Pyrenees

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
robing
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Pyrenees

Post by robing »

I was thinking about cycling through the Pyrenees from Atlantic coast to med coast or vice versa. Anyone done this and how difficult was it? What will the temperatures and roads be like in may / June? Will be on fully loaded tourer.
bikepacker
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by bikepacker »

I have not done it as a one off tour but have ridden much of the Pyrenees mainly on the French side with excursions into Spain and Andorra. In my opinion the scenery is more interesting than the Alps but the climbs can be tougher. In June expect the weather to be wet and cold. Two years ago part of the Tourmalet was washed away in June and a week before I could not get to the top because of snow.

A good contact for any information about this area is Ian Turner he can be found on this website: http://www.pleinairpyrenees.com
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mnichols
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by mnichols »

I did Barcelona to Bordeaux last year using the Raid Route, 22 cols. The raid route is tough, but it's supposed to be. Google Raid Pyrenees for details
whoof
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by whoof »

I've been to the Pyrenees on a number of occasions in June with a fully loaded tourer with camping gear and ridden the whole route but not in one go.
The temperature has varied from 30c+ to down to 1c as stated above some of the higher passes can be shut even in late June it changes from year to year. The roads were on the whole pretty quiet ( I avoided Andorra) and I had no problems with the road surface.
How hard it is is entirely personal. Low gearing, take your time and look at the scenery and it's pretty easy going. If you want to ride 'fast' or 'far' and want to push yourself it can be extremely challenging.

It's a lovely place to ride with great scenery plenty of campsites. I think the weather is the big thing as to how enjoyable a trip will be. A couple of years ago I was torn between the Pyrenees and the Alps and opted for the Alps. It was a good choice as it rained most days for over month in the Pyrenees but we have pretty good weather, other than the Col Du Galiber being shut in the Alps on another year it could be the other way around. .
aquilo
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by aquilo »

The raid route is great and takes you across some great cols and even on a fully loaded tourer just take your time. I went west to east, Atlantic to Med, and one thing I noticed was that the western sides of the cols tended to be more sheltered with trees which is great for climbing in the heat, then the descents on the eastern sides of the cols tended to be more open, perhaps an over simplification but it seemed that way. As said above the weather is changeable and I was there in June in both years, one it was roasting on the Tourmalet and on the second it was closed with deep snow and the lower villages damaged with flood water. Both times it was wet and cloudy in the Basque region hills so I’ve still not seen them yet despite cycling across twice now. But one of the best parts of the trip is going from the green/wetter Atlantic coast into an increasingly hot and arid Mediterranean climate with the changing architecture and plants.
I went to the Alps last summer for the Raid alpine, great route, but somehow not as much character as the Pyrenees. One advantage of the Alps was the greater availability of food particularly higher up, whereas in the Pyrenees you need to be careful as they are less populated higher up and shops are more infrequent. Also it's true what was said above that the Pyrenees are steeper than the Alps where the roads tend to switchback up the hills more, but don’t let that put you off its fine with the right gears and after a while 5% will seem flat.
Have fun
tatanab
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by tatanab »

I rode it in very early June - early spring in the mountains. There was a lot of snow melt and the sound of running water everywhere. At the tops of most climbs I had to put on tights and jacket for the descent because the tops were often in cloud. Thin gloves are recommended for the descents as well. Temperatures were high teens to low 20s but the descents were cold, and I had a slight SW tail wind. There are two Raid Pyreneen routes. They are the same distance (780 km I seem to recall) but the Sportif version has 18 cols versus 28 for the tourist version and 100 hours versus 10 days. It is now 20 years since I rode the whole thing but I've done bits since.
Des49
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by Des49 »

Haven't cycled in the Pyrenees, but used to walk and climb there a lot.

May/June are some of the most beautiful months, the flowers are at their best. Weather wise it can still get very cold, May can still have a lot of snow in the high places. The western areas do seem to get more low cloud and rain, can be less settled with Atlantic depressions in the vicinity.

Can be a big difference between the French and Spanish sides too, often stood on the frontier ridge and gazed at the distant heat hazed views into Spain, and to the north looked onto the top of clouds covering the French valleys.

When there is settled high pressure the weather can be quite predictable. Hot and sunny with those crisp blue skies. Just beware that the heat generated on the Spanish side often will lead to heavy afternoon thunderstorms. Many is the day that you see people start an outing in shorts and T-shirts under a lovely blue sky, only to risk hypothermia as the afternoon sees them caught in a big thunderstorm, seemingly developed from nowhere. These will bubble up surprisingly fast. The motto is start early and be down from the heights early, being caught out at altitude in a thunderstorm can be a lot more than unpleasant.

I love this mountain range, it has so much character and variety. Always said one day I would walk the whole range, but in reality probably will not find the time to do this. So may be cycling will be more realistic.

Have fun!
robing
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by robing »

Thanks for the suggestions. I will have time, 4 to 5 weeks so will combine with some relaxing on the Costa Brava.
AndyB
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by AndyB »

I did it with the family 5 or so years ago. I was on the tandem with my 5 year old and my wife was on her own bike. We took the bike bus down and back, and camped on the way; 3 weeks away from home if I recall correctly. A really great trip - I particularly liked the variety from the damp Basque country (it's green, even if it's not actually raining) to the Mediterranean, and remember well the feeling that we were really getting there as the vegetation and the smells changed near the Col de Jau.

As tatanab says, if you look into the 'Raid' route, be aware that there are a couple - one aimed at those going for the Audax 5 day version, and a longer one (the touristique?). We based our route on the latter, but added a few cols. The mountains give way to plains pretty quickly on the French side, so if you want a rest from the hills or the mountain weather, it's not far to go.

We stopped for a couple of days in various places - I particularly recommend Luz St Saveur (below the W side of the Tourmalet), from which we had a day trip up to the beautiful Cirques de Gavarnie and Troumouse.
Des49
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by Des49 »

AndyB wrote:
We stopped for a couple of days in various places - I particularly recommend Luz St Saveur (below the W side of the Tourmalet), from which we had a day trip up to the beautiful Cirques de Gavarnie and Troumouse.


I second this advice. When I looked at the typical route most people chose I thought they just by pass so many nice areas.

Gavarnie can be a bit swamped with tourists at times, but is well worth it. Stay at the campsite there and enjoy the mountain scenery when the coaches have long gone. Cycle up to see the Circque de Troumouse and there is a small basic campsite at Heas. Check to see if open in May.
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MrsHJ
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by MrsHJ »

We've cycle toured around the Pyrenees but not done an end to end (good luck). We like it all but have a few favourite areas that I'm not sure are on the raid. The National park of ordesa y monte perdido and the pass from Spain to st Pierre Martin. We've also,enjoyed the roncevalles pass, the Marie blanc etc. I agree that gavarnie is very touristy- we prefer it in the winter when we've skied and walked in the area but it's still got some value in seeing the place and we saw marmototes when we were cycling in the next valley. At the eastern end we cycled to a lot of the cathar castles in the foothills.

Edit- the weather tends to be nicer on the Spanish side and I think sometimes people forget to explore that side.
robing
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by robing »

What's Andorra like? Worth a visit or best avoided?
bikepacker
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by bikepacker »

It is really a huge bazaar selling duty free goods. Personally I don't think it is worth the slog up there, although we did it this year.
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smith4188
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by smith4188 »

I've been over the Pyrenees five times now, in both directions over Roncevalles (1000 m, both September), southwards via Andorra (2400 m in August), northwards from Ripoll (about 1500 m, April) and southwards along the coast via Hendaye (almost 0 metres, July). There was a little snow kicking about the Ripoll route but none on the road. I think it had been a mild winter though. The coast road was busy but not scarily so and I think you've no way to avoid some hills once you get into Spain. The toughest route, obviously really, was Andorra but it was also the best for views although, as it's the only route to Andorra, there was a lot of traffic on the French side. The views from Roncevalles might be lovely but I've no idea really because both times were in thick cloud. Ripoll was nice too but it was bloody freezing on the roll down towards Perpignan.
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MrsHJ
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Re: Pyrenees

Post by MrsHJ »

smith4188 wrote:I've been over the Pyrenees five times now, in both directions over Roncevalles (1000 m, both September), southwards via Andorra (2400 m in August), northwards from Ripoll (about 1500 m, April) and southwards along the coast via Hendaye (almost 0 metres, July). There was a little snow kicking about the Ripoll route but none on the road. I think it had been a mild winter though. The coast road was busy but not scarily so and I think you've no way to avoid some hills once you get into Spain. The toughest route, obviously really, was Andorra but it was also the best for views although, as it's the only route to Andorra, there was a lot of traffic on the French side. The views from Roncevalles might be lovely but I've no idea really because both times were in thick cloud. Ripoll was nice too but it was bloody freezing on the roll down towards Perpignan.


Just reminded me of doing the tourmalet laden with camping gear in thick fog, thank you! I'd vote against doing climbs in with lots of traffic though, it just isn't much fun.
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