1am

... and just returned from the town square in Limoux after several beers. We had a great last 36 hrs from our last stop in London. Yesterday afternoon, we flew into Toulouse, the home of Airbus Industrie. In a bit of American imperialism, we did so on a Boeing 737. Upon landing, we met up with Jerome and Peter, then boarded a city bus for downtown. We were quite the vision as we disembarked with our bike cases in the middle of town.



After finding and checking into our hotel, we took it upon ourselves to explore every single square in Toulouse, having a beer in each. Toulouse is a pretty neat town -- very friendly people, great weather, pretty location on the river, nice bars, etc.



Waking up a bit hung over, we explored the markets and cafes of Toulouse. When you see the spreads of bread, cheese, charcouterie, etc., it becomes somewhat comical how much we rave about the ferry building farmers' market in San Francisco. We drank a few espressos, explored the food markets and walked along the river while waiting for our friends from Montfaucon to pick us up.

Rental Velos in Toulouse

Well, we finally did make it to Limoux, a sleepy little town but perfectly set in the foothills of the Pyrenees. The Aude River flows right past Montfaucon where we are staying. Stunning setting.
We built up our bikes and rushed out for our first ride. Paul led the way under scorching skies, while Natalie followed behind. A short 35 shakedown mile ride to flush the legs and make sure the bikes were dialed in. Much fun was had.

Ride map and profile of today's ride.