Day 6 & 7 – Carcassonne and the Mediterranean

Despite the current ‘cost of living challenges’ facing all community events, Bike Manawatu is 100% committed to ensuring the 51st year of the Novice Tour – once again provides a safe, fun, competitive cycle racing event.

We will adopt a high-quality assured approach in implementing the Local Roading Authority’s/Cycling New Zealand’s ‘Safe Traffic Management System’ (STMS) standards which ensure best practices and rider and spectator safety.

If the level of community funding secured is not sufficient to contract in external road management service providers with the ability to stop/go traffic, the Novice Tour will proceed on a ‘local club racing’ model, whereby our team of trained/experienced road marshals will, where necessary, pause racing in order to give way to traffic and ensure rider safety.

Although funding external road management services with the ability to stop/go traffic is ideal, if this is not feasible – we are confident that the event’s ‘Safe Traffic Management System’ (STMS) will provide a competitive, fair, enjoyable and importantly safe racing environment.

Irrespective of which model of traffic management/racing is finalised, as with all CNZ/Bike Manawatu events, normal road rules will apply and a full rider briefing confirming the event rules will be provided to all riders prior to the start of each race.

Leaving the Pyrenees behind, but still following the path of the tour, albeit a couple of days behind, we headed east to the city of Carcassonne. On the way we passed through endless fields of sunflowers.
When we arrived at Carcassonne we were all Who could believe that it wasn’t designed by Walt Disney? It’s such a perfect castle, it’s a cliché of castles!

We stayed the night and spent most of the next day wandering the narrow medieval streets full of shops and took a tour of the castle.

Late that afternoon we continued east to the coast of the Mediterranean at Cap d’Agde. Although not the Cote d’azur it was the Med. The beaches weren’t crowded, but the water was dirty and cold and the prices high. It’s times like this you you really appreciate what we have in NZ.