Success at last

We finally reached the Med at 5pm on Tuesday, at Grau d'Agde, after 828 miles of cycling, and celebrated with a dip in the sea. Internet cafes have been very rare so it has proved difficult to update this blog, but now we're in Montpellier so it's easier to get connected. Our first week was very wet but then it got hotter and hotter - and this coincided with the hills so it was such hard work, the major rivers such as the Lot, the Dordogne , the Tarn etc seem to run east west so we were forever hurtling into towns with a blissful descent only to have to spend hours toiling up the hill out of town pushing a pannier-laden bike in the broiling heat. The other problem about French towns is that many have never heard of dropped kerbs so again hauling a pannier-laden bike about is difficult.

We've stayed in a mixture of chambres d'hotes and hotels - the former are much better - full of style and character. Touch wood we've had no punctures or injuries so far. Ralph was attacked by a dog once but he outpaced it (must have been a very old dog...) Almost without fail the Offices de Tourismes have been very helpful, booking the next night's accommodation for us when we visit, and supplying a map to help us find our way out of the place again.

We cycled up to Montpellier yesterday to spend four nights here and had our first shock when we discovered that it was full - no rooms available. After much trying the tourism office found us a room in a Kyriad Prestige hotel out of town on an industrial estate - aargh - it's very nice but we're going to move more central tomorrow night. Montpellier is absolutely gorgeous and well worth plenty of exploring between the old and the new. I'm going to attempt to upload some pics now so will hopefully write another update soon.