Le Passage

4:56 / 66 miles / 2,110 ft. Lisa and I had a great ride along the Canal Latéral à la Garonne, starting from our Airbnb about 65 miles north of Agen, FR. The morning began with rain, so we relaxed with multiple breakfasts and a brunch until 11:30 AM when we checked out. Our host, thrilled to have us for two days, shared her dream of visiting the United States. As the rain eased, we snapped a picture together before hitting the road.
We cycled through scenic hillsides (reminding us of Iowa), passing fields of drying sunflowers still holding onto a bit of their bright yellow, familiar September corn with brown leaves all most ready for harvest, and rows of plum trees, many already harvested but still adorned with a random lingering purple fruit. Eventually, we descended to Marmande, FR and the flat canal path, making great time in the sunshine with a slight tailwind. For lunch, we stopped to enjoy our packed ham sandwich , hummus, chips, beet salad, peanuts, and a slightly chilled beer. We reached Agen around 5:30 PM and relaxed at Velo Café with a drink. Just as we settled on the patio under the canvas tent, a downpour began, so we waited it out before heading to our Warmshowers host. The evening with Mathilde was relaxing as we sat around the table enjoying—black bean chili, rice, tea, chocolate, and sheep cheese, plums (fresh and slightly dried) paired with great conversation. Mathilde is a teacher of 3-5 year old children, and has a classroom of 16 children she teaches French and Occitan (a language closer to Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian than French. spoken mainly in the southern regions) After Mathilde’s grandmother’s herbal tea we were ready for bed! As the leaves begin to change and flutter to the path along the canal on this first day of fall, we’ve settled into a private room, ready for a good night's rest. More rain predicted for tomorrow morning. 😒 A short video of parts of the day: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAP4a-jMYeu/?igs…Read more