Day 16 - Hill climbing over the Pyrenees into France



14th April 2018

In professional cycling there is a certain type of cyclist, an heroic, suffering figure who encapsulates the best notions of the sport, the climber.  The sprinters and rouleurs can have their day but when the road goes up it is the small, wiry cyclists who move to the front, spinning the pedals and dancing out of the saddle ascending seemingly endless gradients.  Two names stand out from the classic era of cycling, Frederico Bahamontes, The Eagle of Toledo, and the Luxemburg rider, Charly Gaul, The Angel of the Mountains.  Bahamontes won the Tour de France in 1959, Gaul the Giro D'Italia in 1956 and 59.  I had them on my mind today as I wove my way up the hairpins of the Ibaneta pass and wondered what I could call myself. I decided that given the combination of my pedalling style and pace I would be the... Pyrenean Tortoise.

It was a wonderful ride, a good road, wooded valleys, tumbling streams, snow topped mountains, high speed descents and sunshine.  At the end of the ride was the picturesque town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port.

In the afternoon we met up with our friends Helen and Paul who motorcycled down from their gite.

What a great day and so nice to be in France again.






Comments

  1. John & Tony15 April 2018 at 15:32

    🇫🇷 Bienvenue en France !!! We've stayed at St Michel near Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Beautiful area. Bonne route.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin Bradley16 April 2018 at 01:07

      Thank you J and T It is lovely although grey and very wet today.

      Delete

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