The Manche to the Med - Day 15: Carcassonne to Gruissan

Breakfast started with a promise - bacon and eggs on the menu - but on closer inspection their idea of a English breakfast was small lardons and watery scrambled eggs - didn't look appetising whatsoever. We opted for the usual fare, stocking up for what should be a steady ride to our destination on the Mediterranean coast. The GPS profile indicates that it's flattish all the way.

We have a final wander around the old town before loading up and hitting the road. Some last-minute photo's a tightening of the pannier straps and we're on our way. The road towards Narbonne is busy with morning traffic, but it's easy cycling, seemingly slightly downhill for five miles or so. The GPS takes us off the main drag and up a dubious 'unpaved' section, not too bad though, then we're on quiet backroads. There is mile after mile of vineyards; neat, tended rows as far as the eye can see, hugging hillsides and valleys alike. Some appear to have been stripped of their grapes while others are fully laden with lucious dark purple fruit. We rejoin a busyish main road and climb a couple of short but annoyingly steep sections. The road is quite narrow and passing traffic sometimes feels dangerously close.

Vineyards

There's no lunch-stop today. We seem content with a non-stop mission to get to the sea and the end of our adventure. Each signpost counts down the remaining kilometres to Narbonne and from there it will be just a few further miles to Gruissan. As we arrive in Narbonne the GPS sends us into the city centre, through one-way streets (the wrong way!) and finally into a shopping precinct. We dismount and push our bikes through a pedestrianised area into a large open square with cafes and bars.

Narbonne

Narbonne was established by the Romans in 118 BC, Julius Caesar settled veterans from his 10th Legion here, developing it as a port that rivalled Marseilles. We resist the temptation of a thirst-quenching beer and find the canal path that will take us out of the city towards Gruissan. With just nine miles to go this canal path proved to be a difficult stretch. Narrow, pot-holed and bumpy all the way we crawled along at around 5mph. The GPS indicated there was a path off to the left, but there was none - we carried on along the towpath until we came to a bridge with access to a road. From there we cycled through flat salt-marshes, constantly looking for our first sign of the sea.

The Med

Finally we spotted it! The Mediterranean, there it was in the distance, not the gleaming, glittery blue that I was expecting - more grey and flat on this dull overcast day. The last few miles were along a smooth surfaced cycle track - lots of cyclists zipping around as we arrived at the resort. The afternoon has taken on a rosy glow now as we cycle past rows of holiday apartments, shops and bars. Gruissan is a fishing village sitting between two lagoons.There's a marina with apartments and restaurants and mooring for 1300 boats.

We locate our accommodation, a self-catering apartment that will sleep 6 and is 200 metres from the beach. It's basic but adequate and we can store the bikes inside. We head to the beach - it's huge with hardly anyone around. The tide is out and the thin strip of sea is a 400 metre walk along a strip of whicker carpet. We get a couple of photos and then get back to the apartment.

Made it! - Channel to The Med.

With a lunch-free ride we're hungry now. There's a couple of bars and restaurants a stones-throw from our apartment, we wander there and get a couple of beers and a bowl of olives. The restaurant opens at 7.00pm.

The bar owner is friendly and allows us a tab as we order more drinks and glasses of pastis. Finally we get to order some proper food - by now the restaurant is filling up. There're Duck Gizzards on the menu - last chance - I order some. Gary resists. The food is plentiful and the gizzards are tasty. We enjoy one of the menu options that gives us three courses, accompanied by some local wine.

Champagne celebration!

After that it's a few more beers and a glass of champagne each to toast the end of another fantastic challenge. It's dark now, and cold. The bar is heaving with holidaymakers as we enjoy a final nightcap. Our celebrations were inevitably intense, we wander back to the apartment zig-zag fashion, the cool night air doing nothing to suppress the effects. But we've done it, cycled across France, end-to-end, from The Channel to The Mediterranean.