Day 6 2015

            Good morning America!!  Think the late and talented Robin Williams.  But good morning to all my friends out there.  To go or to stay that is the question.  Everything points to staying and Isabelle could relax.  But the overcast skies are an omen to push on and I did, all the way to Cahors.  

            The ride was amazing.  Imagine crinkling a paper and laying it on the ground.  Every crease represents a crest or a valley.  I could literally see a crease on the road where the descent ended and the rise began.  Nothing was flat.  I was either going 40 km/hr or 10 km/hr.  One rise was more than 2 km.  The funny part was that I was  still cranking hard on what appeared to be slight downs.  It reminded me of water running up hill in Santa Cruz.

            If you want a good laugh, go to Google maps and look for directions from Belves to Cahors and then check the changes in elevation.  I am betting that the mighty Aaron would have struggled.  And there is not another 46 year old more fit than Aaron.   

            I was totally bushed when I pulled into Cahors.  To no one’s surprise the Tourist Office was difficult to find.  Two signs and then they l3eft me hanging.  A clerk in the Hotel de Ville was some help but the vendor selling ice cream actually pointed out the correct building.  The office was hidden behind a whole cluster of vendors.  The clerk admitted that they needed to do a better job of putting up more signs.

            And now the big news.  Barcelona is out.  If this region is referred to as the Midi Pyrenees, I cannot imagine the full scale Pyrenees.  Instead I will stay in southern France and position myself for a run at Lourdes.  Whereas Barcelona is a point on the map, as Eisenhower used to say about Paris, I have always been fascinated by the story of Lourdes.  I just happen to see the “Song of Bernadette” before leaving on this trip.  But Lourdes is also tucked inside the Pyrenees so nothing is a given.

            If anything this trip is a metaphor for my life and reminds me that the journey is more important than the destination.  The destination is only one point of many!

            I need to stop by a bike shop.  There have not been any broken spokes.  Thank goodness, I do not what I would have done on such lonely roads.  Recently, I noticed that the gearing is not allowing the highest gear.  The rear cluster has six gears but the lever only handles five.  Last year I opted for the lowest gear with the faint hope of staying with Aaron.  This year I would prefer the higher gear, these climbs require the granny gear. 

            The campground in Cahors is nice but it is definitely not Les Nauves.  Along with the usual crew of campers there are actually bicyclists and trekkers.

            I may stay another night or push on a short distance.