In this video, you will join me along an exciting eurovelo 8 bikepacking trip as…
I navigate through southern France, from Montpellier towards Narbonne, with plenty of unexpected challenges along the way.
I started the day after a peaceful night of camping, with only a few kids roaming by on buggies. With no strict plans and rain forecasted for later, I packed up my campβonly to discover my tent had taken some collateral damage from the thunderstorm the previous nights.
One of the plastic hooks on my tent pole cracked; I hoped it would hold up for the rest of the trip. Itβs an expensive tent, but surprisingly fragile.
My first stop was the town of Villeneuve de BΓ©ziers, where I picked up a fresh baguette and enjoyed it by the river with some three-day-old Camembert.
The route led me past BΓ©ziers along the scenic Canal du Midi. Watching the canal locks at work was fascinating. Boats have to wait for gates to open as each of the nine lock chambers fills with water to help them navigate uphill
The path along the canal was rough and bumpy, seemingly man-made, which made for slow, rocky progress. Then I took a short detour to Capestang for some supplies, then opted for the smoother state road instead of the single-track canal path to save some time.
At one point, I faced the choice between sticking strictly to the Velo route on sketchy gravel or detouring along a car road. I went with the detour, reconnected to the Velo route, and luckily found a water point along the way.
As I approached Narbonne, the rain loomed closer. I considered waiting out the storm in a supermarket or camping in a parking lot, where people might be understanding due to the weather.
Narbonne was busy with tourists, and it was tempting to explore, but my priority was to recharge at Burger King.
There were museums and a modern cycle path, but time and the looming weather kept me moving.
After scouting potential camping spots, I found a lot behind a cinema, but it looked like it might already be claimed. Cigarettes, hygiene items, and the faint smell of urine suggested someone else might already be using it as their own. I didnβt want any trouble, especially in the rain, so I had to make a decision.
In the end, I decided to take a train to Toulouse, thanks to a suggestion from a fellow cyclist I met before Monesque. It was the best option to dodge the thunderstorms and take a much-needed rest day.
When I arrived at the Toulouse train station, I loved the vibe. I rode 15 kilometers in the dark to a hotel outside the city center, lured by the promise of good breakfast.
Finally, I checked into a basic but welcoming hotel room, complete with complimentary tea and biscuits. Toulouse had a distinctly authentic feel to it, more down-to-earth than Marseille. I canβt wait to explore more of it in the next episode.
00:00:00 Breaking up the camp
00:01:21 Baguette breakfast
00:02:02 Riding to Beziers
00:03:14 Riding along Canal du Midi
00:05:14 Arriving at Narbonne
00:06:23 Search for camping spot in Narbonne
00:07:10 Taking train to Tolouse
00:08:04 Arriving at Tolouse
Thank you for following my adventure!
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EuroVelo 8 (EV8), named the Mediterranean Route, is a 7,560 km long EuroVelo long-distance cycling route running from Cadiz, Spain to Athens, Greece, and then continuing to Δ°zmir, Turkey and to the island of Cyprus. The route runs east-west across Europe mainly along or close to the Mediterranean coast, passing successively through 12 countries: Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus
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