To Biarritz and beyond!

After my last post I continued travelling south towards the end of my destination on the Velodyssey- Biarritz.  I passed endless surfing beaches and mostly cycled along super tracks in the forest as well as a tour around marshes in Arcachon bay and a couple of lake visits near to Biscarosse. I camped all the way apart from my first Warmshowers night with a lovely French couple, Sylvie and Bernard. They were generous hosts, providing great food, a warm shower (!), comfy bed and many cycling stories.

Marshes and lakes around Arcachon bay

Biscarosse lake. I arrived in the evening and had this spot to myself!

View from the campsite at Biscarosse lake

Trees trees trees

I met David and Mattheus on a campsite one evening and offered to help them out by showing them the route the next day. They had an interesting set up having never done any cycle touring before, but the next day I quickly learned that their version of 'relaxed' cycling meant travelling really fast and then enjoying long breaks- or just relaxing for most of the day. We had the most fun times- beach, sea, food, wine, cycling fast and exploring French towns. We travelled together for four days, taking our time and enjoying the journey, after which I left them at Biarritz. They are continuing right down the Spanish coast and hope to reach Portugal before the end of the summer. 

The set up. One ladies bike complete with basket (absent from the photo) and one city bike with box tied onto the back.cstill super speedy.

Another lake en route

The cycle team 

Refuelling along the way

I was sad to leave the sea and particularly Biarritz which I wasn't able to explore as much as I had hoped due to arriving later than anticipated. I wasn't able to surf either due to an injury, but it's definitely on my list of places to go back to! It was quite something to arrive there, having seen only flat landscapes for two weeks, then for the Pyrenean mountains and impressive Spanish coast line to come in to view. 

After Biarritz I caught a train from Bayonne to Toulouse. An impressive journey with views of the Pyrenees and a quick glimpse of Lourdes (so much gold!) as we sped past. I was met by the wonderful Martyn and Tracy who hosted me in their new dream home. We had a very relaxing two days during which I recharged my batteries, slept in a real bed, washed my clothes in a washing machine, ate great food and chatted non stop! Martyn used to be a colleague of mine and I felt very glad to have taken up his offer of a visit. What a treat!

After a couple of days there it was back to Toulouse to meet Mum for our trip down the Canal du Midi. Will update on that when we have finished next week!

Distance so far: 1400km