Day 14 Oloron to Biarritz

I didn't ride at all today because of my knee. It was a very good choice because this afternoon my knee hurts even when I just walk, and it has become a sharp pain rather than a dull pain. I will need to take it easy for a few days.

The route today was fairly short but had many steep little hills. (not that I cared.. I was in the van) The weather was generally foggy and cloudy during the ride but it is now sunny in Biarritz. We will have a last dinner here this evening and then head home tomorrow. Right now everyone is busy packing up their bikes (except me - I finished earlier - aside from going downhill, packing up the bike seems to be the other thing that I do faster than the others ;)

Overall, it has been a very nice trip, although my conclusion after this trip and after PAC Tour earlier in the summer is that I only keep my enthusiasm for about the first week, and after that I'm just going along because I have to. I'll keep that in mind next time I plan a cycling vacation.

Day 13: Auch to Oloron

104 miles

Today was a great day in many ways. I started out thinking I would see how far I got before my knee gave out. In the end I rode the whole day.

I had raised my saddle a bit yesterday after discovering that my beam is sagging, and the new position is much more comfortable on the knees. Still, I had a lot of discomfort and was prepared to get in the van by about mile 30. But the group stopped for some coffee and apple tart in Marciac, and by the time we all got going again, I decided that my knee felt ok, and I was really having fun and determined not to get in the van, so I continued on with the group.

For once today, I was mostly keeping up, except when the guys put in the really crazy attacks once in a while. I followed the first few, but after that I decided that if they want to go, I'm going to let them go. The knee hurt a lot at times, but interestingly it hurt less when I was really working hard, so I often found myself working quite hard because it actually felt better.

Somewhere around mile 40 to 50 we noticed that we had not seen the support van in a very long time. Ron was driving today and we figured he must have gotten lost. I was hoping it was nothing serious because we had not seen him in hours and it was a little concerning. I ran out of water and food and we finally got to Pontacq and decided that we couldn't continue on without eating. Just as we had found a takeout pizza place, Ron showed up in the van. So we had our normal lunch, if a bit late.

The last 40 or so miles of the day were an endless series of ups and downs over hill and dale as we made our way to Oloron. The town of Lasseube, close to the finish, was "en fete" as we rode through, with the streets jammed with revelers. It was fun but tricky to get through on bikes.

The final adventure for the day was that when we got to Oloron, nobody knew how to get to the hotel, even through we have been here before (on day 2). The last time we were here we came in a totally different way so it was unfamiliar. We spent 5 minutes staring at a map in the downtown area before deciding on a course of action to find the hotel. Ultimately of course, we got here.

Spirits are high, we only have one day left on the tour and the route for tomorrow has not been planned yet. As for me, I really don't know if I will ride at all tomorrow. I rode through the pain in my knee all day today, at first because I had no choice (Ron went missing) and later because I figured I could always take tomorrow off. I'll make a decision tomorrow morning.

I didn't take many pictures today because I spent most of the day working to keep up with the group. But I did get a few. Here they are:

Here's a pretty countryside somewhere before Marciac. I had just gotten dropped after a huge attack by Charlie, so I figured it was a good opportunity to stop and take a picture.

Here's the church steeple in Marciac. I would have liked to get more of it in the picture, but it was too big to fit in the image. Nice church. It looked a bit more like a cathedral than the other churches we have seen so far.

Here's the group eating apple tart in Marciac

Day 12: Castelnaudary to Auch

I rode in the van today, owing to my bad knee. It was actually fairly relaxing, if a bit disappointing, to be in the van all day. I had the opportunity to take a bunch of pictures.

Upon arrival, I checked the height of my saddle and found that it is a bit low, which could account for my knee problem. I'll try riding again tomorrow. This has happened before and raising the saddle fixed the problem. I wish I had thought of it sooner!

The group seemed to like the ride today. For once, everyone stayed together and rode a sensible pace. It figures it would be the one day I wasn't riding at all.

The hotel this evening has no internet and stinks of stale cigarette smoke. Maybe I'll go sleep in the parking lot.

Here are some photos:

This is the church in Mazeres, where we had stopped to get bread. There was organ music but the front door was closed so I couldn't see what was happening.

Here's the bridge over the river Ariege, in Saverdun. Amazing colors there.

Jennie, Ron and Craig.

Ron

Day 11: Collioure to Castelnaudary

60 miles

I rode only half the day today, owing to an increasingly bad knee. We started out riding all together for the first 25 miles to get through the flat coastal area north of Collioure, most of which was into a fierce headwind. We got a bit lost going into the very first town after Collioure, and had to ask for directions, but it was quickly sorted out.

Eventually we got into the hills again and the winds died down, although there was never a moment the entire day with no wind at all.

I had a funny little burst of energy about 40 miles in and sprinted ahead of the group for a while. If I could figure out why or how that happens, I'd do it more often. But I'm mystified as to why I occasionally feel very strong. It doesn't follow any pattern that I can see. Unfortunately, my knee got progressively worse and by the time we all stopped for lunch, I decided to call it quits and get in the van.

I rode the second half of the day in the van with Ron, as navigator, which is nice because it gives me something to do and also I feel connected with where we are.

The consensus from the others is that it was a very hard day, about 125 miles info fierce wind and a lot of climbing.

The guys all went out for dinner, but Jennie wanted to get her legs horizontal as soon as possible and didn't go out with us. This was the first dinner I've had in France that I didn't like. We ordered cassoulet, since it is a local dish. I thought it was pretty bad.

The hotel that we are staying in is right on the banks of the Canal du Midi, and we can step out the back door and walk along the canal.

Here's a picture from earlier in the day when I was still feeling strong and still riding.

Collioure: afternoon photos

Here are some more photos taken later in the day.








Ron and Charlie:

Allan:

Day 10: rest day in Collioure

Today is a rest day, so we are free to do as we please. This morning, Craig, Jennie and I went out fairly early to check out the morning light. I got a bunch of nice photos with very few people in them. I'll go back out this afternoon and take some more now that more people are out.

We also did our laundry this morning, which is a necessary chore every four days or so.

Here are some of this morning's photos:

Day 9: Font Romeu to Collioure

30 miles

My knee was hurting today and I am a bit tired of riding alone (since I don't keep up with the group) so I got in the van today after 30 miles.

The first 30 miles were almost all downhill, so I didn't actually do much work today. As I mentioned in yesterday's report, we slept at 1700m last night, and we are at sea level today, so we did quite a bit of downhilling today, mostly in the first 30 miles. I knew that there would be a hard climb though, so I quit just before, not wanting to hurt my knee any further.

Ron was driving the van today, and I was copilot and navigator. Ron likes to drive the van, he says it really handles well, and once commented "my MG would love these roads". You can guess from that that the driving was brisk. I had to hold on tight to my lunch as Ron raced along the windy mountain roads, putting the big diesel van through its paces.

We stopped at the top of the aforementioned pass to serve lunch. We had been promised no more big climbs after yesterday but this was nonetheless over 1000m at the top. Lucky for me I was in the van.

Tomorrow is a rest day in Collioure, which is an idyllic little town on the Mediterranean. I have no ambitions other than to do some laundry and take a lot of pictures.

Speaking of which, I liked these pictures from today:

This is a little village tucked up on the hillside halfway up the pass today:

Here's the group just after the pass. You can't really tell from the picture, but the horizon is the Mediterranean. The pass was at about 1000m, so the view was pretty great.