Alison and Alison and the art of re-tyrement

Distance 58 km Ascent 568 metres Descent 498 metres Another early start and a beautiful ride through the Spanish rolling hills. We handed over complete responsibility to Christophe and arrived in Burgos at 1.45pm. A record. We are on the 8th floor of the hotel. We have air conditioning. Bliss. This is the first time…

Distance 32.2 miles Ascent 627 metres Descent 352 metres Temperature 36 degrees Not our finest performance today. We arrived in Santa Domingo de la Calzada at 8.30am. Christophe predicted we would be at Belorado, our final destination at 10.35. We were excited, the Hostal has a pool. As we left Santa Domingo the guide book…

Distance 37.6 miles Ascent 843 metres Descent 805 metres Arrived in Logrono before the cafes in the main square were open. We tracked one down for breakfast before visiting the Cathedral. We followed Christophe’s directions and found our way out of the city comfortably. As we left we were taken on a track through a…

Distance 25.7 miles Ascent 648 metres Descent 552 metres An early start and we were in Estella by 9.30am today. Had a coffee and chatted with a young couple fron Norway who are walking the way. They said we were crazier than we look. We took that as a compliment but if they could see…

Distance 46.6 miles Ascent 812 metres Descent 1189 metres Today was all about the weather. Three thunder storms whilst cycling. It is getting hotter with less shade. We left Hostal Rural Haizea and started climbing immediately. What was going on? Had Christophe made a mistake? We thought it was all downhill today. Sadly not and…

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…

Distance 23.6 miles Ascent 651 metres Descent 538 metres It took us a month and 1071 miles and we are now at the start of our route. It would have been quicker by plane but not half as much fun. As we loaded panniers onto our bicycles this morning a group of 4 other cyclists…

Distance 30.2 miles Ascent 402 metres Descent 400 metres Shorter distances but harder work for the next few days as we climb up into the Pyrenees. We are now on the last page of the Michelin road map and after tomorrow will have to rely solely on Christophe. If we can curb his desire to…

Distance 31.06 miles Ascent 314 metres Descent 286 metres We woke up to torrential rain and had a lie in. Lovely. Followed by a marvellous breakfast. Every cloud ….. Did some admin this morning as the forecast was better for later in the day. Had another successful trip to Decathlon followed by a second trip…

Distance 45.2 miles Ascent 394 metres Descent 441 metres Unbelievably Christophe has designated us as Level 3 cyclists today. Two levels in two days. That is extreme. Today’s route tested so many of our cycle skills. Christophe took us down three mountain bike routes, a cycle path on the side of a dual carriage way,…