The Big One

Carcassonne to Matemale was always going to be the 'Big One'. We'd elected to keep yesterday quite short, to give us some time to look round Carcassonne, so we knew that the climb up to the Pyrenean ski resort of Matemale was going to be the hardest day. 75 miles and 2000 m of climbing doesn't sound too bad, but there would be absolutely no let up from start to finish. A 50 mile steady drag from the start, then increasingly severe. 

With Kevin chomping at the bit, we got a slightly earlier start and rolled into the countryside south of Carcassonne under a big blue sky. Lovely conditions to be cycling in, but we knew that the temperature was due to ramp up considerably, so we had to be sensible with hydration & with the pace. 

We threaded our way along the D204/D43 to Pomas, then picked up Cycle Route 5 on the D504 to Limoux. (Kevin was a quarter of a mile up the road at this point & it turned out to be the last we saw of him till arriving at the hotel later - I think he just wanted a day on his own).

A memorable section of road, and not just for Dave H who unintentionally impaled his receding hairline on a bees arse. Poor bee!

The stragglers stopped in Limoux for coffee & cake, then headed south on the D118, through Esperaza and on to Quillan. It's quite a busy, but well surfaced road, with a steady up hill drag. Dave H sat in the front for most of it, setting a really nice pace (bee power!), which kept us in good order before a quick coffee stop in Quillan. 

Then we tackled the Gorges:

 

We stopped for lunch at a little roadside restaurant near to Gesse. It didn't look much, being a small wooden shack, and it was Hobson's Choice with the food, but wow, what a great cheese & ham salad. 

From there on in things got a little more serious as the gradient steadily increased. 

We passed through Escaloubre Les Bains (memorable from a previous Pyrenean jaunt) 

 

A thermal spa hamlet - Odour de sulphur 😖

It also gave Neil & Alex the opportunity for a spot of rural 'cottaging' :

 The rest of the ride up the valley was hard. Mainly because of the heat & our increasing weariness. Dave H had eased ahead on his lightweight setup, but waited for the rest of us at the top. Well, false summit. The remaining 7 or 8 miles of 'flat' riding turned out to be uphill & we were knackered. The village of Formigueres was only 2.5 miles short of our hotel in Matemale, but the bar there had to be done:

 

La Belle Aude for 6.30pm. Rooms ok. Great  meal. Good wine. Late evening. Oh dear: