Day one of the Raid de Pyrenee!

Today was day one of the Raid ride and began with a gentle ride down to the start point in Hendaye, Spain. We got our 'passports' stamped at the tourist office (a condition of being officially registered for the Raid ride) and we were off on our 160 km first day.

There are some great buildings in Hendaye, here is one! 

The ten of us doing the Raid ride. I continued with my pursuit of the goal of swimming in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, and the Mediterranean sea in my three week journey!

Out guide says today was an easy day - if so, I am a little concerned about tomorrow and the next three days! It was a solid 160 km with 2500 m of climbing, mostly in short power climbs but with a couple of slightly longer cols included. For me, it was punctuated by another unneccessary fall, landing again on the hip I hurt in the fall in Australia - pretty uncomfortable but no real damage done, I don't think. Some amazing scenery, impressive architecture, great roads and several terrific descents!

Village square in one of the many small Spanish and French towns we rode through.

A restored, original 2CV Citroen!

We are currently in a hotel (Au Bon Coin) above the village of St Christo, and reflecting on today while being slightly (!!) concerned about tomorrow. Tomorrow's day is short on kms (only 130) but big on climbing (near 4000 m) with the Col de Marie Blanc, followed by the Col d'Aubisque and then the Tourmalet. There are some other, smaller cols too but not worth listing in comparison to these three!

It will be an interesting day, with the goal of leaving early and just maintaining a steady tempo through the day. It will be about 7 hours in the saddle with a stop for lunch making it an 8 or so hour day.

Day one in the Pyrenees - Saint Savin, now that's my sort of town!

I arrived in Lourdes at 10 pm last night after 34 hours of travelling, sitting in airports . . .... oh, and eating in a restaurant in Paris, which wasn't too hard! I am staying in a cycling lodge in a very small medieval village at the foot of the Tourmalet, called Saint Savin. The lodge is run by Paddy Sweeney and his wife Olive (Google "velopeleton" or "Lanterne Rouge", which is the name of the lodge), and it is terrific! Great food and hospitality and an amazing location! Anyone interested in coming to this area for a cycling holiday (the cols of the Tourmalet, Hautecam, Luz Ardiden, Aubisque, d'Aspin, Peyosorde and many other iconic climbs are all close by) or wanting to do the Raid Pyrenee sportif ride that I am doing, this is the plum location to stay at very good prices - thoroughly recommend it after 24 hours!

A panorama of the view from my bedroom window!

The town square in Saint Savin

Anyway, onto events. I will include some photos and video over the next 10 days, at least when I have decent broadband! Today I rode down to bike shop in the next village as my bike arrived with a broken seat - more expense - and then rode back up to the village to adjust everything, fill bottles and prepare for a hill!

As the photos show, I rode along the valley to Luz, where I had lunch and then rode up Luz Ardiden, a 12 km 8% climb full of the classic switchbacks, that has featured many times in the Tour de France. The sun was out, the temperature was warm but not hot and it was an amazing ride - cue photos!

Link to ride data (for riding nerds!): http://app.strava.com/rides/20177293

How about those switch backs!

At the top, the Danish bloke next to me
looks surprised I made it!

The trip up Luz Ardiden was one of the top half dozen rides ever! Sun, scenery to match the best ever, and the added bonus of cruising past the Danes in the last 2 or 3 kms!

Tomorrow, I am riding down to Lourdes to seek a miracle in the form of some legal outside assistance, before riding back up the valley and riding the Hautecam, which has the reputation of being a very solid ride indeed - I will report back! Also tomorrow I will post some video of the valley road and the descent of the top part of Luz Ardiden, which doesn't really do either justice! However, currently running out of battery!