We finished! In time! It was amazing to get our last stamp at the little border town of Cerbere, having just traversed the Pyrenees fro, the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in 10 days over 28 passes!!! Here's a profile of the randonneur route, they only do 18 passes (but then they are doing it all in 100 hours ...) - http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/odds_and_ends/cycle_tour_raid.html
More photos here - Picassa pyrenee album
Phew. So now we are resting up in preparation for Bastille day in Perpignan - sadly our first contact with a place with more than 12 inhabitants coincided with a sunday, so pretty much everything except this place is closed.
But I digress. The raid was challenging, exhausting and fun - although sometimes as we dragged ourselves and 20kg of baggage up the last pass of the day I could be heard muttering other descriptors.
The weather alternated between searingly hot - and then climbing 800 metres in 10 kms feels impossible - and foggy and misty and cloudy (is there a difference?) I think the Pyreeneens as they are known have about 100 words for fog. Oh, and then there was the thunder and lightning!
We cycled through ancient oak forests, through alpine areas with clanking cow bells and the wind in our faces, descended sharply (and then inevitably had to rise again just as sharply - sigh) which sometimes felt like we were gliding off the mountain. It was amazing and unforgettable. We had our plans disrupted half way up the col du tourmalet by an etape of the Tour de France - where amateurs can try a stage of the tour themselves - and some needed a little help - we pumped up two tyres for competitors, I guess once cycle angels always cycle angels :)
That we had to get stamps at tourist offices or town halls along the way in tiny villages with strange closing times made it feel like a 10 day race against the clock, which really brought out our competitive team work edge - we would descend into a checkpoint town, one to seek the office and brevet, another to find a restaurant or bread cheese and other goodies for lunch.
It was simply incredible, an amazing unforgettable experience.
