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.
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 heroes 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 (and man) 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.She made it!We had a train to catch at Sabanianigo. Here’s Jodie cruising down the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. At the top there were poor road surfaces which, apparently, will be improved once the building work (new ski resorts) is complete.We got to the station with a comfortable 8 minutes to spare. We could then rest on the train for about 40 minutes, before stopping at a tiny station, Mallos de Riglos. And what a view! Stunning! And the rocky thing behind her doesn’t look bad either.Another shot of the rocky thing.Problems finding the way to the campsite and also a blow out on my back wheel meant that we didn’t arrive until 10.00 p.m. and it was already dark. This picture was taken in the morning from the road next to the campsite – and there is that rocky thing again.I’m not sure how common lizards are in Canada but Jodie got pretty excited by them. In fact Jodie got pretty excited about lots of things – doors are her favourite. What a pleasure it was to cycle with someone with real enthusiasm for life and the world rather than being cynical and pessimistic.
I have a special page full of lizards here.
Day 2 started with a gentle climb following a river valley. Beautiful scenery with eagles and vultures flying overhead – waiting for an exhausted cyclist to topple over and become lunch.We headed North from Mallos de Riglos. Excellent quality roads and little traffic made this great cycling country.But it was warm. What could be more pleasant than a dip in a beautiful stream? Not a lot. But there are plenty more pleasant things than being bitten by vicious ants, then jumping naked into a freezing, algae-filled pool.What is she staring at? Ah yes, another door…Here is Jodie demonstrating that Canadian table manners are somewhat different from those in civilised countries. A huge bowl of bean soup followed by home made burgers – filling if not too tasty.Back on the road again. A slightly busier road and Spanish drivers don’t give you much room as they overtake. Now heading west towards Pamplona.What a wonderful town! Perched on a small hill, the houses are packed together – perhaps as a defence strategy agains the Moors or perhaps simply to avoid getting wet – the whole valley was a flood plain.I wanted to take a picture of a roadside when Jodie stuck her bottom in the way.As a keen swimmer, Jodie wanted another dip. Climbing down to the lakeside she lost her enthusiasm.Here’s home for the second night. Monastario de Leyre, a 12th Century monastery that has been rebuilt. A lovely place high in the hills. In fact so high that after a long day of cycling we left our bikes at the bottom and took a taxi up to the monastery. Only 4km but we were knackered.Here is the view from the bedroom window – a beautiful courtyard. There are still five monks that live in the monastery and women are not allowed to go to certain parts
If you’re interested, the monastery has a website – it is all in Spanish but you can see some pictures even if your Spanish is not very good.
It was a great trip. Around 450km in 4 days, two nights camping, one night in a 12th century Monastery. A big thank you to Jodie for coming along; she is great company and it is very likely that we will be touring together again soon.
