I continued on the very steep downhill (countless switchbacks) towards Ax-les-Thermes. It was only 20C and windy, and still my rims required several cooling breaks. Halfway down, I managed to squeeze into a forest through some bushes and a broken fence - a lovely open spot by a creek. It was partly visible from the road but it was a hiker who "found" me - wild camping is technically illegal in France but he didn't seem to care...