Thursday May 26th: Bonjour ! Today was just what many of us needed and wanted - a much easier day in the saddle of 107 km that was mostly downhill apart from the first 30 kms that was made up of a gentle climb and some undulations. In fact the last 45 km's or so were all down hill where we averaged more than 40 kmph and descended some 1200m down here to this lovely little french village/town called Couiza. So no more ramblings today from me about grinding and suffering as there was none of it today. Apart from to say today was a good day to 'ride yesterday out of the legs' as such. I recovered quite well overnight - as I expected too. And the Pyrenees are behind us now. So 3 hours & 36 mins riding time today at an ave of 29.2 kmph all up. We arrived at the hotel early this afternoon to discover that tonight we are staying in 16th century castle that is a listed historical monument here in the Cathaze country. In short a 500 year old castle that is now very tastfully refurbished into a charming private hotel & restaurant. Pretty nice! Its called the 'Chateau Des Ducs De Joyeuse' in Allee du Chateau in Couiza. Google it on the web and have a look at it. Dinner is on at 7pm tonight so that is a good 90 mins earlier than in Spain- much appreciated by us all. By the way we are being very well fed up here each day. Typical European buffet breakfasts of yoghurt, cereals, various pastries, bread, ham, cheeses, coffee, juice and cooked (eggs, bacon, breaky sausages etc) is avail if wanted at the hot buffet. Dinners at night are along the lines of a starter of green garden salad, french stick breads with dipping oils followed by a bowl of pasta - spaghetti mainly with sauce and cheese and then a main of grilled chicken or veal or thin steak etc with roasted tomatoes, maybe some veges, lightly fried 'frites' (chips) or boiled potatoes and then desserts of say fruit salad, small cakes, fruit and all this with at times complimentary wine (cab sav red). One cannot complain! Our morning tea stops are usually Coca Cola and coffee (yes a caffeine hit) - coffee is either with milk, espresso style, americian style or in Spain - a ripper little coffee called Cafe Bon Bom ! A double shot of espresso sitting on top of a good base of thick condensed milk in a small glass. Stir it up and drink! Very nice! Our 30 min lunch on the ride is either a roadside picnic with french bread rolls filled with ham and cheese, sliced oranges, fruits and more coke prepared by the organisation support team. Or we sit at a local roadside cafe and have a small bowl of pasta with sauce and cheese and french bread for just 6 Euro's. Value! Again more coffee and coke if desired!. Our only free time each day is a couple of hours or so after the days ride finish in the late afternoon and before dinner to do things like emails and blogs and we also at this time do any laundry by hand (as us men normally do...) and maybe a short walk to the local village and supermarket to stock up with any small needs such as snacks, toiletries, ride food or after ride snack food for before dinner each afternoon. We also get a small amount of TV time to maybe watch the Tennis at Roland Garros in Paris or the Giro di Italia (Tour of Italy) pro bike race on at present. Yes its kind of sleep, eat, ride, eat, sleep and then do it all again the next day. This Saturday is the second rest day and its being held in Cap d' Adge on the Med Sea coast so we are all looking forward to that. The above pics are the route map from today and the valley we rode up and along towards the big descent today, the main street of Couiza and the view outside our hotel room looking down into the atrium of the Castle I guess you would call it. The weather has been remarkably good apart day one from Calpe in Spain on May 15th and the first day of climbing in the Pyrenees earlier this week. Fingers crossed it stays that good way. Bless the creators of SPF 50 sunblock! The roads are fantastic largely - smooth, well sealed and well constructed. A joy to ride on. Hotels have been excellent also and we share rooms with another rider. In my case with Glen Freebody who is from Canberra. A not so difficult 155 km tomorrow from here to Cap d' Agde. I am sure I have lost some more kg's but just no sure how many. Anyway enough dribble today - talk again soon !
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