It is time to wind down. We left the High Pyrenees behind on our ride to Chateau Lemothe and we are now among rolling hills, corn fields and old stone farmhouses. Just to the west is an area referred to as “Basque Country,” in recognition of the Basque farmers that work the tall hills and deep draws.
Our final day, Saturday, dawned damp and cloudy after a heavy early morning thunder storm and we lazed into the day, finally gearing up to ride at 10 AM, destination Basque Country.
Eight of us took off with an improvised itinerary and Nel preceding us to chalk turn arrows on the road.
Our taut quads warned us not to pedal hard as we savored our last day on a bike in France.
We wove around bad road patches, dirt clods and animal dung on steep, twisty back roads, just enjoying being alive and rolling on 2 wheels.
Eventually, Markham stopped to sketch an old barn, Howie and I turned to go to St. Oloron and the others continued onto a new town for a picnic lunch.
By 4 PM we had all found our way back to Chateau Lamothe to pack up our bikes, have a final group dinner and retire early so we could catch morning flights back to the States.
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| A farm with its own waterworks |
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| Two-way traffic--get skinny, Howie! |
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| Howie |
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| Vegetable garden |
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| Vegetable meal |
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| Road to another adventure..... |
Our final day, Saturday, dawned damp and cloudy after a heavy early morning thunder storm and we lazed into the day, finally gearing up to ride at 10 AM, destination Basque Country. Eight of us took off with an improvised itinerary and Nel preceding us to chalk turn arrows on the road. Our taut quads warned us not to pedal hard as we savored our last day on a bike in France. We wove around bad road patches, dirt clods and animal dung on steep, twisty back roads, just enjoying being alive and rolling on 2 wheels. Eventually, Markham stopped to sketch an old barn, Howie and I turned to go to St. Oloron and the others continued onto a new town for a picnic lunch. By 4 PM we had all found our way back to Chateau Lamothe to pack up our bikes, have a final group dinner and retire early so we could catch morning flights back to the States. 
Great blog! I admire you guys for putting yourselves through this, however I have to say that having someone do everything except pedal has its advantages. Just returned from Tuscany with Backroads. No spectacular peaks but lots of vertical and a day on the same course as the Giro. But as I like to say, I love to bike and bike to eat, and eat we did in Tuscany. Hope everyone got back home safe and sound.
ReplyDeleteJack, it was fun reading your blog and seeing your pictures, while also following my best friend Philip, his wife and two very good friends here in Franklin ride (and eat and drink) their way through Tuscany. Each nights read had me riding vicariously through two countries at the same time. Thanks.
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