Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement

Cycling from London to Spain

Day 29 Saint John Pied de Port to Espinal

Distance 24.7 miles

Ascent 1030 metres Descent 336 metres

We left at 8am to beat the heat and start the climb. We began climbing out of St Jean Pied de Port and after 2km Christophe was dancing around and becoming agitated. We had gone the wrong way.

We turned around and started the climb in the opposite direction.

We came to a restaurant and thought we would have our last coffee in France. The pleasant motor cyclist who took the photo said it was too late – we were already in Spain.

How could we have missed the sign at the border?

Who needs a passport anyway?

We climbed, it got hotter. Alison asserted there would be a 1 degree drop in temperature for every 100 metre ascent. Not my experience today.

We reached the summit.
Couldn’t lift my water bottle let alone my bike to celebrate.
Was the view from the top worth it? We will tell you tomorrow.

We enjoyed a drink at our hostel and dinner with walkers from Italy, Switzerland and South Korea.

So much to celebrate. We have cycled from the UK to Spain, we have climbed a mountain col to 1057 metres and Christophe has rewarded us. We are now Level 6 cyclists. Yes two levels in a day.

Can it get any better?

alisonmiddleditch

3 responses to “Day 29 Saint John Pied de Port to Espinal”

  1. Jill avatar
    Jill

    Massive well done on reaching Spain. Loving the blog and catching up on your daily antics. X

    Like

    Reply
  2. shirleyerobinson avatar
    shirleyerobinson

    Very well done. All downhill from here then. Easy peasy! Xx

    Like

    Reply
  3. ixonchitts avatar
    ixonchitts

    Well done, I’m so impressed with your achievements. Enjoy Spain!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment