Mas de Panis

Courier companies in this part of the world have a bad reputation. DHL Toulouse, France, is no exception. My aunt came here to visit me all the way from New Zealand. Unfortunately her new Drivers Licence only arrived at home the day after her departure for Europe and so the family retained DHL to deliver [...]

I have also had difficulties over a long period of time with the updating of the map and nearly gave up.  Then it occurred to me that it may be an idea to delete the existing map om the Garmin nuvi 760. It worked. If you have tried the update without success then do try [...]

I have been meaning for ages to put this up here and never quite got to it until today:

Jonathan Ricketts and I started out in Toulouse on the morning of Saturday 30 April 2011 and cycled the 49 km to Port Lauragais where we stayed the night. Sunday’s ride was to Carcassonne but, due to heavy headwinds, we did this leg in reverse. Geoff Cook drove us from Port Lauragais to Carcassonne and [...]

POLICE have complained about new rules banning them from having a glass of wine or beer to wash down their meals. The officers’ union SGP-FO said the ruling from the headquarters of the CRS riot police was “heavy-handed,” adding that the Code de Travail allows drinking alcohol – 25cl of wine or a small beer [...]

I was reading up on CamelBak‘s website as I am about to haul mine out after the winter and now that the days are warming up in France. The have an interesting questionnaire on hydration which I recommend that you read. CamelBak have an excellent video here which explains how to clean it.

Ever since I started cycling seriously again after a break of twenty-nine years, I tackled a nearby hill immediately which I call the Caylus Hill.   It is a bit of a misnomer as there are many hills in the area and around Caylus specifically. The road I am talking about is the one that [...]

On Wednesday 6 April 2011 we had unseasonally warm weather.  Here are the Météo-France charts:  

Ah, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  I had mentally prepared for the Cornusson hill and, when I got there, there was a “Route Barrée” sign as the council were cutting down trees.  So I did a detour via Douges which added 750 to 800 metres on the planned route but [...]