Art of Travel: Paris to Madrid

Day Eight

Woken up several times during the night by claps of thunder and the ongoing downpour. If it stops raining by 08:00 I will pack up and head for Quillan, which is half way between Foix and Perpignan. Awake again at 07:00 to the absence of rain hitting the tent so I ate a hurried breakfast, packed everything away and left Foix. Ten minute into the morning’s ride the rain started in earnest.

The rain clouds and I appeared not only to be travelling in the same direction but at very similar speeds too. I began to feel like one of those sad cartoon characters who, no matter where they go, have this little grey storm cloud hovering overhead keeping them soaked and miserable. At least I had the wind on my back the whole time which made the trip that bit easier.

These roads with their slight inclines are peculiar in the visual illusion they present. When looking either straight ahead or back the way I came I would swear it looks like I am going downhill, and the pressure my legs have to apply to maintain momentum when moving forward clearly indicate that I am gaining altitude.

Not much to see again today due to the rain’s effect on visibility, however there were two moments where the bad weather subsided just enough to make it seem worthwhile to take a couple snap shots of the valley below facing north.

Quillan is located in a valley surrounded on all sides by steep mountains, so I approached it from a height which enabled me to freewheel for 6km, although I took it slowly in the rain (it made it kind of tricky to see with rain biting into my face, and, to my mind, the rain causes the road surface to have a rather uncertain adherence).

I’m really getting the hang of this tent. After today’s ride I manage to erect it in the pouring rain in less than five minutes without the inside getting wet. Once inside I changed into dry clothes but my trainers were soaked through which made me reluctant to put them back on for the trip to the shops for food, a reluctancy which had me sitting in the relative comfort and shelter of the tent for two and a half hours until the rain eased off enough to make the venture tolerable.

 

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