Just out of Dax this morning the road heads straight up into the hills with a 6% climb for a couple of km. What a way to start the day! But it's a gorgeous route and it's recently rained so everything green is glistening and pretty; even better, it's not raining now. Welcome to the foothills of the Pyrenees. And then I ride past my first giant slug. Not a particularly momentous occasion you might think, but it takes me straight back to four years ago on the first day of my ride to Santiago; there were giant slugs everywhere on my first day's ride.
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| Misty morning in the Pyrenees |
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| Local housing style with giraffe |
At Peyrehorade I ride into the town to have a look around (the route bypasses the town itself). I spot a boulangerie as I ride by and after visiting the church I decide to get some provisions. Outside the boulangerie is a bike I've seen this morning, it was behind me just before the climb out of Dax. We chat, of course, comparing notes. This guy, who is French, starts to list all the routes he's cycled France. There are a lot. "You must spend all your time riding" I suggest. "Well, I retired three years ago and I figured I should do it while I can. I'm seventy years old after all." If I'd been sitting on a chair I'd have almost fallen off it; I would never have picked him as that age and I am impressed. He's in pretty good shape for a seventy-year-old. A bit later it strikes me that I'm almost sixty myself - hard to imagine, but true nonetheless.
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| Storm approaching - wet riding ahead |
Before the town of Cassaber I pass a sign that warns of a bridge being closed on the D29. My route is on the D29. Sure enough, a couple of km later I'm stopped at an effectively non-existent bridge; it's being completely rebuilt. Time to plan a detour. I stop to take a picture of the stormy skies the horizon, and sure enough, a half hour or so later, as I am navigating my way around a detour to get to other side of the river, the heavens open. By the time I've made it to the bus shelter I spot up ahead I'm a long way from dry. Luckily the storm passes quickly and I can wait it out. The detour and the rain add an hour or so to my ride; luckily I didn't plan a long day's ride today.
The detour takes me over an old railway bridge, which I later discover is actually now part of a piste cyclable. It's been temporarily pressed into service for cars as well. I rejoin my route some way after the bridge.
The route goes through gorgeous green and hilly country; the reward for the steep climbs is a lovely view. By the time I'm close to my destination this rationalisation is wearing thin and my legs are telling me it's time to stop. More hills tomorrow. I'm staying in a large Pilgrim hostel in Saint-Palais, which sadly seems to be not very much used anymore. That's a pity, since the facilities are really good. I meet a Swiss couple who have ridden from this home and plan to ride all the way to Santiago. When I discover that he's an airline pilot, his meticulous planning and navigation tools make much more sense.
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