Thanks, Patrick. We four should meet up sometime.

Good catch. Looking forward to following along. Good luck over the next two weeks!

I contrast this with our most trip with Air Canada (our preferred airline because bike fee is only $50 and our credit cards get us each a free checked bag). We received multiple emails about flight changes; each time was because a departure or arrival time had been adjusted by a few minutes.

We had two ticket changes with American. One we received an email about, the other one, we discovered by chance. Both times I was able to make satisfactory changes. It was still stressful.

The rules, as far as I know, state that passengers should be rebooked on the *next* available flight. When we looked at the options, they included the same itinerary either a day earlier or a day later, or the awkward itineraries remaining on the same day (Who wants a 5-hour connection at Edmonton Airport? Or anywhere? Not me!).

It seems that the airline industry still hasn't really recovered from the pandemic disruptions.

I can’t believe your flight got rebooked for a different day without making that clear. That’s so outrageous. At least you did better than I did and caught it while it was still cancellable.

My daughter-in-law, Rachel with one “a”, took it!

Wow, what a beautiful shot!

I didn’t stop long in Getaria when I passed through in 2016 and didn’t notice a museum. I think it was mid-morning as, according to my journal, I had lunch in a town further along.

This time, I’ve booked accommodation in Zarautz, as I couldn’t find anything in Getaria. Perhaps it will be a morning stop!

Looks fantastic, Jacquie. We rode the Pyrenees from Girona to Bilbao in 2016. One of the highlights of that tour was seeing the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria. We both enjoyed it immensely (and I can assure you, I am no fashionista). It tells the story of our time through fashion. Amazing. You can take an escalator from the sea level up to the museum.

There are polite ways of doing it. I always mention our need for a secure place to put our bikes and there have been several versions of "sorry, but we just don't have room". I also found it interesting that that place, in Ripoll, about 90 km by bike from Girona, found it necessary to include such a statement in their standard reply.

We will, as long as I'm in shape. I just calculated the average vertical gain on moving (loaded) days--maybe I shouldn't have done that!

As for the colours, no control over that. I wonder why most of the routes are shown in red...

The colors make that route look like a string of holiday lights. :)

Have a great trip!

Looks like that is going to be a stunning tour!
I agree, booking in advance commits you more or less to a set route that you might want to change while on the road, but it also means less stress while touring and makes it possible to find better prices. We never used to book anything in advance but in the meantime we book everything. I sleep better with that.

Wow does this look great. I’m envious, but will love following along. Pack light!