7/19/05 After getting my tire sorted out at a tire shop in Perpignan (pronounced peppy-on) I was on the road heading towards Nice. It was quite a nice drive and the weather couldn’t be better for driving along the French Med. I made it about halfway by 4:00 and decided I would call it a day and set up camp. I found campground but little did I know there was about 150 14 year old camping there. So I became somewhat of an oddity, well ok more than the normal oddity that I am, and before I knew it I had about 20 kids standing around asking questions and looking at me. So after I finally managed to shoo the off I made some dinner and relaxed. Today’s Specs Weather: 90 F, Sunny Distance: 150 miles Colliure to Arles   7/20/05 I woke up early and quickly packed up my stuff before the heard of teenagers realized I was leaving. Once on the road I made it to Nice in rather good time. Once in Nice I found an internet café and I had received an email from a Thomas, a Norwegian guy who is going to Africa at the same time I am. We had sent each other a few emails and talked about riding together. Now riding through Africa you really want to pick your riding partner carefully. Nothing worse than being stuck with a tosser. So he said he was going to be in Nice for a few days with his family staying at their vacation home and that I was more than welcome to stay in the spare bedroom. But his flight was coming in till 9:00 tonight so off to the beach I went to kill some time. Today’s Specs Weather: 90 F, Sunny Distance: 100 miles Arles to Bar Sur Loup   7/21/05 - 7/28/05 Well Thomas and family weren’t expecting the house guest that didn’t leave when they offered me a place to stay. The last week has been a vacation from a vacation, ughmmm Josh don’t expect people to sympathize about needing a vacation when the only work you do is picking up your bike that seems to like laying on its side, well I thought I needed a vacation. So I spent the last week relaxing with Thomas and family (Marcus-youngest son, Simon-Marcus’s friend, and Adreas-oldest son and a big rap music fan) . So if you are bitter you might want to skip this section because this last week has been a blur of sitting by the pool, drinking wine, bbq-ing, great conversation, and just general laziness. Since I was on vacation I decided not to keep a journal. Thomas and family thanks for your generosity and hospitality, this was one of the best weeks on the trip.