Rude Awakening

Day 12
Distance: 97.01 km, Top Speed: 49.0 kmph.

I woke early to avoid any potential builders coming an,d disturbing me. Alas, I was not early enough. A van pulled up, and to my horror a man stepped out carrying a shotgun. He strolled right up to me, cocking the gun as he walked. I put my hands up, and incoherently muttered: "------". To my relief, he smiled and explained that he was checking on the place for a friend while he was out for his Sunday morning hunt and had no problem with me sleeping their. Was the cocking of the shotgun some sort of over precaution? Or a joke perhaps?

HAHA. HAH. HA.

More awake than I'd ever been in my life, I hurriedly cycled away and began my ascent into the Pyrenees. Since I was so ahead of schedule, my morning turned into a leisurely one and I managed to take extended breaks at almost every town I stopped in. Whether it was the Saturday market in Pamiers, the castle in Foix (pictured) or swimming in the mountain streams of Tarascon-sur-Ariège, every single one was stunningly beautiful. Southern France is the place to be.

With my calves well on their way to becoming fully grown cows, my day ended at a camp site in Sauvignac-les-Ormeaux after a series of fairly intense climbs.