Set out with trepidation from Cauteret, worried about the brakes on the twisting gorge down into the valley. Took it very cautiously, at one point embarrassingly being overtaken by a cyclist freewheeling downhill. By passed Lourdes and sped towards Carcasonne. Made excellent progress and stopped for a snack at a café that looked dead from the outside but was packed with everyday Frenchmen (mostly) enjoying their midday long meal. Virtually every table had a bottle of red wine on it. The breathalyser must be very lightly applied here. The café did us an off the cuff salad when we explained that we were veggies. It was delicious. The countryside is gentler here with occasional pretty hill towns such as Montreal. Relieved to get on the camp site just south of the old cite of Carcassone. The
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