Day 1,524
New forks
Well dear reader I expect you are agog with anticipation. Just what has happened? Is Debs’ bike OK? Is Debs' OK? Is Tom still cycling up cols? Well, let me ease your mind, all is well.
We had ordered new tyres from Toulouse Bikes, so we popped in to collect them and discuss our options. They could fix my front forks, even upgrade them to a disc brake set up, but I wanted to consult Thorn who supplied the bike. Within minutes of my call, I was chatting to Robin the owner despite it being his day off. He was as puzzled as me as to why they snapped. Having had a bike shop myself for many years, I know what to look for. A bent fork? No. Damaged cracked paint? No. Any signs of an impact? No. Rust? No. However I had owned the bike for nearly 5 years, ridden over 26,000 miles on many types of surface, and taken two long-haul flights. Perhaps the stress of it all had proved too much. Robin felt even so, it shouldn't have happened, and 24 hours later I was clutching a brand new pair of forks. All the way from Somerset to France. Thanks Robin, Thorn and DHL. Oscar at Toulouse bikes managed to find time in his fully booked schedule and fitted the new pair and I was ready for off.
New forks fitted, and the broken bit cut off for sending to Thorn for analysis
We had 10 fantastic days with my family on holiday in Toulouse, ate and drank a wee bit too much but hey, what are holidays for? We hadn't done masses, the heat was brutal, but we'd had a few days out, and enjoyed our time together.
The family all took taxis to Toulouse airport and Tom and I set off to ride to the airport ourselves. Except not Toulouse airport, but Barcelona, meaning we had 300+ miles to ride, with the added bonus of a few more cols to cross in the Pyrénées first. We were planning on riding to Geneva airport as this had better connections to where we were planning on going next, but we’ve changed our minds and Barcelona now has better connections, so back over the Pyrénées it is! The Alps will have to wait for another time.
We decided to ride out on our original planned route into Toulouse that we never rode because we had to catch the train with my broken forks. We soon picked up a wonderful greenway, which was mainly traffic free, the majority on an old railway line.
It was a beautiful ride, through some stunning well lit tunnels. Though once when I was ahead, singing away, the lights went out. It shut me up pretty quick, Tom swears he didn't switch them off, so it could only be the Tunnel Gods who understandably couldn't bear my singing!
Shortly before the lights went out!
Our aim was to wildcamp as we'd been spending far over our daily budget, and as we love a wild camp it was no hardship. The railway line wasn't proving a great place to find suitable places though and time was getting on. Tom spotted a particularly impressive piece of artwork of a cow, and I spotted a sign with 3 images next to it. A bike, a tent and a shower head. Perfect. After a bit of a steep climb we arrived at a small farm with a herd of cows and a dairy to produce cheese. We could camp for free. Perfect. Despite swearing off alcohol for the foreseeable future we couldn't turn down a bottle of home-brewed cider. We were clean, with a lump of cheese to eat, washed down with cider, and the tent up inside a barn in case of rain. We were very happy. In the morning we were greeted by one of the best views of the trip. Sometimes it all falls into place and this was certainly one of those times.
