10 April Busy road in Spain to busy road in France

April 10, 2023

https://www.strava.com/activities/8866299188

I spent the night in a roadside hostel. Two bedrooms each with 8 beds, a communal area and a nice loo/shower block. Very basic. When I arrived the staff had gone (were they ever there?). I was sent a code for the door via WhatsApp and let myself in. The djacent hotel was closed (permanently maybe) and there was nothing nearby so the evening was spent cooking, unpacking and repacking (I think this may become a thing!) and eating. No-one else showed up until after I went to bed and they (whoever they are or were) went into the other room. I woke up in the morning got dressed and packed 😁 and jumped on my bike. It was all a bit surreal. Nevermind, the shower was great, the mattress comfy and the rooms warm.

A few km I arrived at Irun the last Spanish down on this part of the Atlantic coast. I stopped for breakfast which was very basic. Toast with virgin olive oil and tomato with a milky coffee. They also made me a fresh orange juice whilst I waited. All was good.

Another few km down the road I suddenly found myself in France 👍🇫🇷😄 well momentarily I was in both.

But not for long.

The road was a mix of busy and quiet with fairly mundane surroundings until I suddenly came upon the Atlantic. I could smell it before I saw it, smelled just like home!!. There was some amazing cliffs. I am sure my geologist ex colleagues would be able to tell me about them.

During that short cycle into France I began to realise that there is a huge difference between how the Spanish deal with pedestrians, cyclists and traffic. In all the Spanish towns every junction had a pedestrian crossing and I mean a crossing on every leg. So a crossroads had four zebra crossings some controlled by lights others dependent on driver courtesy. Every Spanish town had designated cycle lanes and in some cases properly segregated paths for people on feet, scooters and bikes. These paths were wide so that users could coexist with conflict. Every junction had a myriad of road markings telling you where to go. For a day or so it baffled me until I suddenly began understanding them and following them. It was clear that they wanted to protect people from traffic and had put huge efforts into thinking, planning and implementing. People are important. The car is not king!

In a few km of France I realised that they, like most of the UK, are decades behind the Spanish. The roads were devoid of markings, cycle paths are shared pavements and are not adequately signposted. There are few pedestrian crossings. Clearly the car is still king in SW France.

Interestingly the differences appeared in the traffic. In Spain every car and lorry and bus gave me a wide berth. This morning many cars were far too close and on one occasion a woman slowed down to tell me that I should be on the narrow cycle path on the other side of the road and not holding her up by cycling on the road.

Such a shame that two different attitudes exist only a few km apart.

Shortly after the amazing cliffs I stumbled upon the amazing little town of Saint Jean de Luz. I parked up and immediately wandered into a small hall full of the most amazing foodstalls. For the first time I wish I had the car so I could have bought cheese, hams, wines, breads, fish and so on. It was just amazing. As it was I was limited to a small piece of local cheese some fruit and a chunk of Artisan bread.

Before eating lunch I took a wander around the busy streets. Loads of local shops selling local produce a d services along with quite a few main brands. It felt the town had a good balance and I don't think I have seen such a healthy High St in the UK for a while. Difficult to work out what we are getting wrong. Of course it just have been the Easter Monday and tourist affect. Ipoppd into the local church to be astounded by the inside.

After lunch I put the head down and got some distance in stopping for a coffee in what turned out to be a very upmarket village. Fancy food shops (again) and several great looking bar/restaurants all doing cracking business in the sun.

The final leg to the accommodation was rather tedious with busy roads and driving hunger. I arrived early to find that the on site Pizzeria and Wine Cellar was closed however there was a restaurant 150m up the road which is open. Quick shower and change, unpack and get gear ready for tomorrow, gadgets on charge and I was good to go. 300m later I was telling my host that the restaurant was in fact Ferme! H tried to help but realised that with a bike I was kind of stuck. So I resolved to enjoy the banana, pain au chocolate and handful of haribro for dinner and forgo breakfast in the morning.

15 minutes later he appeared asking if I want fish and chips? Is the Pope Catholic, is the sky blue and do bears.....? Yes please and 50 minutes later I was chomping my way through some well needed grub.

It's an early start tomorrow with about 97km to go. Longest distance yet but no big lumps however it is gradually uphill all the way!

Today's ride: 101 km (63 miles)
Total: 486 km (302 miles)

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