Raid Pyreneen

[Jerry Atrik]

Hi all . Just booked my ticket with bike express for next summer to tackle the above mentioned route . Im not chasing the 100 hours time but the bus drops me of at Bayonne on a Sunday morning and i have a week to get to Perpingan to be picked up . I plan to camp along the way so will be fully loaded , so just wondering how tough this will be and is it doable in the time allotted . Also any tips and advice on campsites , maps , guides ect would be much appreciated ,.

 

[vernon]

Have you put the cart before the horse?

I'd have made sure that I was confident in my ability to complete the ride before booking the coach trips.

All touring fully loaded in hilly terrain is draining and more than once I've found myself suffering from hunger knock or bonking out. You need to factor in the additional weight of your luggage and the hilly terrain when planning your calorie intake.

There's plenty of online sites that Google will point you at that you'll find useful.

There's also the Lonely Planet guide to the Pyrennees that give suitable historical and cultural background to the region.

 

[steveindenmark]

Jerry, who cares if you have put the cart before the horse?

There is nothing to stop you changing your plans once you are on the route if you realise it is tougher than you thought. What you have done is taken the huge step of making sure you are going somewhere. Don`t beat yourself up about destinations. They are wildly overrated in my opinion.

Some of my best trips have been when I have decided to head to no specific destination but just a direction. South is always a good choice when leaving Denmark.

Just go out with the idea of enjoying the experience and the ride.

Steve

 

[doog]

Jerry, who cares if you have put the cart before the horse?

There is nothing to stop you changing your plans once you are on the route if you realise it is tougher than you thought.

Steve

I think his intended ride doesnt leave much option for changing the route. Where would he change it to ? The whole point is that you complete a set number of climbs.

His ride is a major challenge, Ive done the Pyrenees South to North but length ways ? I would love to but would train bloody hard for it. Its not a route for the casual tourer.

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Hi guys , it is a case of if i dont book it i wont do it . Ive done a couple of small tours and cycle quite a lot on Dartmoor but having never been in a mountain range before i have no idea of the scale involved so just fishing really .

 

[oldfatfool]

Nothing you will ride in GB will prepare you for climbing for 20+km at 6~12% in temps in excess of 110deg. but hey don't let me put you off

Don't worry about campsites they are numerous, cheap, generally clean and well equipped.

Can you do it? depends on your mental attitude, pain threshold and pig headedness, oh and a bit of luck from the wind and weather gods. Because you have a deadline, take contingency cash and your drivers license, worse case scenario if you are only 1/2 way come the Friday catch the train or hire a van.

Will it be worth it? Yes it is a fantastic sense of achievement, especially overtaking roadies on a fully loaded tourer when climbing a col!

Train, then train some more, then find a hill and ride up it constantly with overloaded panniers, or if you can afford buy a vr trainer and practice on real cols.

One piece of equipment I would recommend (regardless of the fashionista) is a 3ltr bladder pack, no worries about having to fill up bottles every other hour, and no worries about trying to stop or grab/replace a bottle when wobbling up the steep bits.


ps see my sig

 

[vernon]

Hi guys , it is a case of if i dont book it i wont do it . Ive done a couple of small tours and cycle quite a lot on Dartmoor but having never been in a mountain range before i have no idea of the scale involved so just fishing really .

It's one hell of a transition from small tours to crossing a mountain range. You could start plotting your local rides on something like Mapmyride.com to get an idea of the gradient profiles of your rides and compare them with some of your proposed route to see how they compare.

Seriously, I would have researched the route(s) first before booking. I did and that's why I've not used the Atlantic Route option of the Eurpoean Bike Express to deposit me at one end of the range yet.

Good luck.

 

[betty swollocks]

If you ask me, one of the best ways to ruin a cycling tour is to give yourself an uncertain or barely achievable deadline.

 

[rich p]

If it's the 500mile route, you'll be pushing your luck and fitness. I've done the occasional 'accidental' day of 80 plus miles in mountains and I'd rather not repeat the exercise. Especially day after day. 50 miles per day in the high mountains is hard enough and you'll need to factor in ending up at campsite too.
If you decide that it's too hard, Jerry, I'd have a look at changing your route to make it easier but include a couple of decent well-known climbs.
The 10 day 'route' on Wiki goes over 28 cols...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_Pyrénéen

 

[oldfatfool]

Don't be put off, 700 ish km is only 65 miles a day. 11000m up means 11000m down. OK it will be more relentless climbing but consider 750 cyclists will be attempting LEL which is twice the distance, the same height gain BUT in 2 less days. Like I said have a contingency by all means but you should be fine and still have some R&R time at the end of each day.

The key thing is being prepared and being efficient, plan on setting off early each morning, practice packing up your campsite and loading the bike. (very easy to lose a couple of hours doing this job) Buy a couple of cereal bars the day before to act as early brekky and then knock out a couple of hours before stopping at a Boulangerie or cafe for a more substantial repast. Aim for lunch around 1.30 when the day is hottest. If you are eating out remember places don't open well 7'ish for evening meals so no point wasting your time setting up camp at 4, etc etc

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Some good stuff here guys , feeling slightly more confident but some serious training to be getting on with me thinks . Breaking it down in to 65 mile days sounds a lot more feasable but doing it i guess is another thing .

 

[Crankarm]

Of course you don't have to ride all the big famous cols ........... Two weeks would give you a less pressing schedule, although nothing like a deadline to give you purpose and focus the mind. If you are camping then you will be fully loaded so riding 50-60 miles each day in the mountains will be tough especially if it is hot. You have to scale the hills of the Basque country before you hit the Pyenees for real. Don't under estimate the Basque hills. They might not be very high, but they can be very steep.