Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Day 19 - France cycling trip: Capbreton - Irún

I made it! I am writing this blog from Irún, Spain.

What a day. The first half of the day, from Capbreton into Bayonne, was much like the previous two days: cool enough temps and bike paths through forests, in a zen environment surrounded by flowers and chirping birds.  As soon as I arrived in Bayonne, the forest paths ended, the sun showed no mercy with its scorching heat (some male cyclists were riding shirtless), the streets were full of traffic and the topology suddenly became very hilly.  It was a tough ride through Bayonne and Biarritz, but as I arrived in Saint Jean de Luz and neared Hendaye, I was rewarded with beautiful views of the beach.

Two different things about this hotel compared with all the French hotels I stayed in:

1) they asked for id here. They actually scanned my passport.
2) they don't have a buffet-style breakfast.

I wonder if these differences are unique to this hotel, or if all the hotels are like this in Spain. One good thing: checkout is at noon :-) I think it was usually at 10am in the French hotels, but I'm not sure since I was always out before 9am anyway. I might sleep in tomorrow. My legs are extremely tired from all the climbing today, so I'm sure they'd appreciate a long rest.  My train is at 2pm.

I passed the milestone of finishing the Aquitaine foldout map. I also passed the milestone of finishing the France map, but alas, I threw it out early on during the trip to lighten up the load, so no "DONE" picture for that one.

Keep tuned for tomorrow or the day after, as I'll post a recap with an overview map of the itinerary, some stats, and some videos I couldn't upload from my phone.

Also a shout out and a "Feliz Cumpleaños" to my dad today! He taught me to ride a bike. I think I was a late learner, around 9 or maybe even 10 years old. But I guess starting out late doesn't mean anything :-)

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations, epic achievement #ACHIEVED! :)

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  2. Hi, my young heroine.
    There was never a doubt in my mind that you would finish the trip. You always finish whatever you start.
    I am glad it was safe for you.
    At this time, 12:30pm in LA, 9:30pm Paris time, you may be already home. French trains are fast.
    Congratulations. I will always remember this birthday.
    Take care of yourself.
    I love you
    Papa

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    1. Hah, there was plenty of doubt in my mind! Thanks, and happy bday :)

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  3. I'm a little sad it's over. I enjoyed checking in each day to see how things were going. You may have been a late bloomer on a bicycle, but bloom you have. The vast majority of people don't go on adventures like this. They don't know how fulfilling they can be. But YOU know. Way to go, Carmen! I'm pleased for you.

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    1. Thanks Don, it was a pleasure reading your comments over the last couple of weeks. Thanks for coming along :)

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  4. Congrats!!! I agree with Don, I'll miss checking in to read about your adventure every day.

    However I will say this, no "DONE" picture...then it didn't happen!!! So...that means you need to go back and do it again...which means we all get another round of updates! Yea!!! :-)

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    1. Hahahah nice reasoning :) I don't think I'll do this trip again, but I may do some other (less intensive) ones :) Thanks for coming along with me virtually, on this trip!

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