It's a Go!! - Looping the Pyrenees - CycleBlaze

January 17, 2024

It's a Go!!

After many hours online, searching for reasonably-priced flights that (1) either didn't include Lufthansa and its obscene bike fees (or were significantly cheaper to negate the effect), and (2) didn't include ridiculously long or stupidly short connections, prices dropped this week and I've purchased return flights to Bilbao.

Yeah, I know the original plan was Biarritz, but this way we will arrive in a place we want to spend a day or two anyway and ride the Atlantic coast between Biarritz (if we even go there) and Bilbao when it's beach season.  Maybe not beach season to Europeans, but mid-June should be warm enough for Canadians.  If not warm enough to swim, the scenery will still be fantastic.  Now to book accommodation!  And then I'll shovel snow.

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John VincentHello
We are friends of Keith and Kathleen Classen. We live in Victoria as well and crossed paths with them this past Fall cycling in Girona and Barcelona. We cycle in Europe each Spring and Fall.
We also are planning to cycle through the Pyrenees this coming May. As you have extensive knowledge of the routing, I would very much like to discuss it with you to help finalize our route plan from Girona to San Sebastián, mostly on the French side. You can email us, if comfortable with that, at ebikestouring@gmail.com.
Thanks
John and Darlene
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10 months ago
Patrick O'HaraLooking forward to following along....you're covering territory that will be familiar to us. Tail winds.
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10 months ago
Jacquie GaudetTo Patrick O'HaraI'll be posting an updated plan in the next while. Please let me know if I've chosen to do something dumb or might miss something you found worthwhile!
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10 months ago
Susan CarpenterYeah! Should be a great trip.
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10 months ago
Rachael AndersonYou’ll have a wonderful time!
Reply to this comment
9 months ago
CHRISTOPHER JAMESRe bike fees: I haven't paid any since 2016. I live in Tacoma and fly out of Seattle. Alaska and Delta eliminated these fees years ago. My wife did have to pay last week flying from Rome to AMS on KLM. Technically, KLM still charges for bikes (and golf clubs for that matter) even if you're under the weight and size limits. She got a "Nurse Ratched" agent (from the book "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest). But, I flew KLM in January from Malaga to AMS, and no one assessed any fees.

Air France has not charged me either. Paris-CDG has really upped their game over the last decade. Easy to connect, great signage, and helpful people. So, that's why we stick with Delta/Air France for our EU travel.
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6 months ago
Jacquie GaudetTo CHRISTOPHER JAMESIt seems fees are a bit different flying out of the US compared to Canada. We still don’t really want to connect through the US and flying out of Bellingham or Seatac is just too much faff and expense.
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6 months ago
Jacquie GaudetTo CHRISTOPHER JAMESAbout fees: I think the European airlines’ fees are distance-based. It also seems to depend where you check in and the agent you get sometimes.
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6 months ago