October 8, 2021
You might wonder how we could climb over 2000 meters (6000 feet) on our way from coastal France to coastal Spain but we found a way to do it. We started and ended our day at sea level but in between we saw some hills. Specifically, the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains that run all the way to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in this area. Our first 40 kilometers were fairly level following the sandy coast of France and taking the occasional route along a canal to avoid the busier roads. Aside from other bicyclists, walking tourists and the occasional fisherman, the traffic was light.
However, as we traveled along the coast, the mountains drew closer and our road began to climb. Had we stayed on the main route there were some long tunnels that cut through the mountains but most of us decided to follow the far more difficult and possibly safer route up into the foothills. This required us to do some serious climbing with our first assent being nearly 1000 meters (3000 feet) rising from the sea and an optional, additional climb to a medieval watchtower that was now re-purposed as an antenna farm. A hardy few of us elected to make this quite steep, optional climb and the view and bragging rights from the top were worth it, even if my legs regretted it by the end of the ride.
From the watchtower you can see the entire countryside for hundreds of miles. Along the way to the top it appears every hillside, no matter how steep, that has enough soil to support vineyards apparently has them. Every turn brought another breathtaking vista making the work of getting there seem less difficult. The ride down was fast and our brakes screamed at us as we hit them hard coming into the hairpin turns.
- After another great TdA supplied lunch it was back into our saddles for more climbs and falls as we worked our way over the ridges along the coast and entering Spain. There was no one to check us at the border and from the graffiti painted all over the border crossing stations it appeared no one had bothered to check anyone in years. A few more ups and down brought us to Porto Cristo in the Catalonia region of Spain and a comfortable hotel for the evening.
