- Over the Pyrenees crossing into France. How are is it?
- This hard with the gps reading like a pointed hat. Here is the your road. See Aug 16th below.
- This is highly variable terrain, ranging from rolling hills to mountain peak. When the pitch is reasonable, its a good challenge. Other times it is a walk or a painful slog up the hill.
- The weather is just as variable. It rained. It was wildly hot. It was warm and perfect.
- This is my new favorite part of France. Like Spain’s Galicia region, beautiful beyond description. For biking, once you get off the wildly pitching sections; it is perfect in roads and countryside.
Facts:
Distance: 13.92 mi
Time: 1:10:55/ Moving Time: 1:10:55
Avg Speed: ?? mph / Avg Moving Speed: 11.8 mph / Max Speed: 33.4 mph
Elevation Gain: 525 ft
Elevation Loss: 636 ft
Min Elevation: 98 ft
Max Elevation: 312 ft
Weather - very hot with late rain
Climbs - flat
Difficulty - 0 rest day.
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - unhappy couple. Nice view. Update later
Comments:
A. Dire town on the edge of Landes... a flat, low, and lightly populated state that must be crossed in one day. Today sets up a hard crossing tomorrow.
B. This used to the be the seat of the Bishop.
Facts:
Distance: 30.31 + 3.76= 34.17 mi to the farmhouse
Time: 3:54:43/ Moving Time: 3:05:12
Avg Speed: 7.7 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 9.8 mph / Max Speed: 34.8 mph
Elevation Gain: 2080 ft
Elevation Loss: 1909 ft
Min Elevation: 111 ft
Max Elevation: 510 ft
Weather - Again Very Hot low
Climbs - Up and Down all day.
Difficulty - 5 climbs, distance over, and 100++ heat. One of three most difficult days.
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - Outstanding BandB in the countryside. Update latter. Nice family
Comments:
A. This is my new favorite part of France continues
B. No where to stay in town. Ended up getting a room in a BnB 4mi outside of town. Corn field was all you could see.
C. The cab back to town and the dinner worked out while... if a little expensive.
Facts:
Distance: 35.73 mi
Time: 5:30:07/ Moving Time: 2:17
Avg Speed: 6.5 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 9.6 mph / Max Speed: 38 mph
Elevation Gain: 2598 ft
Elevation Loss: 2966 ft
Min Elevation: 111 ft
Max Elevation: 1054 ft
Weather - Very Hot low
Climbs - !!!
Difficulty - 7 climbs, distance, and 100++ heat. One of three most difficult days.
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - Outstanding BandB in the countryside. Update latter
Comments:
A. This is my new favorite part of France.
B. Tiny roads you could never find without the gps and a detailed map. If you look closely at the linked map you will not see towns. Just clusters of buildings with a name.
C. There were two difficult long climbs, but the land pitches sharply in small doses all the way. You do not climb a mountain and still get 2500 ft of vertical.
D. There was a herd of large horned cows laying in the road at the top on the one named Col. That was tricky.
F. When I got to the town I was planning on staying in, there were no rooms for 17km and additional climbs... in the blazing heat. I was shaking by the time I got off.
Facts:
Distance: 16.57 mi
Time: 4:00/ Moving Time: 2:17
Avg Speed: 4.1 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 7.3 mph / Max Speed: 33.6 mph
Elevation Gain: 2054 ft
Elevation Loss: 4547 ft
Min Elevation: wrong ft
Max Elevation: 4673 ft
Weather - Cool over the mountain. Very Hot low
Climbs - !!!
Difficulty - 7
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - everything is better in france. update latter
Comments:
A. There is a lot of walking involved. The road goes from good hard climb... to bad road... to unreasonable steepness and worst road... to mountain trail... to grass. Then. the process repeats on the way down.
B. Going down is extraordinarily steep. You have to grip the breaks hard all the way down as the rims overheat. I had to replace the brake pads the next day. That has never happened before.
C. You can see the high Pyrenees towards the south. Those are sharp peaks. The altitude is fairly low but this is wild country... dangerous land.
Facts:
Distance: 40.00 mi
Time: 4:32:15/ Moving Time: 3:05:56
Avg Speed: 8.8 mph / Avg Moving Speed: 9.0 mph / Max Speed: 32.6 mph
Elevation Gain: 3,127 ft
Elevation Loss: 1,553 ft
Min Elevation: 1,341 ft
Max Elevation: 3,102 ft
Weather - 60 to 78 f. RAIN
Climbs - Up all day. With two hard ones
Difficulty - 3
Scale:
0 = 25 miles around San Francisco with the marin headlands climb.
10 = Next to the last day of a hell week in the military with a few hours of sleep.
Hotel - Not good but the last bed;
Comments:A. Fill in later. It rained.
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