Saint Savin, France to Bagneres de Luchon, France

Wow!  Today was an unbelievably hard day.  This was a day of 111 km in distance, and 3,308 meters in climb!  Our highest point today was the highest paved pass in the Pyrenees mountains (2,114 m).

We had three major climbs today.  The first was the "hors category" climb of Col de Tormalet.  Then we had two category 2 climbs afterwards, Col d'Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.  The latter two wouldn't have been quite so hard on me, I believe, except that Col de Tormalet had me so wasted already by then.

Today was a wonderful day!  If I could have special ordered the weather, I could not have done a better job.  We had clear and sunny skies only.  There was no perceptible wind, and no hint of rain at all.  The air temp was cool, especially on top of the mountains, but not truly cold.  It really was nice!  It was cool enough that I used my recently purchased leg warmers and full fingered gloves.  That was nice to have with me!

Once again, I felt that I was physically pretty much at my limit today.  At the top of Col de Tourmalet, I was so tired and wasted that I am not so sure my brain was then functioning well.  (Has it ever?)  It was a real ego blow to see how well others were handling the elevations and the climbs. 

A tortoise passed me, walking uphill, near the top of Col de Tormalet.  I felt embarrassed about how slow I was going, and how much I was then struggling. 

I tried to find some solace in the sense that he really was having to work hard to pass me.  At the top of the area however, I could see that the tortoise was elderly, and suffering from advanced arthritis.  My ego has taken huge hits on this trip.  I am clearly not the cyclist that I wish to consider myself.

Tomorrow is a rest day.  We leave on the next day, Monday, September 21, for Spain!

Cette-Eygun, France to Saint Savin, France

This was day number three of the actual riding.  We could not have possibly asked for better weather for our ride.  The was lots of sun and a clear sky, with no significant wind and no rain.  It was cold in the very early morning, starting out, and it got very cold very quickly after mid-afternoon.  (I guess a cold late afternoon goes with being in the mountains.)

With this weather today, the views from the road were spectacular.  I took lots of photos.  The ride down from the peak of col de Marie-Blanque, in particular, afforded unbelievable views.

The ride today was hard.  We did 99.8 km, with total climbing today at 2,775 meters.  Our highest achieved altitude was at 1,709 meters, at the top of col d-Aubisque.  (Maybe that altitude helps explain my fatigue and tachypnea at the time!)  Once again, this ride was pushing me close to my physical and emotional limits.  The grade of these climbs would be otherwise tolerable, but the duration of the climb is just overwhelming for me.  I do honestly feel that I was very responsible in my training, all throughout this past summer, in preparation for this trip.  Even so, I am frustrated with how much of a struggle these long mountain climbs are turning out to be for me.

We started today with col de Marie-Blanque.  That is a category 2 climb.  It is 9.5 km long, with the average grade being 7.5%.   It did have sections at 13%.  That was tough.  Really tough.  The descend from there was beautiful, and honestly not too frightening for me at all, even with my acrophobia.  That was nice.

The second climb was a "hors category" with col d'Aubisque.  That was a 17 km constant climb, getting us ultimately up to an altitude of 1,709 meters.  The grades were effectively the same as for col de Marie-Blanque.  I was wasted, truly wasted, at the top.

Tomorrow we start off with our first climb as the famous (infamous?) col de Tourmalet.  We hit that tomorrow at probably only 20 km into our ride.  This is a 18 km long climb, taking us to an altitude of 2,115 meters.  That will be the highest point of the entire trip.  The guides have advises us to have leg warmers, full fingered gloves, and things like that; it will be cold up there regardless of the weather at the more civilized altitudes.  We later will then climb col d'Aspin and col de Pyresourde, before arriving at our destination at Bagneres de Luchon, France.  Tomorrow's ride will be a 111 km ride totally.

Lots of hard work, but lots of fun.  Wonderful group of people, both the participants and the guides.

St. Jean Pied-de Port to Cette Eygun

Today was a great ride, but it really was super difficult.  We did 103.6 km, with 3,101 meters of total climb.   I don't think that I have ever experienced a more arduous ride!  The guides are telling us that today's ride was the most difficult of the entire trip.  I only hope and pray that this message is correct.

The first climb was Col de Burdincurucheta, and this really is just the lead in to Col d'Iraty.  Putting them together, this climb was 26 km long, with the average grade at 5%.  (The average was 5%, but there were sections of 13%!)  That was so draining for me.  We have climbs that steep in La Crosse certainly, but the length of this climb was just relentless!  I was utterly drained at the end.  The next climb, Col de Soudet, was 22 km long and similar elevation.  What was demoralizing was that I found even not-so-steep climbs on Col de Soudet were very difficult, probably due to my fatigue from the first climb. 

That said, the views made it all worth it.  This is a phenomenally beautiful part of the planet Earth!  Some of the views were literally breathtaking.  (Or, was I out of breath for some other reason?)

The weather was wonderful initially, with only a few clouds in the sky, comfortable temperature, and minimal wind.  Later this afternoon however, we ended up with a cold mountain rain.  (Ugh!)

The descents were tough for me, that probably due to my acrophobia.  In fairness to me though, most of the people on today's ride also commented upon the frightening descents.  There were generally no guardrails at the side of the road, with very frightening drop offs.  At the end of the day, that was made even more frightening by the wet road surface.

This ride today was probably the hardest thing that I have ever done physically.  Still, this really was great.  My legs are now like jelly.  Poor quality jelly, actually.  Hopefully they will be back with me by tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow we go to Saint Savin.  This will involve two big climbs, Col de Marie-Blanque and Col d'Aubisque.  There is a 99.8 km distance expected tomorrow, with 2, 775 meters of total climb.

St. Jean-de-Luz to St. Jean Pied-de-Port

Wow!  What a ride!  This was 76 km in total distance and 1704 meters in cumulative elevation.  We had three big climbs today.  The second one was Puerto de Otxondo.  That proved to be difficult.  It was at only 5 to 7.6% incline, not nearly as steep as what I have been using for training during the past few months, but it was 6.2 miles in duration.  Every time I rounded a curve, with the expectation that things would level out, the ensuing view just demonstrated an ongoing relentless climb.  That is nothing compared to what tomorrow and the next days will include. 

The weather temp was comfortable, but there were very gusty winds and intermittent rain.  On one of the long downhill runs, we had the combination of very wet road surfaces, gusty winds, no guardrails between the road and a long scary drop, and my acrophobia.  As can be appreciated, I was going at a nervous crawl during a whole lot of that.  (Then again, I hate downhills generally anyway, so that's nothing new probably!)

With the winds and also with the rain, I took few photos today.  That is not to deny that the ride was breathtakingly beautiful.  This really is a remarkable region of the world.  It really is a privilege to see this area.

We were in Spain probably 40% of the ride today.  I was generally aware of when we were in Spain, based upon the mileage that we had covered.  Sadly however, there was no "Welcome to Spain" sign that I ever encountered.  No photo opportunity with that.

Tomorrow we go to to Cette-Eygun, France.  This will be a 103.6 km ride, with 3101 meters elevation.  Wow!  The first climb is Col de Burdincurucheta.  That is a Category 1 climb.  The first 4 km of that climb are at 12.3%.

Still in St. Jean-de-Luz

Today is a low key day here, as was entirely expected.  My jet lag has been mild, at the most, mercifully enough.  As that further resolves, I am just mainly relaxing and getting ready for the trip to begin tomorrow.

At just before 3:00 PM today, the appointed time, I walked the 2 km over from my hotel here to the one where the Trek Travel guides are located.  That walk itself was a treat, as it afforded some elevations all of its own, all along the shoreline, giving me new and impressive views of the Atlantic.

The three guides are very friendly, helpful, and competent.  Stefano put my pedals and saddle on the bike.  I rode it for just a very short distance, and it feels great.  It really felt great to get back on a bike, even if it was only for a very short ride today.

I now have the papers which include the cue sheets for every day of the trip.  Tomorrow's ride will be a good one on which to get started, with shorter distance overall, and less demanding climbs.  We will do 76 km tomorrow, with three climbs.  Two, Col d'Otxondo and Col d'Ispeguy, will be moderate climbs.  The former is 10 km long, with an average elevation of 5 to 7.6%.  That will be a good warm up for the next day's more challenging climbs.  The first part of the ride tomorrow will actually be in Spain.  We will end up in France again in the latter part of the day.

Tomorrow's destination really interests me.  The town of St. Jean Pied-du-Port, at the base of the Roncevaux pass, is the capital city of the traditional Basque province.  It is also one of the commonly used starting off places for travelers going on the Camino de Santiago.  This will be fun to visit.

I have met many of the other folks who are going on the trip.  We introduced ourselves to each other in the parking lot of the Hotel la Reserve, as the bikes were getting set up and adjusted to us.  They all seem very friendly.  They also all exude an ambiance that suggests that they are very experienced and capable cyclists.  (Now, why would that be a surprise?)  We have all shared with each other our names, places of hometowns, etc., etc.  As all of us well understand, none of us will successfully be able to match names with faces for at least a few more days from now.

We are all ready and eager to get going tomorrow morning!

St Jean-de-Luz ---- I can't believe that I am actually here!

I really have trouble talking myself into believing that I really am actually here now in St. Jean-de-Luz.  I made the commitment to go on this Pyrenees bicycle trip almost a year ago, and I have been effectively constantly daydreaming about it ever since.  Now I really am on the threshold.  I am now in the little city on the southwestern coast of France that I have been looking at, on Google Maps, for so very long.

So far, things couldn't be going better.  By that statement I mean two separate things.  The first is that all is going every bit as had been planned, without even a hitch or a hiccup.  The second is that this first stop in St. Jean-de-Luz is even neater than I had anticipated.

In local time, it is now 8:30 PM here, this Monday evening.  (It is now 1:30 PM today in La Crosse.)  I must say however, this still feels to me like just one 24+ hour long Sunday.  It's very weird.  From the time Marsha and I left home in La Crosse, at 11:00 AM yesterday, until literally right now, it all just seems like one really, really long day.  In that regard, it is almost a bit frightening how not-tired I am feeling right now.

The flights were both smooth, both the one from Minneapolis to Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and the one from Paris (Orly) to Biarritz.  The flights were on time, the luggage made it, and going through customs was a breeze.  (Maybe the connection at the CDG airport with the bus to take me to Orly was a bit confusing, but all else was easy, quick and slick otherwise.) Landing in Biarritz, I took a taxi the extra 9 miles to St. Jean de Luz.  Getting to this destination town, I was pleased to see that even Expedia had not screwed up; my reservation at the hotel was all in order and waiting for me.

This is a cool little town!  I got here at just before 5 PM, and I have spent the past two hours just walking around.  This is a remarkably hilly little town, with one side on the Atlantic and the other in the western foothills of the Pyrenees.  This is the heart of Basque country.  Typical of Basque apparently, the houses are all small and all painted white, with colored shutters (usually red).  The roof tops are all identical also.  It is so hilly here that I bet that you can't find a distance of even five feet of road or sidewalk that is level.  It really is cool.

I walked the short distance from my hotel to the beach.  The waves tonight are enormous, almost frightening.  There are posted signs all over the beach, indicating that it is temporarily closed due to the dangerous currents and waves.  Just standing there and listening to the roar, it is very impressive.  (I shouldn't say this, but tonight's Atlantic wave show is even putting Lake Superior to shame!)

If you stand at the beach and turn 180 degrees, you are facing the western foothills of the Pyrenees.  To demonstrate that further, the first two of the three photos directly below were taken from literally the same location.  I just turned away from the ocean to take the one of the mountains.

Today is a bit overcast, so these peaks are effectively touching the clouds.  Thinking about the notion of cycling in that area, this view tonight is downright intimidating. 

Downright exciting!

We will see....

I will go to sleep soon, and I will try to sleep in tomorrow morning.  It is just a short 2 km walk from this hotel to Hotel la Reserve, the location where the Trek Travel guides and bikes are to be found.  I am to show up there tomorrow afternoon, anytime in between 3 and 6 PM, to get fitted to the bike that I will be using.  I can't wait!  I will walk over there tomorrow with my pedals, shoe, and saddle.  Hopefully I will meet some of the group participants tomorrow also, not just the Trek Travel guides.  I hope that Michelle has as much fun on her 26th birthday tomorrow as I have here.

The actual ride then will begin in the morning of the next day, Wednesday, September 16.

On the road again!!!

This blog post will include no meaningful content whatsoever.  If you are reading this now, you are surely wasting your time.  I am posting this mainly to verify to myself that this site is still operational, and that I still remember how to use it.  After now more than 5 years of blog silence, both of those hopes may well represent a remarkable stretch.

It is now Sunday afternoon, September 13, 2015.  I am sitting at gate G9 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul international airport, patiently awaiting my departure on Delta flight # 171.  With good luck, I will be ending up tomorrow, late afternoon to early evening, in St. Jean-de-Luz, France.  It will be there, on the next day, that I will meet up with the guides from Trek Travel, and get fitted to my new bike.  I will be on that bike for the next 9 days, starting on Wednesday, September 16, on my exciting trans-Pyrenees bike trip!

This is very exciting.  I can't wait!  I hope that I am ready.  We will see!