Sète - Béziers

We actually stayed at St-Jean-de Védas just outside of Montpellier. The possible routes out of town were all appalling so yet again lucky luck showed up in the form of a passing cyclist. We chatted for a while and he told us about a cycleway which was nearby and ran alongside the main road for many kilometres. It was further then we had planned but we decided to give it a go. Once we arrived at the cycleway we discovered it led all the way from Montpellier. We could have followed it the night before if we had known about it. After a few choice words we set off. It must have cost them a fortune to set up the cycleway as it was about 3 m wide and paved all the way. Eventually we had to get back on the road. Along the way we found some more

thyme growing wild so we picked a huge bunch ready for our next cooking adventure.

At the the town of Gigean we had lunch in a beautiful park which was really a massive herb garden. I borrowed a big hand full of Rosemary and Thyme and stuffed one in my left shoe and the other in my right. It was an experiment in removing smelly foot odour. It worked. Both feet were less smelly by the end of the day, and several day later I still add some herbs each day and the foot odour has all but disappeared. If I owned GRANNY’S REMEDY I would be worried!

We also stocked up on Sunscreen. It is interesting that the sun here hardly burns you but my hands are the brownest they have ever been. But the sun is getting hotter by the day so time to lather up. We encountered a huge spaghetti junction which took a lot of nerve and good luck to negotiate before another cycle way led us to Sète. Once again it is a dog of a town to get into on a bike. Once there you are OK.

Sète is sometimes referred to as the Venice of Languedoc due to its maze of canals. It is home to a large Mediterranean fishing fleet and restaurants everywhere feature seafood on the menu. While waiting for Sally who was in the Tourist Office, a gentleman came up to me and chatted. After discovering our périple he took a photo of me with the two bikes. I am world famous in Sète!

Sally was also very popular at the local bar where she drank an espresso. One gentleman in particular took a liking to her once he found out she was from New Zealand. He was very kind and polite.
Later while Sally was waiting for me to book into the hotel, a shop keeper came out and started chatting. She wants to do a tour of New Zealand in the new year on a motorbike and spoke very good English.

It turned out she is an English Tutor. Because the hotel office was shut she offered for us to stay at her house should we be unable to get a room. We did , but it was the last for the day.
The hotel had no parking for the bikes so one got lugged up 2 flights of stairs to the bedroom and the other on level one bolted to the handrail. The hotel was near a night club so it was very noisy until the fans went home. Across the lane was another building whose railings had faces pressed into the steel.
Sète is well worth a visit. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next morning we set off for Béziers and once we had found the cycle way it was plain sailing. My best point of cycling is on the flat with a 10 knot wind behind. Once I get up to 25 kmph it takes almost no effort to stay there. Unfortunately it is not the same for Sally. So I would get several hundred metres ahead and stop to wait for Sally to catch up. Sally favourite is a slight uphill with a slight headwind. She just leaves me in her dust with those conditions.

At Agde we asked for instructions at the Office de Tourisme and the very helpful gentleman helped me book the hotel for the night. We agreed on a time of 6 pm arrival. We arrived at 6.05pm. Our route took us along side the famed canal du Midi. The first 10 kms were a goat track so we were very pleased when the route became sealed all the way to Béziers. The Canal du Midi is a bit of a milestone for French cyclists in the same way as Lands End to John O’Groats is to the the English. It is beautiful with plane trees lining the sides of the canal, and lots of restaurants as well.