Day Twenty-Four - Uterga

I had a cool and misty-eyed morning. I took a couple of hours until it cleared. It stayed relatively cool as I took on the biggest climb of my tour so far.

This took probably two hours and did have the occasional flat bit. My legs were protesting a lot though I was only forced to stop once - around 200 meters from the top. No medals for me.

It was a sharp descent for ten minutes and then a gentle slope all the way through to Pamplona. Much of this was on a big highway but with very little traffic. It also got much hotter.

I tried an albergue in the city center but it was full and got the same in the suburbs.

Heading out to the campsite 20km further south, but also considering wildcamping options, I found there was an albergue just 10km away - so I headed there.

Yes, but what a 10km! At 6pm the heat was in my face and this extremely quiet though very wide road went up and down and up and up. Phew. As I got higher there was a little breeze on my back though.

Then an extremely fast 50kmh descent into Utegra and I checked in to my first albergue. It is very good.

Day Twenty-Three - The End Of France

Day Twenty-Three - The End Of France

My tent was damp this morning. Not had that for a few days and, no problem. However it was also very dirty. I didn't figure out why but I presume it must be some kind of quarry somewhere nearby. Never had that before. Ended up rinsing the tent to get rid of most of it. The dirt was everywhere.

I also had around a hundred ants in the handlebar bag where I keep my essentials. I had a sugar spill a couple of weeks ago and had half-heartedly cleared it out but the south-west ant population must have a stronger sense of smell and decided to move in when I wasn't moving.

I had a couple of nasty hilly kilometers with cars but they gave me space. I popped in to Decathlon for two pairs of shorts. The first are the cheapest padded ones they had - only €10! I am sick of fixing my primary pair and will give these a try.

I also bought some shorty-short hotpants and will give riding in them a try. They were only $15.

Then, all of a sudden, I left France. I had a great time. Bloody brilliant route.

Day Twenty-Two Saint-Jean-de-Luz

I had a day off yesterday. I had two long walks + around the lake and down to the beach and supermarket - and watched two movies on the BBC.

Heading out this morning I had a lot of cyclepaths adjacent to busy roads which was a bit annoying. I arrived in Biarritz which was special to me. 35 years ago, at the age of seventeen, I traveled across France and visited Biarritz, spending a few days here with a family that picked me up in Strasbourg hitchhiking.

Day Twenty - Vieux-Boucau-les-Bains

I got off to a late start at 11:15 as there was no reason to rush. I had just 85km to my target campsite.

It was a warmer day with light wind. I stocked up in a town and had lunch in a pinewood picnic area near a beach.

When I arrived at the campsite they had space for me (good) but the price was a very high €26. I made a quick decision. The site looked pretty horrible with little shade from the sun and was jam-packed so I said 'no thanks, too expensive'. They kindly suggested another site a km away which turned out to be brilliant. And the price is €3.58. Not a misprint!

I ate squid 'n chips at the on-site restaurant and spent the evening chatting with a fellow cyclist.

Day Nineteen - Sainte-Eulalie-en-Born

Internet access has been poor the last few days and I had also been doing very long days. This sapped any strength I had to blog.

I woke around 7am. I had set an alarm for the first time on this tour as I wanted to clear out before any dogwalkers turned up.

The tent was dry and I was up an away within an hour - a record for me!

I was very low on water and searched nearby but gave up and went to the supermarket and stocked up on water and food. I rode for a couple of hours and then had breakfast.

My target campsite (I hadn't been on one for a while) was 80km away and I had already done a good chunk. Looking good!

Much of the day was spent on cyclepaths running alongside busy roads - busy because it is a Saturday in the middle of August and everyone was heading to the beach. As the day progressed, and everyone made it to the beach, the roads were quiet. At one point the horizon was taken by an enormous dune - it took me back to Arakis.

The campsite is fine and I am considering spending two nights here. I ate a salad at the bar and had a beer. I washed everything I possess and put up an enormous washing line.