Pau to Condom
100 miles 5715 ft climbed
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There are some days that are truly unforgettable and great. This will be one of those. Not only did we have a great day cycling in France across their smooth and quiet roads but starting the last leg from Eauze to Condom along a tarmaced converted railway cycle path, we expected a safe and easy finish to the day. We had just said how superb it was when we came across two sections just covered in thick sticky mud as above.
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Luckily it was only these two early sections of the cycle path that were especially bad but after this we tried to clean up the bikes using out water bottles to spray the mud off
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The rain we had over the mountains yesterday had been a much worse storm in this part of France and as can be seen above brought a number of trees down that had yet to be cleared . We also saw some landslides and closed roads where the road surface had been completely lifted by the water. So whilst we may have struggled a little on the mud the paved cycle path was probably still the best option especially as I was unable to use my small cog as it remained totally clogged up with thick oozy mud.
Note: Dom saw this film Bad Boys:Ride or Die about to be shown at the local cinema and thought it suitable to describe our efforts as after leaving camp this morning at 8.30 we only rocked into our new site at Condom at 8pm this evening.
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This mud was far removed from our start near Pau where to escape the busy city we had to navigate some larger noisy roads before escaping to the quieter country lanes. As soon as we did everything calmed down and we started to enjoy the ride.
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This section then found its way next to the Pau-Arnos racing track which looks a fun multi levelled circuit tucked away in the middle of farmland. We continued cycling up and down across the river valleys with often short and very steep ramps but enjoyed the good roads
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Just before our on time coffee stop. we met this dog whose owner said he was too friendly. Leaving after coffee we saw our first pilgrims of the day near Arzacq-Arraziguet as we rejoined the pilgrims trail. Chris’s pilgrimometer got to 41 today. Nick didn’t want to be left out and decided to count dogs instead and got to 32. At one stage after just the morning session he had counted more dogs than humans as the small villages we cycled through were all deserted.
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We also managed to get our credentials signed & stamped for the first time in France at the tourist office in the town. Our route then took us up and down through quiet countryside to get to Aire sur L’Adour where we saw a few more pilgrims but we unable to get our credentials stamped as it was lunchtime. Nigel, Monica and I had camped here on the previous trip but we had further to go this time.
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Our lunch stop was tucked behind a church but that didn’t stop Monica hanging out her smalls. If needs must they say. As ever we tucked into our French bread sandwiches although it appeared that Dom who is our most powerful athlete then succumbed to a food coma and fell asleep just whilst sitting on a bench. Whilst this did not mean we think we could beat him it did show that he was trying harder than he made out. We therefore left later than anticipated for the next leg which we decide would be at Eauze.
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Shortly after lunch we came to Nogaro where we chatted with a French teacher of English wearing his Gloucester rugby top. We got our stamps and then visited another motor racing circuit on the outskirts of town, although they would not allow us a cycle round! That’s four for the trip.
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Although this next stage was not long it became longer as we came across a closed road. Luckily , just before attempting to go round the barriers as usual , a lady who lived next door to them explained that it was not passable even for cyclists as a car had fallen into a gap where the bridge should have been last night. Luckily both occupants escaped drowning. This involved us in a u turn and a longer way to the tea stop.
We did however manage our third stamp of the day in Eauze where a pilgrim berated Chris for not speaking French and explained he had been told to walk on the road because of the mud blocking paths. We should have understood better what he was going on about but we then joined Nigel and Monica for our tea stop.
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Leaving Eauze we then joined the voie verte cycle path along an old railway line. Perhaps we should have guessed there may be issues because of the storms yesterday but until we hit these two patches of mud, mudslides, closed roads and fallen trees had not realised how bad this had been.
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Whilst we were concerned at the effect of being clogged up with mud it did make us laugh to think how we had been slowed down. Some minor cleaning of the bikes by using leaves twigs and water to try to scrape and wash the mud off made some difference and at least enabled us to join a Cabrera train to complete the 14 miles to the campsite.
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Nigel had been pre-warned to get the hose out and he manfully cleaned all the mud off the bikes whilst Monica sorted out a large spag bol for some very hungry cyclists who had completed 100 miles in some unusual circumstances.
On the trip to the supermarket today Nigel had thought a change to the Spanish beer we had been enjoying was due and found some cans of a brew that boasted 7, 8 and 11% strength. Suffice to say the cards were louder than normal this evening, sadly for Nick it made no difference to the result and he remained winless this tour so far.
The weather held good all day and was not too hot and enjoyed the better cycling on quiet and varied French roads. The detour and drama of the mud covered path eventually meant we finally got to a three figure distance for the only time this trip. A terrific fun filled long day in the saddle. The most enjoyable day of the tour so far.
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