On the Road – Distance: 139km I 86miles I Elevation: 1628m I 5341ft This was the longest day of the tour as we left Herault and entered into Languedoc’s most eastern region, Gard. With fewer undulations and such varied terrain the day was a delight, but HOT, 38C or 100.2 F!! We passed by the […]
On the Road – Distance: 97 km I 60 miles I Elevation 1645m I 5397ft We meandered our way out of Carcassonne and for the first part of the ride spun our way across the flatlands to the north of the city before heading up into the rugged hills of the Parc Naturel du Haut […]
Loop Ride – Pic de Nore and Lastours – Distance: 76km / 47mi / Elevation: 998m / 3274ft The region around Carcassonne has been ridden regularly in the Tour de France for good reason. This most recent Stage 15 of the TdF rode up the Pic de Nore into the upper Aude rolling past Gouffre […]
On the Road – Distance: 126km I 78miles I Elevation: 1951m I 6401ft We left the Midi-Pyrénées this morning, another great weather day, although got quite warm in the afternoon,and headed into the beautiful region of Languedoc as we closed in on the fairytale city of Carcassonne. A short(4km) but stiff(9.7%) climb early on at […]
On the Road – Distance: 141km I 87miles I Elevation: 2905m I 9530ft Another big climbing day as we headed into the picturesque Ariege Department. Whilst we wouldn’t take on any of the iconic Grand Tour climbs we will still experienced a number of the climbs that have been featured regularly in the Tour de […]
On the Road – Distance: 109km I 68miles I Elevation: 3454m I 11332ft NOTE: DUE TO MY STUPIDITY OR FATIGUE, I FORGOT TO TURN ONY STRAVA AND RELIVE APP UNTIL 18 KM INTO THE RIDE ….OOPSIES! A day to savour as we took on three iconic col’s on our way to the quaint town of […]
On the Road – Distance: 118km I 75miles I Elevation: 2670m I 8759ft Heading due north we climbed the Col de Pourtalet which peaks at 1797m on the border between Spain and France. We then descended with spectacular mountains all around to the neoclassical spa town of Eaux-Bonnes where we lunched in preparation for the […]
After fitting our bikes and getting to know each other over lunch we headed out on a warm up ride traversing this side of the Pyrenees. We are in the town of Tramacastilla Spain. Tramacastilla regularly hosts the Vuelta a España and it is also part of its own race, the Quebrantahuesos, a 200km cyclosportive […]
Aah Barcelona, one of my favourite world cities! I left Windsor at 11 am yesterday and arrived at noon today, a long flight and too excited to sleep. In the airport, met up with my Colorado friend and roommate on the 2015 Portland 2 Portland bike trip, Dave Dornan, who will join me on this […]
As the great Graeme Obree once said, “My biggest fear is not crashing this bike at 85km/hr and losing my skin—it’s sitting in my chair at 90 and thinking, ‘I wish I’d done more!’” And so, here we go again! I will ride my bike with 22 others from Barcelona Spain to Rome Italy, […]