To Hendaye

June 3, 2024

The last dance and the last (baby) col

Today we have reached the final ride of our tour- 26 days on our velos. Our last ride was a relatively short and straight forward dash to the coast. The city of Hendaye completed our route through the Pyrenees mountains from the Mediterranean to to the Atlantic. It is a wonderful beach town right on the border of France and Spain. We rode through here last year and thought that it looked like a great place to spend a couple of days at the end of the tour. So here we are!

We took the breakfast at Hotel Lastiry and loaded up our bikes. Scott spent some time yesterday trying to seal up Pat`s tire using some rubber patches on the inside as the tire casing is now exposed in two large gaps in between the tread. It is in really bad shape. The tire had wear issues and now has lost it's shape causing the rubber to split. We hoped to just make 25 more kilometres on this tire. If we needed to go further a replacement would absolutely be required.

I thought that this tile ¨picture¨ in the bathroom was interesting. This sketch was done by a Basque painter Mattin-Laurent Partarrieu.

We rejoined the D4 highway where we left it yesterday - at the roundabout just outside of Sare. Here we noticed an information col sign. In reality it was not much of a hill but some how it warranted a name at the top. It was a nice ride and we laughed at completing the last col of the tour.

Col de St Ignace at a little over 100 metres should not give us too much of a problem.

Calla lily season. They grow every where around here and do not seem to require any love or attention.

The last col. It appears that the French names are not too popular and the Basque name gets taped over top.

La Rhune Petite train - a popular tourist attraction that runs straight up that hill. It is an authentic cog railway, built in 1924, that will take you to the 905 metre level in 35 minutes.

Some new bike lanes have been added to move the bikes off the moderately busy road. Always appreciated for as long as they last.

A little over 15 KM into the ride and approaching the town of Urrugne the car traffic began to get really ugly. We thought that it was as a result of getting near on and off ramps for the major A63 freeway or maybe there was an accident that had created the need for a detour. The cars and large trucks were nose to tail for kilometres on both sides of the road. We kept our heads down and endured as we climbed the low grade up for the next 4KM. It was not until we reached Hendaye that we were able to determine the likely cause that I can explain later.

We were so happy to leave the traffic clogged D4 and begin our downhill run through the quiet residential streets. Reaching Hendaye we rode along the entire waterfront and soaked in the beauty of the coast before heading off to the nearby train station. We needed to buy some tickets for our return to Toulouse in two days. The agent at the station said that there was no room on the only direct run to Toulouse. Transferring trains is not our first choice. But the seats on the train were only limited due to the fact that the spots for bikes were sold out. When we told the agent that we would put the bikes in bags and carry them on, all was okay. Effective June 1st you need to reserve a place for your bike on the intercities trains in France and there is not a large area for bikes.

After purchasing train tickets we returned to hotel, which was a bit of a splurge, but it is right on the beach with great views of the ocean. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and exploring the area. Hendaye`s centre de ville is very compact and is located around a large circle that has a park in the middle. Many streets radiate from the circle. The beach on the other hand is absolutely massive. Hendaye has a 3.5 KM beach, the largest on the Basque Coast. We later walked back into town for dinner and we each had a great seafood pasta dish. We were both so happy to have made it to our final destination and for all the wonderful cycling along the way. And of course our wonderful guide and most agreeable client!

Cliffs at the North end of Hendaye beach.

Heading into town. Behind is an attractive looking building that supports a large restaurant, shopping and surf board rentals.

The gentle waves at Hendaye appear to be perfect to learn to surf.

Many school age kids were here to learn.

A tumultuous looking sky as we head back to the hotel and look back toward the lights of Hondarribia, Spain.

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Today's ride: 33 km (20 miles)
Total: 1,071 km (665 miles)

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