Unseasonal

Well, it has to be said, I pity anybody that is currently on holiday down here. The weather for the past week has been truely appalling and very unseasonal. Temperatures have struggled to reach 20 degrees with daytime temperatures even dipping down to 12 degrees and it has rained on more days than not. You would not normally expect to smell that unmistakeable odour of woodsmoke in the air at this time of year in these parts but there it is, no mistake.

We have however had the odd little interlude of dry weather which I have tried to make the most of, with an outing up the Gorges de la Frau last week during which I managed to run a long uphill section that I had not run before, which was nice. Then yesterday, a short but sweet ride on the roadie which saw me knock 2 minutes off my previous fastest time up to the Col between Belesta and Puivert. The legs were working well but unfortunately my new chain was giving me problems in the middle gears and there was a gusty wind after Puivert which saw me cut the ride shorter than I would have liked. Still, it was nice to get out!

This morning, clearer skies and a brief return of that yellow orb, so the pooch and I headed up to the Plateau de Sault. I wanted to explore somewhere new and found a lovely little 11km/370m+ 'petite randonnée' from Roquefeuil. I was determined to make the most of being out so tried to take my time although the tracks and paths were so good, it was hard not to run it all!

The Plateau de Sault is a paradise for walkers, runners and mountain bikers at this time of year and there is so much up there yet to explore. I think I will be taking my mountain bike for a spin up there as soon as the weather improves.