Day 10  Castelsarassin to Agen 33  Miles  Running total 260

Here is todays route https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42298531

We can’t believe we have been away for over a week, and this blog is probably getting boring, but wait for another 3 weeks if you think that this is repetitive. The weather is perfect for cycling today. The washing we had hung up last night had dried by the time we returned from our evening meal. I decided it would be a good idea to wash a few more items to leave to dry overnight. It did not work, so this morning, I am forced to warm up the damp items with the hair dryer before  putting them back on.

We have a later start today as we can’t check in at our next accommodation until 5 pm this evening,  and the journey should only be 31 miles plus any navigational errors we might make. The first job is to purchase lunch and some WD40 or something similar to clean the bikes and chains now we appear to be off the mud and chippings.

After leaving Castelsarassin, we diverted into a small out of town shopping centre, and in the first shop I visited there was no WD40 but I came out with a plastic wine goblet, well one does have standards to uphold. I only bought one which we will take it in turns to use to save on weight. The second supermarket had the WD40, so we are ready to ride.

We arrive at a pretty small town called Mossaic, where I lose track of the cycleway and end up at some steps. We don’t fancy trying to carry everything up the steps, and Garmin comes to the rescue, taking us through the back streets to the cycleway. This route is now on the banks of the River Garonne. I told my compatriot I was looking for coffee shops in this detour.

We cycle on with no sign of any cafes, but we do find a picnic bench after 25 miles cycling at around 1:30 pm.  With lots of time and only 7 miles to go, we have a long lunch with wine from the plastic goblet. I have noticed that my compatriot has not had oil and grease on her legs for some days, so thought it time to rectify this.

With my newly purchased WD40, a bit of rag, and the chain lubricant I brought with me.  I spent a happy hour cleaning the mud and dust off the bikes and lubricating everything.

My compatriot assisted in her sleep.

The final 7 miles passed uneventfully other than stopping at a canalside cafe for two drinks that cost more than London prices. You know when you have been mugged with a smile, and on this occasion we were.

I stopped at the prescribed distance indicated on Garmin and consulted Google on the route we should take to our accommodation. The instructions said to go 100 yards and take a sharp right. “Caution steep hill and narrow road.” As we were pushing the bikes up the hill, a car stopped, and a woman wound down a window and asked if we were English, and whether we were staying at Villa Vincent? When we said yes, she turned her car around to show us into the property. She was our host.

Perhaps I should have noticed that one of the features of the property advertised were the panoramic views of the canal and city.

After a quick shower, (my compatriot has oil on her leg so the chain must be lubricated correctly again). We headed into town to explore and ended up in a square with buzzing bars where we had a beer. Of course, it is Friday night for the workers.

Then, it was onto a lovely restaurant under these arches, where my compatriot requested a table for two in her best French. The menus arrived along with a QR code so you could get an English translation. Perhaps the accent needs some fine tuning!