Flip-flopping between Basque country and the med. coast on 4 separate little trips.
Monday 19 July 2021
Today's ride: Basque Epic from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Brutal gradients. Beautiful scenery. To Spanish border & back.
Tuesday 20 July 2021
Today's ride: little recovery spin in more rolling terrain... with 20% pinches thrown in because... Basque region!
Tuesday 20 July 2021
Dinner at the mobile warung kecil - aka. campsite in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Simple but delish as always. Nom, nom!
Wednesday 21 July 2021
I rode here the day before & so beautiful drove Pratiwi up to see. Roads above the clouds always feel very special
Wednesday 21 July 2021
Lunch above clearing clouds @ Refuge Orisson. Great steak & Gateau Basque - of course - nom! Fantastic experience!
Wednesday 21 July 2021
Tourist shots from Cambo-les-Bains... pretty little place if you're passing by.
Friday 23 July 2021
Lunch at Hotel Bellevue, Cambo-les-Bains. Fantastic food, especially the main & ridiculous value - 3 courses for 16E!
Friday 3 September 2021
Today's ride: Just a short one, but found some crazy hairpins above Verdun here in the Ariege. Niiiiice
Friday 3 September 2021
So, there's a galette/crepe van visiting the camping we're at this evening. Would be rude not to Nom, nom, nom!
Saturday 4 September 2021
Port de Lers & Col de Port. Former a testy little bugger who's stats don't do it justice. Absolutely beautiful tho.
Saturday 4 September 2021
Late lunch in the snail. Fried rice with veggies & a little leftover meat. Nice glass of rose too. Simple but yum!
Sunday 5 September 2021
Love randomly finding finish line graphics from a TdF stage on the road: 2021 stage 14 in Quillan so nice & fresh!
Sunday 5 September 2021
The Med! We're not really beach people, but now & then have to remind ourselves mountains were the correct choice!
Monday 6 September 2021
Fabulous Thai @ Sabai Sabai in Argeles Plage. No entree, but ordered 3 mains & devoured the lot! Highly recommended.
Monday 6 September 2021
Argeles Plage beachfront by night. Plenty colourful cafe, bars & restaurants. And plenty busy even after August peak!
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Villefranche-de-Conflent: v.impressive on approach, but hard to photograph inside. So, erm, sorry few tourist pics
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Drove up, rode down. Main roads normally not good to ride, but this (N116) is twisty as & drops 1200m in 15km. Ye-ha!
Tuesday 7 September 2021
Messing around on the shores of Lac de Matemale
Tuesday 7 September 2021
This evening's accomodations: altitude camp in Font Romeu. Tomorrow's ride should be interesting
Wednesday 8 September 2021
Campsite sunrise. Gonna be a great day!
Wednesday 8 September 2021
Today's ride: Font Romeu -> 34km descent (blast down the N116) -> beautiful climbs back to the start. Love this area!
Thursday 9 September 2021
Estany de Puigcerda. This little pond is quite an unexpected find in the middle of a mountain town. Pretty place.
Thursday 9 September 2021
Cafe Orient, La Seu d'Urgell. 3 course lunch with slabs of meat & bottle of wine for 13E each. Welcome to Spain!
Thursday 9 September 2021
V.happy Pratiwi after glass or 2 of lunchtime wine, with great food of course, La Seu d'Urgell. Lucky I'm driving
Thursday 9 September 2021
Evening in rather misty Arties (Val d'Arun, Spain). Love this little village, always beautiful even in this weather.
Thursday 9 September 2021
Still great food, but atmosphere in a fave tapas bar much subdued due to health regs. Hope it's back to normal soon!
Wednesday 29 September 2021
Legend Bridge (& others) in Sauveterre-de-Bearn. Originally built in 12th century but destroyed by floods in 18th.
Wednesday 29 September 2021
Dinner at Haize Hegoa, Itxassou. Nice bar with great view - shame it's dark outside. Great burger & steak though!
Thursday 30 September 2021
Today's ride: popped over into Spain, as you do It's all Basque Country though & such a beautiful region. Love it!
Thursday 30 September 2021
Dinner at Restaurant Bonnet, Itxassou. Amazing food in a lovely traditional dining room. Highly recommended!
Friday 1 October 2021
Very pretty Basque village of Ainhoa, super close to Fr/Es border. I cycled here earlier & returned for closer look.
Saturday 2 October 2021
Ocean sunrise from Hondarribia. OK, OK... so sometimes a visit to the coast can be alright
Saturday 2 October 2021
From beach, inland into rolling hills & finale over Jaizkibel coastal road. Latter in particular has amazing views!
Saturday 2 October 2021
Few tapas plates in Hondarribia old town. Octopus, basque sausage, croquettes. Plus beer & sangria of course. Cheers!
Friday 15 October 2021
Dinner at Asily, Quillan. Superb Asian food & someone else 'accidentally' paid which was far too generous - thx!
Saturday 16 October 2021
On the road early today - has it's advantages! Through gorges, forests & vineyards in this wonderful light. A Treat!
Saturday 16 October 2021
What more beach? Off season in practically empty Calonge on a lovely sunny evening. Nice when it's not crazy busy!
Sunday 17 October 2021
Today's ride: From Spanish coast into hills & back, then coastal road dropping down to the occasional beach. Awesome!
Monday 18 October 2021
More beaches & beautiful little villages today. Gotta say am liking the off season here - quiet & perfect weather
Monday 18 October 2021
Just what you want to see on a recovery ride Head NE from Llafranc beach (very pretty place) if you fancy it!
Tuesday 19 October 2021
Passing few mins on Tossa de Mar beach as restaurant we'd like to try not open yet. Spanish lunch hours: terrible!
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Sunrise at Blanes. Bit too cloudy on the horizon TBH, but only here for 2 nights so best I could manage am afraid
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Change from the coast, some nice hills around here too. Village of Hostalric a stand out in it's Autumn colours. Wow!
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Lunch @ Pou de la Vila, Tossa de Mar. Glad we resisted temptation to eat on seafront - still beautiful & superb food.
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Sunset at Blanes. Seems like every beach here has a group of small fishing boats for tourists to snap. Works well
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Appero time! Well, Spanish style: sangria by the beach. Cheers!
Wednesday 20 October 2021
Swanky place we had apperos at fully booked for dinner, so ate at nearby tapas bar. Works for us & more economic too!
Thursday 21 October 2021
Random shot from the road: Panta d'Escales reservoir. Lovely autumn colours along the route today. Very enjoyable.