Tag Archives: problem

Day 40 – La Couronne to Cassis

1 Reply

64km of 2753km so far…

Sunrise by the camping

Sunrise by the camping

I woke up earlier than normal as the night before I had collapsed straight after my dinner. Today’s day was all about Marseille. I didn’t want to spend the night there, just to have a quick look, so I am glad I wasn’t that far away. Even though, it took me three hours to get into the city, because of the hills that I had to go up and all the highways I had to avoid.

A nice but louder way of traveling

A nice but louder way of traveling

I knew Marseille is a big port but only when I first saw it after exiting a small tunnel, I truly appreciated its scale. In order to get to the center, I had to go through its massive port, under highways and loads of construction sites. It was a little hard and didn’t really enjoy cycling there. At the center it was extremely busy, with loads of tourists and had a massive traffic jam. I kind of wanted to leave straight away, but in the end I did stay for a few hours, to eat some lunch and wonder around a little bit.

First view of Marseille

First view of Marseille

Looks like a human made beach

Looks like a human made beach

One of the street in the city

One of the street in the city

The old port

The old port

A market

A market

As I was about to leave, I noticed my front brand new tire was flat, even if it claims to be bulletproof. I repaired it quickly and started cycling again to the south. On the way out of the city, I stopped briefly to see one of Le Corbusier‘s building that is build there. I am sure there should be an apartment open to visitors, but it was getting late in the day to look for it.

Le Corbusier Meuble Court

Le Corbusier Meuble Court

and the famous Modulor

and the famous Modulor

Marseille from the near by hill as I was leaving

Marseille from the near by hill as I was leaving

Right after I exited the city, I started climbing the nearby hill to pass to the other side. My destination was Cassis, for which I heard it is a nice fishermen village with a camping. I found it, put my tent and after my dinner I went for a walk in its center and its nice port.

For all those that think that cycle touring is dangerous, hard and way too much effort, I met two German girls in the center that are on their bikes for the last month, cycling all around France, going up and down the mountains and sleeping in the wild. Rosy and Antonia are 19 and 20 years old and they still have another three weeks to go. I wish I had started touring at that age.

Day 36 – Narbonne Plage to Villeneuve-les-Maguelone

4 Replies

99km of 2466km so far…

The Mediterranean was still there in the morning

The Mediterranean was still there in the morning

From early in the morning it was rather warm, so I knew it would be a hard day. After a short stop at the post office to mail a few things back home, I started cycling north-east. By accident I came accross the Canal du Midi again, so I didn’t miss the opportunity to ride its last 10km, which were equally beautiful with the rest of what I’ve seen.

Once again, at the Canal Du Midi

Once again, at the Canal Du Midi

and the tarmac cyclepath next to it

and the tarmac cyclepath next to it

The canal took me straight to one of my destinations, to the city of Adge. The old city, like many others I’ve visited, was full of small alleys and nice squares. I stopped for a light lunch and a break to read my book.

Adge

Adge

...and its streets

...and its streets

Next stop was Sete for which I’ve heard good things as well. To go there, I took a 13km road which is on a very thin strip of land between the sea and a big basin.

The road to Sete and the town at the background

The road to Sete and the city at the background

The city is all around the hill. On the south side, the one I was coming from, is just a resort with many big hotels and facilities. On the other side I found the older part of the city. Sete is a fishing town with a port full of big fishing boats and the distinct smell of fish.

Sete

Sete

It was getting late and I wanted to go to Villeneuve-les-Maguelone to camp, because it’s only 10km away from Montpellier and I wanted to avoid getting into the big city. As I was looking for my way out of Sete, I saw a bike shop and I thought I should fully pump the back tire after the puncture I had three days ago. When I did so, I realized that the tire had a massive split and it was the inner layer that was holding it together. Luckily I was in a bike shop with many spares, but unfortunately it didn’t have the exact size I wanted. The tire was 25mm thick and the shop had 23mm and 30mm.  Thinking about all these off tarmac routes I’ve taken, I thought it should be better to get the 30mm one. I put it on, pumped it up and off I went.

For a moment I thought about celotaping it

For a moment I thought about celotaping it

Flamingos and many other birds

Flamingos and many other birds

That's not a commando training center, that's a petit dog school of acrobatics.

That's not a commando training center, that's a petit dog school of acrobatics.

As I was getting in to Villeneuve-les-Maguelone, disaster happened. I hit a light bump, then I heard a strange sound, then my back tire burst and then the back rim was grinding on the tarmac! Both the inner tube and the brand new tire were split and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere and too far away from the shop I bought it. I was probable my mistake, because I used the same inner tube which was probable to thin for a bigger tire. I took the inner tube out and put the destroyed tire back on, so at least I can push the bike without further destroying the rim. I asked some kids where the camping is and I started a long walk to get there. Half an hour later I got to the camp site and saw that it was closed because of the season. Great! It was already dark and I needed to find somewhere to sleep. I had a pizza from a little van opposite the street and the lade told me there is a hotel in the village. Having no other option I walked there and begged for a discount. Thankfuly I got it and the owner promised he will drive me to Montpellier to find a bike shop and fix the bike. So let’s see…