Deeside Monday + France

John Meaden sent this report of his Canal du Midi cycling holiday last week in France:

"Last week we went on our first ever cycling holiday - myself , Anna and one other couple . It was run by Headwater holidays who provide bikes (decent hybrids) , route info and move your bags each day to the next hotel .

We started in Carcasonne in SW France and followed the route of the Canal du Midi to 

Narbonne , Beziers and finally Sete on the southern coast . Much of the route was on good canal paths with some sections on rural roads to add variety and avoid any poor quality paths . 

The riding was very easy mainly because it is so flat with a few small  hills on the roads . Over 7 days we did about 290k with every day including coffee and lunch stops . The Freewheelers convention of no alcohol during cycling was broken every day at least once .

Weather was great - mostly 18 to 25 degrees with a few storms at the start .

40k approx per day is a typical Freewheelers outing spread over a whole day but it proved to be quite enough - allowing plenty of time for some sightseeing and relaxation as well as route finding .

The route was generally quiet but we did have to negotiate 4 towns /cities of significant size which tended to raise the stress level . 

No Strava due to an incident with my phone - another story . Vertical might be 300 to 500m over the entire week .

Overall a great experience and some really pleasant riding ."

Back on Deeside, 5 Freewheelers went on the usual Monday afternoon ride, with Mike providing this brief report, photos and route map:

"No time for full report but a pleasant run by Home Farm, the river bank, over the Sluie, past Craiglash and on to Platform 22.

After a fine scone and coffee returned by Campfield, Glassel and Brathens.

Freewheelers on the day were; Dick, Ian S, Chris, Jack and me."