In early May, 2005, I saw an advert on the Lonely Planet website. Someone was looking for a partner to cycle from Frankfurt to Prague - on a folding bicycle. Intrigued, I contacted the person and suggested she might enjoy cycling in the Pyrenees. Two hours later, Jodie bought a ticket to fly down to Pau for a four day cycling trip and our journey started on the 19th of May. All the pictures are linked to larger versions of the same picture. Just click on them to enlarge and use your back button to come back.

After a short train journey from Pau (to avoid the busy main road) the journey began at Buzy. Here's Jodie with the bike that she used, a koga miyata I bought in Holland for my All 4 Love trip.

I had a few technical problems at the start. Here I am, trying to spray a special kind of shaving foam into the inner tube to the seal the puncture. It didn't work as it was the valve that was faulty. A loose chainwheel could have scuppered the whole trip though luckily there was a bike shop in Arudy, a short ride away.

Problems fixed and our intrepid heros were soon cycling up the Col du Portalet. An accident a few days earlier (part of the road fell into a ravine...) meant that trucks were not allowed up the road. You can imagine how much of a disappointment that was.

Glorious sunshine but still snow at the top of the mountains. Lush vegetation provided welcome shade but I had cramp. I was fine until Artouste but then I couldn't continue - no I wasn't just tired, I have cycled the Portalet before. Luckily, Yann came along in his brother's van and gave me a 6km lift to the top.

Meanwhile Jodie was able to enjoy one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the Pyrenees. A bubbling stream on the right and snow covered peaks on the left, what more could a woman ask for?

Here is our heroine, cycling up the last part of the col. Behind her you can see the Pic du Midi Ossau, all 2885 metres of it. It is probably the most beautiful, though not the tallest, peak in the Pyrenees.