Today was always going to be an exciting day. First, the pyranese would present a challenge and some nice scenary, and then of course the crossing over into France.
So packed up and off at a reasonable time, and off to the Pyranese I went.
The N121a road which is basically Pamplona to France, is a tough one for the cyclist. Because it has a number of tunnels which cyclists are disallowed through. So as I'm on the road, theres signs telling me to get off it again. Then very little signing to say how I continue on the same route.
People told me that the Pyranese were easier than they thought it would be.. They were absolutely right! I had a big climb up to about 850m and then a huge downhill which was fun! Then it was just ups and downs. It wasnt too bad at all. Passed through some really nice places. The Pyranese are a great place to cycle, and theres a lot to explore of that whole region especially if going east. But passing through north, wasnt too bad at all.
Excitement grew when I realised the border to France was on my right, and then finally come the evening time. There it was. The sight I had been looking at on Google Streetview for some time. The bridge over the river which crossed into France. Absolutely amazing to have been there!
Me, someone who never ridden a bike since childhood, has now successfully crossed the entire of Spain solo! What an achievement. Major Achivement number 2 done!
I hung around at the border for a little while taking some pictures and just having a personal glory moment! Then rode on, into a bigger unknown than what Spain is.
The difference was so noticeable straight away. The place is so built up, so commercialised in comparison to spain. Big stores everywhere! Needing food, I chickened out and dived for a maccy dees. Reason? Well Big Mac is the same in any language isnt it!? I know no French!
The traffic was just mad, cars everywhere. Then I saw something else rewarding... The sea. I havnt seen the sea since leaving Gibraltar. But there it was, the Atlantic Ocean in its glory and a Beach! I'll be following the west coast up north so will see more of the sea which is great :)
Something else totally different to Spain. Signs for camping sites everywhere! Absolutely no shortage of them! When it got to around 6.30pm i decided to head for one. Got there but the reception area was all closed. Ummm what do i do? Just go in and pitch anyway? Umm not sure. Checked the GPS.. ahh theres another one another 3km onwards. Lets go there! In spain they were seperated by 50km!
Found this other camp site. Woman in reception was Dutch so spoke great english. All good there. Got pitched. Fantastic. So much quieter than Spanish camp sites. So much more peaceful. Really nice actually! The only thing that went wrong, is that she pointed me in the direction of a restaurant. So got showered and changed, and tried to find it but couldnt. But it was OK. I have food. Just would have been nice to have a proper meal.
So there we go. A new country, which will give some new challenges. Mainly a language barrier. With that it will be harder to obtain what I need, and will make me feel even more alone out here and lost. France will no doubt chuck some bad weather at me as I head north. Its going to get cold. Its going to get dull, its going to get rainy. That all dampens the spirits. Though I've been to France before, I'm definately not knowledgeable about the way of the land. Best practices etc. So new challenges will present themselves to me thats for sure.
But there are good things. Im expecting flatter terrain and therefore hoping to push some mileage through. I have a scheduled rest stop in La Rochelle. I have friends there and should get to see them. As I will be heading north rather than north east. France should seem to be a shorter country than Spain. Especially if I can push more mileage, But we will see.
Right now, Im very excited to be here, and to have got this far. If I can cycle across the whole of Spain, then I know I can cycle across the whole of France.
| Todays stats | |
|---|---|
| Start | Pamplona.09:50 |
| End | Ondres, France.19:15 |
| Saddle Time | 6 hr 57 min 53 sec. |
| Distance travelled | 138.34km |
| Average Speed | 19.8kph |
| Max speed | 61.9km |
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