We made it
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2007
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3
5
Trip End
Oct 05, 2007
Girona, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands
Monday, September 24, 2007
We made it to Girona, Spain on Saturday late afternoon after we decided to make the final push of 140km to end our bike trip one day early.
Our tour across France and Spain was amazing. We planned our days well. The weather was great for the most part. I will give the Readers Digest version of the trip.
Day 1- Train from San Sebastin to Hendaye, France. We rode 85km from Hendaye to St Jean Pied de Port. Not too hard a day two passes and lots of farm land. St Jean Pied de Port is an important staring point for the pilgrim trails in France and Spain. My french is brutal but we managed. Noticed that the French drive faster and take a little more room on the road. The roads also seem busier in France.
Day2 - St Jean Pied de Port to Isaba, Spain 92km
Up most of the day according to Deb. Two passes and lots of rolling hills which get tiring. Along this section again is alot of important sites along the pilgrim trail. Saw lots of people starting their own pilgrimage in St Jean Pied de Port.We stopped at a 12th century church complex for a coke. Getting back into Spain was nice so we could communicate better. Isaba is a very small but very nice ski town. Great place to stay, good views and food. Lola Hostal.
Day 3 - Isaba to Asasp, France 73km
Ride started easy but then turned gruelling up to Portillo Eraice (11km of 7-9.5%). This pass has been used on many Tour de France years so seeing the names such as Pantani, Ullrich, Armstrong etc was cool. We then dropped down into Pierre St Martin which is a large ski resort then on into Osse. However this descent was ruthless 10% for 10km or more. The "highway" was not wider that our bikepaths and not in great condition. We saw a larger group of riders from Seattle going the opposite way. They were riding in a supported tour and therefore they were not carrying much, so we called them pansies and took off. Nice scenery for the day. Green valleys and little villages, but a bit smelly!When we finally arrived in our planned destination everything was closed up for the season, so we had to press on 5km down the road and found a nice Gite (guesthouse) in Asasp, there was not any stores or restaurants nearby so we had to scrounge for food.
Day 4 - Asasp to Argeles-Gasoz, France 85 km
This was the first day of the big climbs that the Tour de France has made famous. Col de Marie Blanc. All of these big climbs in France are set-up with big signs at the start that show the distance and grade which is good and bad. These climbs are also marked every KM and indicate the grade for the next KM which when you are suffering you really don´t need to see that it is still not over. So anyways up we went, and up. 8km up 4-13% grade. It was a foggy and misty day so we could not see much. Temperature low down was still warm. We made it up eventually then descended down to Lauruns, France for lunch. Saw another big group of cyclists. Again in a totally supported ride. We laughed at them and called the whimps, then headed up the Col ´Aubisque 16km 4-10%. Again very foggy climb up thru huge ski resort. So once at the top we could not see anything and it was windy. We got very cold very fast. As luck would have there was a cafe at the top that was open so we had a hot choclate and listened to some crazy American woman try play her guitar and sing American folk songs or something very badly. So as much as we would have liked to stay and listen we made our way down. Very slowly as the roads where slick and you could not see very far. We were shivering down for the first 5 or 6 km then the fog stared lifting and eventual things dried up and were much warmer. The descent actually was very long and fun 20km or more. Argeles-Gazos is a nice town. Everything we needed. With the extra weight on my bike and they crazy descents I had burned thru a set of brakes already (our first trip inclueded) so we picked up a few exrta sets.
Day 5 - Argeles-Gazos to St Marie de Campan 54km
Today was up the Col du Tourmalet. The weather was really nice and sunny as we passed up a few towns up to the base of the climb. This climb is 18km 8-9.5%. The climb is a long and twisty road up thru some ski towns, across some ski hills and eventually up to the top. By the time we reached the top it was getting foggy again but not too cold. There was lots or riders out today. We were getting funny looks as we were the only people riding up with panniers on our bikes all others were serious or they thought they were serious riders. Two things we noticed in France were the numbers of riders we saw each day. Second a huge percentage were older men 50+ all kitted out in their favorite team. Overall women made up about 2% of the riders total. Seems to be more a male thing here. Deb could easily crush alot of the riders here :-) So the descent down from Tourmalet was a little cool but dry and fast. St Marie de Campan is a tiny town at a crossroads. Not much choice for accomidations or food, but was ok. The room was a little freaky but was only for one night. Keep your shoes on kind of room!
Day 6 - St Marie de Campan to Luchon, France 59km
Two more passes today. Col de Aspin and Col dé Peyresourde. The first of the climbs was much easier grade than the previous three days and shorter as well. We passed thru more farm land and ski resorts. During the summer the livestock roam free so there is cow poo and road apples all over the place. The last climb of the day was not too bad until the last 2km in which you felt the previous days hard work. At the top to the pass we stopped and had lunch and some crepes. Again we saw a group of Brits on a supported tour. So we laughed again. We then descended down into Luchon for the night. Sundays are difficult days to do or buy much stuff as most things are closed. So it can be frustrating when you need to buy supplies. However it makes walking around nicer as it is quiet.
Day 7 - Luchon to Vielha 34km
Today was planned to try for the town of Sort, Spain but once making the final pass up an over into Spain and into Vielha we decide that we should have a rest day. Well, Deb´s legs decided. So we cut the day short and found an awseome little hotel for a couple of nights. As luck would have it our rest day the weather turned cold and rainy so it was a perfect day to chill. I read most of a book, we played cards, got a massage and Deb napped.
Day 8 - Rest
Day 9 - Vielha to Sort 78km
Long climb to the pass at the ski resort of Baquira/Beret 2072m. The weather had got nice again. Our descent from the pass would have been awesome but there was lots of construction, so we have a slow descent and our bikes got pretty muddy. We stopped for lunch in Eassau then we had a pretty flat run into Sort. Sort is a small town, we did not find it too appealling but it was fine. Seems to be alot of rafting and kayking as this town in situated at the end of a deep gorge.
Day 10 - Sort to Coll de Nargo 68km
We had a long 20km climb right at the start then dropped down into the next valley to head south. We had a strong headwind into Coll de Nargo but the road was relativley flat. We got bak into more farm land and the smell of pig s#@t was everywhere. Coll de Nargo is not much at all and we were contemplating pushing on. There was one hotel right on the highway that looked kind of like a local truck stop. Surprisingly the hotel was totally nice and the restaurant prepared some the the best food we have had so far.
Day 11 - Coll de Nargo to Berga 84km
Another long 42km climb up and over to the next valley. We stopped for lunch in Sant Lorenc de Forunay then did a final push on to Berga. Arriving at Berga was essentially the end of the mountains and you could see the deffinative starting and stopping point. Berga seemed to be a little more blue collar but still nice. Very hilly in parts, but probably the most confusing city we have encoutered. Small tiny twisty streets. We tend to forget that all of these towns and cities have been here for 800 or 900 years and the old parts are similar.
Day 12 - Berga to Girona 140km
We decide to combine the last two days into one. We were both getting ready for a break and we were also starting to see some rain and storms develope. The system of rain that we were seeing caused major flooding and damage in southern Spain in the days previous. We had a great day of riding we just took it as it came. Not too much climbing but there was some rolling hills and moderate climbs in the beginning. We made to Ripoll in good shape then I headed us out of town in the wrong direction. After a quick correction we were back into another small climb and then a long descent into Olot which was to be our end for today. As we pulled into Olot the clouds opend up and poured for a good half an hour. Luckliy we had found some shelter at a restaurant and we stayed dry. We had about 60km left to get to Girona. The last push was pretty much flat or slightly downhill towards Girona. After we made the last turn on to the highway into Girona the road got narrow, crappy and busy. That made the final 20km not so nice. So we just put our heads down and quickly got into Girona. WooHoo!! or not. There was a convention of some type (Deb has her own thoughts about what type of convention it was) in town on Saturday which made finding a hotel interesting. So after a couple of frustrating hours we found one. I am currently writing this from inside that very hotel.
So that is a very quick overview of the trip 2nd bike trip. It was so amazing and memorable for us. It´s a great way to travel if you like biking. A couple days spent enjoying the old part of Girona that dates back over 2000yrs and then back to Barcelona.
Total km´s for this trip Approx. 850km
Total for both Approx. 1120km.
I am so proud of Deb. She was awesome.
