Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port

June 10, 2014

Crossing Burdinolatze into the Basque lands

Today begins our final week on the road for this tour, and it is a day of transition. We've come through the high Pyrenees and it feels like we are starting off on a new small tour through a different region. By day's end we will be in the Basque lands, and tomorrow we will hit the Atlantic.

The thunderstorms passed in the night, but in their wake it is overcast and foggy this morning. This works well for us - we were hoping the heat wave would abate before we hit the road again. Leaving the hotel, it is cool enough to require our jackets and feels almost misty. The ride began with a curious mishap though - Rachael left the hotel before me to stop off again at the supermarket in Accous that we had shopped at yesterday. I came along after checking out of our room, but somehow blanked out and whizzed right by the store, continuing on for another mile before waking up. Turning back, I found Rachael waiting at the side of the road looking perplexed and concerned that this was an early sign of decrepitude.

Together again, we coasted north and downriver along the Aspe until reaching D918, a quiet low-lying road that we would follow west to Tardets. We were excited to see that this is the Cheese Route, and we spent the next hour or so passing fields packed with sheep and goats and a steady procession of cheese outlets. At the end of this stretch, in the central plaza of the pretty small town in Tardets, we stopped to chat a bit with a group of Australian cyclists early into a Pyreneean Raid. They had started the day in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, so we asked about the route they had taken - we were curious for a first hand account of the little known Col Burdinolatze. They said they had come the longer but much easier way over Col d'Osquich, but referred us to a different group of cyclists just around the corner who had come in the high route. So, we moseyed over and chatted with these gents, Americans, and got their confirmation that the pass was a good but tough ride.

Tardets is a major cycle-touring crossroads, apparently - who knew?

The climb began about two miles further to the west, on tiny, isolated D117. It began immediately and very steeply, with the first mile or so at about 12%. We were surprised that this lump has ended up being the steepest climb of our tour. It was a wonderful ride though, enough so that at one point we found sheep dozing in the road, and cows lying along the margins. It climbs 2700' and caps out a bit over 3500'. At the top it is foggy, breezy and nippy; but we've only had a nectarine since breakfast and we are starving, so we hunker down between the rocks to quickly down our lunch.

The descent was actually quite difficult, and a bit unnerving - at least as steep as the way up, very rough surfaced, winding, very narrow, with the slope dropping sharply off the edge of the road. One spot in particular was very worrisome: a double phalanx of cows lined both sides of the tiny road, and placidly stared at Rachael as she eased between them; but as I came through, each of them in turn lumbered to its knees and stood up next to me. I have to tell you, having no place to go but between these towers of meat, they sure looked huge to me. Our hands ached by the end from relentlessly crushing the brakes. It was a beautiful drop though, through an astonishingly green landscape. It was one of the most striking rides of the tour, and we were glad we hadn't talked ourselves into taking the low road instead.

In the evening we enjoyed walking around famous Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, a pivotal stop on the pilgrimage route to Campostella, soaking in the historical vibes and the colorful Basque architecture. At dinner, we toast to the fact that we've made it through the mountains. We were surprised to find ourselves seated next to another cycle tourist, from Donegal, working his way east toward Istanbul or until his resources run out. We enjoyed comparing notes with him and discussing dreams for adventures to come.

Net elevation gain: 4,600' today, 92,500' total.

Videoclip of the pass: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!567&authkey=!ALRYpSVcrsAxe1A&ithint=video%2c.mp4