I woke up at 7.30 fully refreshed and was not feeling tired at all. Even after two long days in the saddle during which I rode 1,617 km and spent 13h 45m on the bike. I just loved every minute.
I spent the first hour “alone” as everyone was asleep. I packed my stuff and went for a walk to make a couple of pics for my archives. The town was asleep as well in the early hours.
The service was excellent. I was served a sumptuous breakfast and coffee.
Then Cédric took me for a tour to the Pont du Gard where we wandered around in the beautiful weather.
They gave me lunch at home then we took a couple of pictures and after long minutes of farewell I finally took of at around 14.30.
I headed for Argeles sur Mer (actually Argeles Plage) based on the tip I got from my hosts. It was only 263 km. I took my time which proved to be a mistake. Even though sunset was still a long way when I arrived it still turned out I am late… I missed the tourist info by a couple of minutes. Actually I did not miss it. They closed earlier – surely for lack of tourists. I arrived at 17.58 but despite the advertised closing time of 18.00 there was no one to be found. So was the police station… I decided to find accommodation by myself. GPS showed numerous campsites which – as it turned out – were all closed. Based on the info I received I was just too early wit my trip. The place seemed like a buzzing tourist resort in high season but the actual season just starts with Easter which meant one more week.
I finally managed to find a campsite for a mere 8.50 EUR. I set up camp, had a shower, changed clothes and headed in town for dinner.
I found a couple of bars and restaurants on the beach and parked my bike. I sat outside, had a beer and took a couple of pics.
When I wanted to order dinner they wanted to invite me inside. For some reason they all tried to persuade me that it is really cold outside. Me, I was enjoying sitting outside and having dinner in 20 degrees thinking about folks back home sitting in freezing temperatures.
I finally got a pizza (not as good as the one in Verona) and another beer. The only downside was that there was no wi-fi anywhere around).
When I arrived back to the campsite I saw the bar is open so I opted to go there. It seemed to be a good decision. Not only I could connect to the net, charge my electronic equipment but I had an excellent time chatting to the owner for hours having drinks. Both him and his wife are bikers. The guy apparently took his daughter on bike trips with a specially made harness…
I went to bed (back to my tent…) after 10.00 pm to have a well deserved dinner hoping not to have a hangover the next day.
Daily data
Total mileage: 267.7 km
Total time on bike: 2h 46m
Average moving speed: 97 km/h
Max speed of the day: 169 km/h