...I just nipped down to Montpellier..but I'm back (again) now!

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I disagree about Montpellier, I really liked it

Hi Cathryn,

I came into Montpellier from the south east from Arles> le Grand du Roi and then le grande Motte...along th ecoast road (I called it the road to hell after the Chris rea song!) then i camped at palavas les flots.
That route from le grau du roi into the camp site at Montpellier plage took me over three hours in solid murderous traffic in the full heat of the sun. The road surfaces were terrible and frankly it was all just a huge accident waiting to happen. I couldnt leave Shinto anywhere safely to get onto the beach, the place was heaving with Brit tourists, and really dodgy looking gangs of french 'youths' tailing them...definatly not a place I would ever go back to.
I was going to head west down the coast more to some of the more peaceful naturist beaches etc but to be frank I had had enough by then. I had made my target destination and didtn't need the hassle, risk and expense of surviving a week in Monthellier. Like i said above I had also met briefly with a young lady whom I new would be VERY difficult to move away from had I not done so quickly...it was the right move for me to make, so i made it. Family first...oh and wallet!

Your legs are SO brown!!!

Actually they are browner in real life...I have some great cyclists lines where the shorts went and some weird patterns on my hands from the gloves I wear because of the pads in them! Mostly i didtnt wear any shirt as I rode (except in traffic when I wore a hi vis vest only) so i now have a jet black back and a sun burnt stomache!

I love France as well...it took me a while to get 'into it' but apart from that las tday In MP the rest of the place is pretty cool. Rememebr i cam down the busy Rhone 'corridor' from Lyon so misse out on what i assunme is th emore beautiful section you rode along this year...I may go back and do that route one day as well.

 

[Aperitif]

Brilliant - well done BigTourFitBloke!

 

[summerdays]

You look very brown... I can bearly manage a sort of honey colour, and if I'm not careful its much more likely to be beetroot red!

I've love to see a full write up, it sounds like you met lots of interesting characters, I think that is one of the advantages of travelling on your own, the interactions with strangers.

 

[maurice]

Nice trip, sounds really good, some interesting interactions you had there.

Though I think Lotti should have benefitted from another night on the beach

 

[Speicher]

Brilliant - well done BigTourFitBloke!

An excellent suggestion from Aperitif.

I also like the brown legs, (and knees).

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I also like the brown legs, (and knees).

notice the battle scars on those knees?...I got those in 'combat' with a German chavvy oik in Meersburg who jumped out from a bus stop at me and sent the bike and me arse over tit on a gravel path...!

Though I think Lotti should have benefitted from another night on the beach

..I am sure it would have been fun..but I am not sure I could have lived with myself...how sad is that..more MUG me

 

[Speicher]

I did not notice the battle scars. Did that happen on your German Trip?

 

[Tony]

Oh, how well I know those roads around Montp'r! There are some sneaky back ways through from Le Grau du Roi past the Big Motte to Palavas (where I've stayed a couple of times), though you can't easily avoid the metal bridge, and there are cycleways up from Palavas to Montp'r.
That town is very schizo; the centre, with the tram terminus and the park, is lovely, but there are a shedload of crap districts/dodgy areas. The other problem there is the tram system. The lines are buggers to avoid, dangerous to ride over, and beset by lots of roadworks that leave much of the town looking like the Somme battlefield.
And the drivers there are tossers.
South of Avignon there are white roads that you can use to get down past Tarascon to Arles, though you have to watch out for farm dogs. And running bulls.....
An alternative and scenic route to Arles is by way of St Remy and Les Baux, which gives a bit of a climb and some amazing views.

 

[GrahamG]

That's impressive. Great photos too - I didn't have you down as a long haired rocker! (It's good to break the cycle touring stereotypes.)

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I think that I would have still left Montpellier even if I had been paid to stay there. The risk to my bike and my self was just too great. What a hell hole. Th eFrench can keep it, my advice to anybody thinking riding ther eis to forget it, it jus tisnt worth it.

Franc ehas so many nicer places..ride there instead.

 

[spindrift]

Mate, that is inspirational, chapeau!

€140 in total is amazing, did you just buy baguettes and cheese and stuff?

I SO WANT TO DO THIS!!!

Got the chance of redundancy, or another job offer, decisions, decisions...

 

[LLB]

Mate, that is inspirational, chapeau!

€140 in total is amazing, did you just buy baguettes and cheese and stuff?

I SO WANT TO DO THIS!!!

Got the chance of redundancy, or another job offer, decisions, decisions...

Has Boris got your number Spinners ?, I'm sure you could get a job in Prague if you look

 

[spindrift]

Linford, you've posted 8 times in Touring and nobody's taken a blind bit of notice of you. You know I have you on ignore but you traipse around after me to continue your creepy stalking and disruptive behaviour, you've probably posted another shitty, snide remark that has nothing to do with cycling, nothing to do with touring and nothing to do with this thread.

As plainly as I can say it, **** off and die, if you succeed in getting this thread moved to your usual home, The Green Wheelie Bin, then it would be a waste of everyone's time and another pointlessly disruptive action by you.

I have no interest in what you say, you're an odious, spiteful racist person, go away and do something productive with your life and leave cyclists alone you strange, disturbed individual.

 

[spindrift]

In total on bothe the german and french trips the total ascent stat reads 21478m

Is there an extra digit in there?

Your route looks pretty flat but I'm probably wrong.

€140 for a journey of that length is staggering.

 

[GrahamG]

I'm well impressed with the spend too. The missus and I will be dropping a good £500 to set us up for touring (using a trailer and our road bikes to save getting tourers - sensible road bikes with triples and guards I might add), so I'd be interested in your methods of turning the investment in gear into such cheap holidays!