Stage 14 - Revel to Ax 3 Domaines

Stage 14 was the day we expected to get out early and get a lot of distance, perhaps tackling one HC climb (unclassified - more difficult than a Class 1 climb) near the end of the stage.  But, once again, the fates were not with us.  As we were pumping up our tires, Roy's rear tire tube stem burst and we had the ordeal of changing a tube.  When he was ready I discovered I had not filled my camelback with water.  By the time we left our hotel it was 9:30am, we still had to ride to the beginning of the Stage, and didn't get off until 9:45.  The day warmed up quickly, reaching the low 80's by 11am, and I was wishing we had gotten out much earlier.  We were "forced" to stop for a large cold beer at the 33 mile stage, after which riding "aggressively" didn't seem quite so important.  We completed two Class 5 climbs, and by the time we reached our "lunch" stop with Gwen and Fran,  we had travelled 75 miles and it was close to 3pm.  We decided if we were to get to our hotel at a reasonable hour, we needed to head in that direction.  I was actually looking forward to getting to the hotel early and getting some work completed.  But...we ran into a traffic jamb coming into Foix, and by the time we reached our hotel, once again, it was 7pm.  We had a "Buffalo Grill" next to the hotel, a large Cowboy themed restaurant specializing in burgers, ribs, chili, etc.  Playing American western music throughout the evening.  Ah....France.  What became of you?   I had the chili, okay, not nearly as good as my miraculous first contact.  The restaurant did, in keeping with the French tradition, stretch our meal out to about two hours with minimal service getting us food and a bill.  This we seem to be able to count on.

We'll have to figure out what to do today for our ride in very difficult mountainous areas with several #2 Climbs and a HC climb.  Another   Gwen needs to get to the next hotel and get some work done.  Planning a route that will work and meet her needs will be tricky, but that is what we keep attempting to do - accommodate our desire to ride as much as possible, recognizing that we are too tired to take on this big climbs some days, and also try to meet our "at-home" work schedules.