riding over the last few days. Will be nice to rest in Toulouse as I sightsee.