Last Tour

French Atlantic Coast and Pyrenees 2009

In June 2009 we went on a first long 2.5-week tour. We rode from La Teste-du-Buch (southeast from Bordeaux, the clerk at SNCF seriously asked us if that place was in France) along the French Atlantic coast to Bayonne. From Bayonne we made it through the Pre-Pyrenees via St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Lourdes, St. Gaudens and Saint-Girons to Foix. The Tour de France 2009 later that year stopped over at some of the places. The whole region was excited and every village pranked in its best. This tour was our first test. Would we like bicycle touring? Would the gear on 2 bicycles be enough for a longer time? Would hills and mountains be too much of a physical problem?

The route along the Atlantic coast was an excellent experience and well made for cyclist. In fact the whole Atlantic coast offers long distance bicycle paths. We often rode through forests without any cars. Camping sites pop up regularly. This part of France is highly recommended for everybody who is not sure yet whether or not bicycle touring is his thing.

La Dune du Pilat was one of the highlights on this tour. The wandering dune is Europe’s biggest sand dune. We camped at the foot of the dune and spent 2 days there.

While we were riding along the coast there was always an opportunity to access the beach and enjoy a lonely stretch. Being used to the “beaches” on the Cote d’Azur with people lying next to each other like sardines in a can, the beaches there were incredibly long and sandy. They really reminded us of beaches in Australia, however, without all these deadly creatures like sharks, crocodiles and stingers. In the hinterland (great word!) we passed several lakes. Water was always around us.

Unfortunately the 2.5 weeks were often rainy. The closer we came to the Pyrenees the more it rained. At least our rain gear could be tested and was not completely useless on this trip. On the way to Bayonne we rode in full rain gear. After a day of riding in the rain we treated ourselves to a hotel. We were in a city, so we had even more treats like cinema :-)

After Bayonne we continued eastwards. The real physical part of the tour started there in the Pyrenees.

... to be continued ...