That wind,
was killing
me.

Leaving Brunet. I had a great stay camping in the garden of my hosts. Specially the parents were super sweet. Well into their 80ies and many stories to tell. I'm invited to Perpignan, I'll try to visit! And a bomb of a sweet thing. Pâte à choux, caramelised outside and cream inside. Well deserved though. Wind was tough again. While I truly enjoy my time in France, this wind. I saw as well my first burnt down forest. Generally it's scary how dry it is, given that it's only April. I won't complain, but not having any rain around this time of year is not normal.

Today was the first day I cried. I prepared for possibly the most easy ride so far. Just shy of 60km and basically no ascend. It started well, but then I had to change direction a bit. Going more North/West. And man, the wind. It was blowing into my face for the whole time. Several times I was almost pushed off the bike. And that is really not fun when you're on a busy road. I had to change route, but this was so painful. And the weirdest thing is that nobody seems to recognise the struggle you have. But going against wind is the most unrewarding thing ever. Going up, you get views. Going against whirly headwinds, you get nothing. I got to Avignon though, and I actually really didn't like it. But there was still a great ending to that day, meeting an old colleague of mine.

Another highlight of the day. I got my own toilet roll. I arrived in Camping Land.

Today I got what I asked for. An easy ride, with side and tail wind. Such a great change! I possibly said that already, but the bike routes here are great! Mostly not special streets, but small roads. Hardly any cars! I can very much recommend that. All of a sudden a lot of bike touring people around as well. Often super well equipped and somehow a little unfriendly, or I don't know how to describe it. But I met as well a 68 year old lady today who's biking down from Norway. Lots of luggage but good fun to talk to. I'll stay put tomorrow here, but will bike into the Camargue. I want to see white horses and pink birds!

A rest day. Sort of. Decided to stay two days on the campground to do a little tour into the Camargue. The ride was beautiful. Down south, tailwind. Up north, headwind. But not a big problem, as I hardly had luggage. I looked for white horses, pink birds and black bulls. Saw all of them. Unfortunately not really wild white horses. Nevertheless it was beautiful. On the way it really struck me on how lucky I am that I can just bike empty streets, while most people are sitting in the office.

Sorry for all the blue sky. But it is actually very sunny here. Still not a single rainy day, despite the one in Napoli. Beautiful route along the #viarhona, with rides along a canal, the Mediterranean, the Camargue and a super cute town called Aigues-Mortes. There's nothing to complain about. Just one thing: Mosquitos! Somehow the camping ground was a hotspot for them. I was attacked, two times I had even blood running down my legs. Hope they don't occur again that quickly, but got some weapons.

Oh, there was this group of cold water swimmers. All well over 60 with wetsuits. One was even wearing bright red lipstick and was super chic. If I would live nearby the sea, I would try to make this my hobby as well.

Day didn't start well off. No coffee. Cold. Mosquitos. Strange camp ground, really nobody out there. Packed as quick as possible to get off going. But the #Garmin was full again and my laptop empty. Had to reset the whole thing and reconnect. If anybody has a tip to do it more effective, let me know. And I didn't get into biking. I was looking for coffee, nothing. In Sète I almost had a chance, but got into the strike. After Sète I finally got some in a great bakery. Long ride on the coastline, beautiful. But it's again a bit boring. I need to plan the rest of my route that I don't get into too many of these. Yesterday I got lost in La Grande Motte. A huge beach town. Terrible. You get in and out easily, but the in between is just a total confusion of direction. They try to get you onto cycle paths shared with pedestrians all the time, even though the road has great surface and is almost empty. I fall for it every time. Last day on #Eurovelo8, heading towards Bordeaux.