June 4 - Day 1 of our Camino Roncesvalles - St. Jean Pied du Port - Pamplona

It soon became apparent that a daily highlight was breakfast...on so many levels...we needed food...we planned our days....we enjoyed the banter...and we were still fresh....and we were still friends...

We started late as per usual but finally went back to St. Jean Pied du Port to start our official Camino. Fairly soon after our ride down the Valcares route we turned around and road back up! This route is about 27 kms, mostly up and it's really all about conquering the last third, a series of steep hairpins that will challenge any rider who isn´t fully prepared. The real star today was Klari who was uncatchable and finished a couple hundred metres ahead and earned the title "Queen of the Mountains". The rest of us paced ourselves and all completed a tour quality mountain climb that gave us a taste of what was to come.

Every good climb deserves a good meal so we stopped at the top - back in Roncesvalles - for a Pilgrim lunch for 9 Euros. Generally these lunches are 3 course meals along with wine, water and bread. The concept of having wine during a ride, not to mention the nature of the descents, was difficult to grasp, but we managed....

Our climbing team - the guys aren´t in the picture!

Klari was first up the Pass

How can Nola still be smiling?

Ian on the Valcarlos

Dan reaching the top of the Valcares Pyrenees climb.

Lunch at the top of the Valcarlos

Outskirts of Pamplona.

Our Tapas Bar for dinner in Pamplona. Tonight we had the cured ham, sausage, octopus, egg w/mushrooms, alittle beer, a little Sangria,....okay...lots of beer and lots of Sangria...

Always lots of help from strangers. This became a large part of our camino both from need and because we truly enjoyed the exchange.

Street art depicting the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

Ian wearing his do-rag, still cleaning his cleats from the Napoleonic route escapade.

Our last view of Roncesvalles earlier in the day as we left for Pamplona. Quite a contrast to the fog on our arrival two days before.

June 3 "Day Off" in Roncesvalles

What a day off in Roncesvalles! The first task of the day was for John Hickie and I to ride our bikes down into Pamplona to pick up our 9 passenger Mercedes Vito van and drive it back up to beautiful Roncesvalles and our rooms in the Monastery. John and Ian were waiting for the bus to Pamplona in the rain.  A transient clearing down the valley convinced us to ride.  Right decision.  The ride was essentially downhill but had two climbs that peaked at 14 percent. We travelled 55 kilometres to Europcar´s office and had a good cycling start for the Camino. Dan, Klari and Nola walked the 27 kms down to St. Jean Pied de Port and returned by cab. The walk started in the fog but turned out to be a beautiful day....about a six hour walk. The funny highlight to that escapade was how impressed the taxi driver was with Dan in that he was travelling not only with two women but that neither one was his wife!

On the walk down the Valcarlos route. We were told the Napoleonic route would be too challenging - poor weather to traverse, which was very disappointing. Valcarlos route entirely by road - French drivers definitely much speedier than Spaniards.

This is the start of the Camino!

Walking the Val Carlos Route

St. Jean Pied de Port. A very busy place!

 John and I left the van at the Monastery and rode our bikes the 27 kms down into St. Jean via the Valcarlos route, took a few pics, met a guy from Rhode Island, and then against the advice from the Camino "sello" stamper, decided to ride back up to the Monastery via the more difficult Napoleon Route. It averages 13 percent for 7 kms including 2 21 percent slopes and a 23 !!!! I had to dismount temporarily on the 23 as a little delivery van came over the crest of the one lane road just as I was experiencing some stress.... Nothing to do but jump off and get out of his way! Truth is without the van I was about to bail anyhow...

The reason the hospitalerio advised us not to take this route on our road bikes soon became apparent as the last 5 kms over the top are not paved and they had had 21 days of rain.  Despite the difficulties, it was well worth it.  Gorgeous views with a Golden Eagle and three vultures soaring over a steep ridge just as we rode over it.

 I was glad to have the Trek Domane but everyone will laugh at how inappropriate it was for the next section....we had to carry our bikes and walk through the muck for a couple of kms and arrived back at the Monastery after 10 to a very worried Klari, Dan and Nola.

This was our first sign of trouble but much worse to come...

Temp dropped to 3.6 degrees and the wind chill was lower still and we were still below the tree line!

A welcome sight as we arrived back to our home for the night and what the kitchen could whip up for us....and a rightful scolding from our team. We washed our road bikes in the mountain stream before departure the next morning.

Ouch...My new Trek Domane and the EP D3 wheels that arrived two days before departure were certainly baptized on today's ride! This climb really showed off the Di2 drivetrain.

Near the top of the Route Napoleon

Our accommodation on the left. Our first of several monasterys on this trip.
The view as we left...a lot better than the fog at our arrival!

An important "sello" in our collection.

Statue of Death of Roland - a big part of the local history

Interior shots of the Hotel Beneficiados at Roncesvalles

June 2, 2013

We didn't order from the dining car!

Dan at the station in Orthez after a TGV ride from Paris

Foggy the first day in Roncesvalles

Sign shows how far to go!

Trek Domane Conquers the Champs Elysees!

                           
                                     Success was had at the Bike Shop

Tour du Lac in Paris

Just before our ride around the Arc.

You may notice that the traffic before 7:00 a.m. is just a little less than normal!

Dan leading the Happy Life

The Giant bike store that saved the day!

A simple meal in Paris

Le Baiser by Rodin at the L'Orangerie

A really neat wallscape in Paris, walking back from the Eiffel Tower

How early do you have to get up to get this shot?

When you only have 48 hours in Paris you get up at 6 even after a good night out!

Out of sequence shot of Dan and Ian at terminal 3 CDG in Paris awaiting arrival of our friends from Calgary

On the banks of the Seine

                            John, Ian and Dan after riding the Champs Elysees

                        Dan, Nola, Klari and John at the Place de La Concorde

                                  Saturday morning at the Musee D'Orsay

from the Musee D'Orsay

    This morning the whole group started the day with a pre breakfast ride through the streets of Paris that make up the last stage of the Tour de France. We stepped out of the Citadines Saint Germain des Pres, turned left, then right onto the Pont Neuf, a few metres to the Rue de Rivoli, on to the Place Concorde and then the Champs Elysees!

   The traffic was light and the weather fantastic! It's really incredible the the pros can ride shoulder to shoulder at the speeds that they do as the cobbstone, brick, asphalt and cement make for a bumpy and dangerous surface. Fortunately for me the Trek Domane was made for these conditions and for those that we will ride next week on the Camino de Santiago. The compliance provided by the ISO Speed technology truly makes a difference and allowed me to stay in the saddle and to stay in control.

   Today was my first opportunity to try out my Aeolus 3 D3 Carbon Wheels and so far they are living up to expectations. They passed the test on the cobblestone and I'm sure they won't disappoint on Monday and Tuesday in the Pyrenees.

   I'm hoping to share some pics today but I've been defeated by technology for the last 24 hours.

   Yesterday was a long day as we didn't get much sleep on the plane and ever since have been trying to get the most out of our 2 days in Paris. We put the bikes together yesterday and right away noticed a disconnected shift cable so off to the bike shop we went. The team at the Giant bike shop on Blvd Henri IV started the repair before we finished describing the problem, sold us some CO2 cartidges and a Europe Garmin map set, all in minutes, and restored our faith in humanity!

   After the bike ride today we visited the Musee d'Orsay followed by a visit to L'Orangerie. Suffice it to say that we overdosed on Impressionist Art. We tried to go up the Eiffel Tower but the line ups were incredible. 

 

Apparently 3 of us "crashed" yesterday!

                        Ian showing off his Trek Domane Di2 with new D3 Wheels

                                             On the Champs Elysees

John Hickie at the Obelisk