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This Pyrenees Cycling adventure is born
from the culmination of my riding
experience in the Pyrenees mountains. In my opinion
if you want to conquer the Pyrenees
on a bike there is only one way: the
Lostende
Tours:
France
cycling trip across the Pyrenees - coast to coast -
Atlantic to Mediterranean - and back.
When you complete this bike trip then you will feel fulfilled and you will be
blown away. |
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Scott makes friends at
the summit of the Col d'Azet. |
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Every sport has an event or
competition that stands as its historic and defining
challenge. I think most would agree that for the sport
of cycling the “Tour de France” is that event, and that
within the “Tour de France” the Pyrenees Mountains are
arguably the portion of the race that is the most
difficult and legendary (some would argue that the Alps
are also as difficult, but humour me). Unfortunately,
you and I will never compete in the “Tour de France,”
but we can as amateur cyclists ride our bikes in the
Pyrenees and experience the history, legends and
challenges that they offer. |
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The Kiwi summits the Col
de Pailheres, all smiles. |
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I have ridden many times in the
Pyrenees ( I vacation in France every year to visit
family ), sometimes for only a day and at other times
for multiple consecutive days, but it wasn't until the
year 2006 that
I put together a trip that would challenge me to bike
across the Pyrenees from coast to coast ( Atlantic to
the Mediterranean ) and back.
I used my experience from previous bike tours in the Pyrenees
to create a course that would take me over the most
famous climbs, and then I divided the route into 12
sections. The result was 8 days to cross the Pyrenees
mountains from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and 4 days to come back to the
starting point at Biarritz -
Atlantic; the return leg travels through rolling terrain just north of the
mountains. 12 days of some of the most beautiful and
challenging riding you could ever imagine, in a country
that I consider a fairytale playground for cyclists.
The trip has now been perfected to include 2 rest days,
creating a riding routine of: 4 days riding - 1 rest - 4 ride
- 1 rest - 4 ride. |
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The climb up the Col de
Peyresourde, west side, Alberto, Francis, Scott. |
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Here then
are the numbers - the riding stats:
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Total round trip mileage,
approximately 1000 miles, total
elevation climbed 94,000
feet.
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Total mileage to traverse the
Pyrenees in 8 days, one-way west to east – Atlantic
to Mediterranean, 596
miles, and total elevation climbed 67,025
feet. The average day of riding
in the mountains was 74.5
miles with 8491 feet of climbing, with the hardest
day at 90 miles and 12,221 feet…5 passes in one day!
Average ride time per day 5.5 hours.
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Total mileage to return in 4
days, one-way east to west – Mediterranean to
Atlantic, through rolling hills terrain north of the
Pyrenees, 418 miles, and
total elevation climbed 24,963
feet. On the return leg
average was 104.5 miles
and 6,241 feet of climbing
a day. Average ride time per day 6.5 hours.
Not bad! And just for fun the longest
non-stop downhill is 26 miles!
However, these
numbers, as impressive as they may seem, do not provide
the details of how hard, satisfying
and magnificent the riding actually is. For that you
have to go over there and do it yourself! |
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Gordon, somewhere on a
typical Pyrenees back-road. |
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