For some reason while I was in the shower at the end of Day 4 the thought that nobody had punctured this week went through my mind...that will have jinxed it no doubt! We had the not so small matter of the Hautacam to face on the final day of the trip. This climb is … Continue reading Pyrénées – Final Day (5)
Pyrénées – Day 4
The week has been building to a single climb. A climb that is the most iconic in the Pyrénées. The legendary Col du Tourmalet has featured in the greatest bicycle race in the world...the Tour de France...more than any other climb. 2019 will be its 87th appearance. This Col could have been purposely designed for … Continue reading Pyrénées – Day 4
Pyrénées – Day 3
An ‘easy’ day ahead...well that is what Jeff and I were hoping for as we were shuttled out to where we were to start La Hourquette d’Ancizan. With fresh legs Jeff and I started. Any climb that takes the cyclist up to over 1500 meters will be far from ‘easy’ in the true sense of … Continue reading Pyrénées – Day 3
Pyrénées- Day 2
After riding the first day I asked Mike (who had already offered the day before) to change my cassette to give me a lower bottom gear. I was struggling to maintain my cadence (pedal speed) on the steep parts of the climb...which in the Pyrénées is actually most of the climb! So with a lower … Continue reading Pyrénées- Day 2
The Pyrénées Day 1
I booked this trip with the intention of going in 2018. Unfortunately things got in the way so the very understanding people at The Col Collective kindly allowed me to hold it over until this year. Arriving at the house by car on Saturday afternoon I was welcomed by Knut a Norwegian cyclist who is … Continue reading The Pyrénées Day 1
La Velodyssee- Day 18 and Day 19
The reason for pushing hard to get to Capbreton was so that I would have a couple of easy days to finish. Unfortunately it didn’t actually turn out that way...both days were shorter but I’d failed to take into account the difference in the terrain once past Bayone! I could see the foothills of the … Continue reading La Velodyssee- Day 18 and Day 19
La Velodyssee – Day 16 and 17
A hard day on Day 16 so no post on the day. I decided to do a multi-day post instead. The hero of Day 16 was Ian Fox (pronounced Yan). It sounds like an English name but he is, in fact, Breton. He is the owner of Fox Cycles in Arcachon. I rode up from … Continue reading La Velodyssee – Day 16 and 17
La Velodyssee – Day 15
At some point today I crossed the 1000 kilometres point of this ride. It was early on as the total is 1098 kilometres so far. I covered 102 kilometres today which is my furthest one day distance during the tour. It didn’t look like I would do any kilometres today. The rain was extremely heavy … Continue reading La Velodyssee – Day 15
La Velodyssee – Day 14
Up and out by 9:45 after a nice meal and a good sleep to catch the ferry. I had no idea of the ferry times or exactly how I went about getting a ticket. As I rode towards the port I could see the ferry heading there too! I needed to get on that one … Continue reading La Velodyssee – Day 14
La Velodyssee – Day 13
The cool northerly wind made it a very cold night. The temperature fell to 2 Celsius! I was OK in the tent but didn’t get out of the sleeping bag in a hurry this morning! Once I did get up there was no sitting around as it was much to cold! I actually packed up … Continue reading La Velodyssee – Day 13