Raid Pyrénéen

I've been wondering about the Raid Pyrénéen for a while. It's one of the classic French Randonnées, run by the Cyclo Club Bearnais every summer since 1951. The objective is to ride the length of the Pyrenees, from Mediterranean to Atlantic or vice versa. There are two versions; either 710 km and 18 cols or 790 km and 28 cols. There's a time limit of 100 hours for the shorter and ten days for the longer. The Club supplies a 'Carnet' - a list of control points where you must get your card stamped - and you sort the rest out yourself. When I found that BikeAdventures was running a supported tour for the longer route, it was the obvious choice for me - hotels, detailed route cards and so on all dealt with, and mechanical and logistical assistance if it should be needed.

Eleven of us set off from Cerbère on 23rd June; six Brits, three Americans and two Australians, supported by Mike and Nick in the van. There were some very strong riders and it was an agreeable and supportive group. Mostly I rode with the Americans, but with changes in terrain and tempo we swapped around as we went along and at one point or another everyone rode with everyone else. The weather was mostly good; we had a couple of days of fierce heat - the Col de Menté, the fourth of the day, at 42 degrees Celsius (or 107 Fahrenheit, as the Americans put it) knocked the stuffing out of everyone; and there was some rain and cloud on the Aspin and Tourmalet, but nothing to worry about. Everyone finished the route in time to qualify for the Cyclo Club Bearnais medal, and everyone had a really good time.

Our hotels were used to cyclists, bringing out plates heaped with food and offering more to those who needed it. Equipment was reliable - one puncture between the lot of us, and that over-night. The BikeAdventures route-cards were well worked out - I loaded mine into my Garmin which made route-finding a doddle. The van was there on every Col with water, food and spares and our bags were in our rooms when we arrived each evening. All we had to do was ride, which was what we had come for.

So, last Saturday morning, we all zipped along the Corniche to Hendaye, got our cards stamped and enjoyed a glass of champagne, followed by a long lunch and a noisy dinner.

I rode my Boardman again this year, as it did well in the Pyrenees last. SRAM Rival groupset with an Apex 11-32 rear mech; Mavic Krysium wheels and Continental GP4000s tyres. Trouble free and a pleasure to ride.

So, what to do next year, that's the question ....

Mark