Hi folks! Super beautiful landscape and day today. We have definitely arrived in Basque country! Today was a very challenging 60 mile day. We had 4200 feet of ascent and nearly all of that was the last 20 miles. What this means is very steep climbs and descents. Like the North East U.S.A., the roads seem to have been paved before switchbacks were discovered - hahah. As you riders know, the climbs are slow and the downhill fast, so probably 85% of your time is climbing under these conditions. However, Alex and I look at this as the primer to get our legs ready for what will likely be the most challenging day of our adventure - coming up next.
Today we came across a Camino trailhead and from there on we shared the path with many walkers. And sheep are now the staple farm animal. I can't imagine that the pictures we share do justice to how amazingly beautiful this ride is, but I hope they provide a small window into this part of the world.
Tomorrow we decided to take a rest day to prepare ourselves for the main climb into the Pyrenees mountains. Then Thursday, we hit it - slaying the Pyrenees! The plan is 48 miles and about 5500 ft ascent. A challenging day today and high chance of rain tomorrow pretty much solidified our decision to take the rest day. Hopefully, Thursday gives us cool, sunny day ;)
Oh, and Thursday will be our last day in France as we cross the border into SPAIN! Wahoo!
Have a great day/evening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
