4PE1501 Pyrenees Extreme

Adieu Luz-Saint-Sauveur and up to more serious riding. First thing in the morning was up the Col the Tourmalet, one of the most challenging passes of the Tour de France On top there were some Lamas chasing up Steve :-D In Arrau we happened to arrive just in time for the farmer's market. So plans for lunch in a restaurant were thrown over board and instead each of us bought some typical French delicacies, stored them on the bikes and off we went to find a good spot in the mountains on the border between Spain and France. The Canadians even brought some music! We all just loved it :-D Well, serious riding in combination with good food justifies a power nap ;-) Chris and Meredith in full swing Curve after curve on the way to Ax-le-Thermes with a stop on top of each pass to rest our butts :-D Day 4 from Pamplona over the border into France I am missing the words to describe the beauty of the landscape and of today's ride into Luz-Saint-Saveur, France. Passing the hikers on the Saint-James-Way and the bicyclists on some of the famous Toour de France passes we only had eyes for the twisties in the stunning remote areas of the French Pyrenees. The mountains are greener on the French side Peter soaking in the amazing views So are John, Chris and Meredith Oops - oncoming traffic ;-) Delicious lunch somewhere in the middle of French nowhere Col d'Aubisque, a pass that has already been part of the Tour de France many times. Luz-Saint-Sauveur Pyrenees Extreme... eme... eme... eme... the engines of our motorcycles seem to echo while we are riding on those small sweeping roads through the Pyrenees mountains. It's a continuous left-right dance which turns you into a "curvaholic" after only one day already ;) With only the essential luggage on our bikes we meanwhile have arrived in Pamplona and spent our rest day here. But guess what you do on a ride-4-fun tour's rest day... ? Correct, you go for a full day's spin with one of the most beautiful rides of the tour - at least that is what we can judge so far :)   Christoph from Tirol, Austria on one of the mountain roads in the greater Barcelona area. Christoph, Thomas and Michael know each other already from the Machu Pichu Tour and now have decided to explore the Pyrenees in Spain and France together again. Lunch stop at the Cortona fortification on top of the city's striking rock   At average temperatures of around 28ºC (82ºF) ice cream is just the right thing to be worth stopping the "dance with the motorcycle" ;)   The first night we spent in the Monastir de les Avellanes. It serves as a kind of "hotel" also for people who don't belong to the monastery. Briefing in the monastery's courtyard - and off we roar ;)     On top of the first pass of day 2 Meredith from Baltimore, our courageous female rider on tour and John, Peter, Don and Steve from Canada were enjoying the view   Well, how can a tour not be fantastic with such great people? Great fun riding with Thomas from Kufstein and Michael from Dresden. Steve and Meredith in the background :)     At the Monastir de San Juan de la Peña, which has been built right into the rock! And here is Chris, also from Canada. There are countless religious places all over the country. No doubt, they are worth to be seen. Usually with a nice place to have a coffee not far away ;) Day 2 brought us into Pamplona. Here are our "bulls" Thomas, Christoph and Michael in the streets of Pamplona :D San Sebastian at the Bay of Biscay offers lots of bars with an especially big selection of tapas! Buen provecho, Meredith ;)