We have been eating the breakfasts at the hotels even though they are often not cheap but they are convenient. About half the time they are included so you have to. In any case, it is a good start on the minimum 4 hours of dining time requirement in France.
After breakfast we pack up and left the hotel. We were only two blocks from the trail but we had to stop at the nearest pharmacy as we were out of sunscreen and Laurie's toothbrush broke getting stuffed into her seatpost pack.
It took a while to get out of Toulouse. It is a big city and the old core is really pretty. Toulouse is definitely a city worth checking out.
The paved trail outside of Toulouse was really smooth and fast. The sun was out and it was warm. The sun does shine in France!
We stopped at a restaurant just on the street near the canal at 24km. There were several other cycling folks there. The food was good and brought us to the end of dining hour 2 and probably into hour 3. Laurie made us have beer.
The trail continued to be great to 50km. Between the locks it was completely flat and when we came to a lock we would climb up 3 meters. The trail was lined with trees and they provided a mostly shady ride. It was great riding.
At 50km things changed. The trail did some turns and loops and the pavement turning loose dirt road with gravel. Just after that we came to a section the were preparing and must have missed a sign but followed the gpx route I had down a single track muddy footpath. Before that we tried following Google Maps directions which took us into a farmers field deadend.
Bouncing around on the single track was no fun and Laurie could be go very fast. We tried some alternative routes but ended up back on the gpx track. At least now is was a narrow sometimes paved dirt road used by cars so it was more ridable. Laurie was getting pretty tired but she pressed on.
Soon we were in the outskirts of Castelnaudary and our hotel was in an industrial area near the freeway. A good part of the way there we had a bike path but the last kilometer was on a busy two lane with no shoulder. This is the last thing you want when you are tired and the drivers are cranky because they are in a rush to go home.
Other than it's location the hotel is a very nice business hotel with a rugby theme. The elevator has a wall of the All Blacks doing the Hakka and the elevator music is the Hakka. Everything in the hotel is rugby!
After a slightly over cooked calamari appetizer I didn't have high hopes for dinner but my cassoulet was great. This region is known for cassoulet. Sorry, to eager to dive in to take a picture. Laurie's duck with red wine sauce was very good, too.
Tomorrow may have quite a bit of unpaved trail so we may be looking to take some of the roads near the trail. Usually that shortens the distance but means a a few hills.
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