During the descent.
 

Just before the border was a touristy village where you could buy everything that is more expensive in France. There was an enormous gas station with over 20 pumps that all had long lines. We figured petrol was cheaper in Andorra. After the village, we ended up in a traffic jam. We weren't used to so many cars after two weeks in Spain. As best as we could, we overtook the cars on their right. We arrived at customs and already had our passports ready. This time we weren't stopped.

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Now we just needed to descend for a long time. We were right in the heart of the Pyrenees. The route we were following would first pass through a valley, and then we would cycle around the mountains towards the west. For the descent, I put on my waterproof pants and jacket. Bram also put on his long pants and 'warm' jacket. The first 15 minutes were pretty cold. After that it got worse. Apparently, that's what happens if you cycle 50 km/h for half an hour while it's only 15 degrees. Many people were honking at us. After a while, we stopped at a picnic area to warm up.

 

We continued going down and quickly arrived at Ax-les-Thermes. We had descended for 30 km, so we actually made some kilometers today. From Ax-les-Thermes onwards, it was pretty flat. We cycled at a good pace. In Tarascon, I noticed a bakery where we bought the raisin bread we had agreed to buy as soon as we reached France. They were good ones. For a Sunday, many stores were open, but no supermarkets. We followed the route to Foix. On a roundabout, we learned we couldn't continue, the route changed into a highway. We had to backtrack, cross the river, and follow a smaller road. Luckily we found it quickly. On the small road, I felt my knee again. It hurt and I was exhausted, I think Bram was as well, so our pace went down a bit.

 

Although Foix is a big city we couldn't find an open supermarket. We did find a bakery to buy a baguette and sat down on a nearby bench. The bench was in the sun. In Spain, you wouldn't survive sitting in the sun in the afternoon. Here it was just bearable. While eating, we heard some dance music echoing through the valley. I recognized Daft Punk. I don't think they were giving a concert, because they were all different songs.

 

We continued while not very well rested. After the long descent we had earlier, we now needed to climb a little. To our surprise, we quickly reached the top of a col. Most of them were ten times as long. I pulled away some branches in front of the sign so we could take a nice picture. Bram was pretending to pole dance, but I was just too late to take a picture. When Bram was about to take a picture of me, I said, 'Well, I am very tired of this col..'. Bram managed to take a picture while I was joking around.