Day ten 10th June 2013

Stage 10 Condom to Pau

80 miles

In the night the rain came back again and this time it was really heavy. However, when we awoke, it had stopped, but the clouds hung heavy and grey in the morning light. Tiredness is setting in now, we all feel that we could do with a few more hours in bed! However a breakfast awaited, prepared by our host Patricia.

 We have had a great stay at the ‘Domaine de la Rose des Vents’, thank you very much Patricia for being such a great host. We set off and sure enough, within five minutes it started raining! By the time we were riding through Condom we were soaked. With over 6,000ft of climb today, with gradients ranging from 5% to 10%, this was going to be tough, without getting wet through as well! Hey ho, never mind, we pressed on. We kept seeing lots of walkers trekking along by the side of the road. We had been told to look out for pilgrims and, sure enough, this it who they were. But where had they walked from and where were they going to? Answers please on an email, tweet, facebook or pigeon post!

The road was busy yet safe; however we soon turned off onto some very rural roads and saw virtually no cars. We crossed several rivers, all of which were swollen by the rain. We think the weather down here has been quite poor, as all the rivers are running very high and the ground looks soaked through. Also, it appears that the crops in the fields are late in developing; vast fields of sunflowers are only six inches out of the ground.

Our first stop was planned at 21 miles, but we managed to miss it – sorry Steve! With a quick phone call we arranged to meet up at stop two, at 35 miles at a place called Bassoues. On the way we saw a very unusual looking church; the spire seemed to have some extra bits on it. We are not sure what they were for, perhaps for ringing the bells?

Finally we arrived in Bassoues. This place is oozing history. We stopped at the restaurant and had a coffee and hot chocolate before getting stuck into some more sandwiches and fruit back at the van. The rain had stopped and the Sun was threatening to come out – YES! Bassoues is dominated by a huge square tower at one end of the village. It also has a very old looking covered timber market building at its centre, check out the photos below, the place was great, we would recommend a visit.

We headed off once again but we did not seem to be quite as chatty as we had been on previous days. Our plan to have an ‘ABBA’ day seemed to fizzle out. We did hear a couple of ‘Voulez-vous’ and perhaps a hint of ‘Waterloo’ but that was about it. Why was this, what was going on? Well it is the thought of what lay ahead.....the Pyrenees. Tomorrow is a very big day but more about that later. It was quite clearly weighing on everybody’s minds. We also had to focus on getting through today. The countryside is beautiful, but the hills are becoming more undulating. For every descent, there is a big hill ahead to climb....and they are getting bigger! Speeds on the descents are topping 40+mph, but the grind uphill each time afterwards needs first gear all the way and it is sapping our strength.

For the whole of the day the wind blew in from the West and as our direction today was either West or South West, we faced a headwind or a cross-wind. This is in stark contrast to the first few days of the ride where we were blown along at 20mph with little or no effort. Today we had to work hard, and sharing turns at the front was essential in order to maintain our energy reserves.

At 58 miles we stopped again on the outskirts of Vidouze. Steve caught us on camera as we were just arriving:

Riding too close to the grass verges

After a short stop where we brewed up a cuppa we pressed on. More hills, more climbs, more descents. At the 72 mile mark we left the tranquil rural roads and rejoined the busy D943 heading into Pau. It was rush hour and what a contrast this was to the peaceful cycle we had had throughout the day. It makes you realise just how busy and hectic our towns and cities are. We pulled into the Victoria Garden apartments and dismounted, Day 10 in the bag. 80 miles with an average speed of 12.6mph and 6 hours 20 minutes in the saddle. 

We have now completed 781 miles, which is 49% of the ride, and climbed over 42,000ft. However tomorrow is different. We face a 107 mile ride with 15,000ft of climb. The forecast is looking fair but we are now very much outside our comfort zone. This is a big challenge for the Fozball team. However failure is not an option. We are doing this for the children who are cared for by Great Ormond Street Hospital. Even if we have to carry our bikes to the top, we are going to do it. From the moment we leave Pau the road is inclined. There are 45 miles of climb to reach the border with gradients ranging from 5% to 25%. And once this is done, there is a second peak to climb that summits at mile 90. Please wish us luck! 

We will depart at 7am tomorrow and we are not sure what time we will arrive in Huesca. Yes we have made it through France and now for Spain. Tomorrow is going to be a very long and hard day. Therefore we cannot promise a blog tomorrow, but we will try our best to let you know that we have arrived safely.

The Fozball Team