Cycling The Pyrenees part 1 - France

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Sep 13

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Had this trip planned for a year, before even going to Asia, to hang out with my friend Dar who had a conference in Bordeaux and decided to extent his stay to bike around the epic Pyrenees. Changed my original plan to do 1 month in the Pyrenees and 1 month in the alps so that I could go bikepacking with Chani, like we did for Taiwan. She’d been to the alps TOO MUCH ALREADY you see.

Foods of France

People are always interested to know what the food is like in a new place! I typically avoid restaurants like the plague but bakeries are my jam and any area or town, I try to find the local dish or baked good. That said I think everyone in the world already knows French cooking. In the mountains the big thing is all the cheese and cured meats that I assume come from the thousands of animals that graze on the mountaintop roads.

The one standout of the Pyrenees is the “Gateau a la Broche”, which you will find in many bakeries and even the grocery store for 20-30 euro. They pour batter over a stick rotating over a fire. You add batter as the cake cooks and end up with a big spiky double cone shape cake which they then cut in half and sell as a little christmas tree shaped cake. Flavor-wise it’s just the standard white cake recipe with a bit of rhum.

Endless cheese carts

Overhyped Toulouse food. Beans..

Violet flavored candy in Toulouse

Store located in a boat!

A machine that makes pizzas

They are decent but still overpriced somehow

Snacks from the Airbnb lady

Montrejeau specific pastry

Spit cakes are a staple in the Pyrenees

Traditionally made over a wood fire in front of tourists

You add batter as it cooks, creating these layers

Usually simple cake batter with booze

Eaten fresh ( soft ) or aged as biscuits

Bread delivery points. They love bread

TooGoodtoGo bonanzas in Lourdes

This cost 5 euros. Sometimes you get lucky

Basque cakes, traditional in the pyrenees

Treat from Oloron Sainte-Marie

Another Oloron / pyrenees pastry

An iconic peach dessert from Toulouse

1 - Toulouse

‍ Port of entry into France at the large international airport. It’s also the main train hub. It’s very hard to access the Pyrenees without a car and the cities I picked all had train stations. There’s better cities ( slightly ) if you drive or pay ludicrously high taxi fees.

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Flying out of Victoria

Typical cramped French old cities

Bike path along the Canal du Midi

That's the very unique Toulouse feature

Lots of people living in boats on the canal

Space center can be seen from the bike route

Massive sunflower fields all over France/Spain

Old bridge to downtown

Of course every town will have a big Church

The most unique thing: Halle de la Machine

Giant warehouse full of steampunky robots

You can take a ride on this minotaur

Just out-and-back in the parking lol

I don't understand why it exists but I had to visit

Cool airship. They had a whole story on it

Tons of weird junk scattered all over

There's lots of carnival games for kids

Most of them with Fire. Sweet

2 - Oloron-Sainte-Marie

Col de la St-Pierre Martin - 124km / 2800m
Cirque de Lescun - 102km / 1800m
Port de Larrau Loop - 163km / 3150m

Half a day of trains to get from Toulouse to the charming town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, at the western edge of the Pyrenees. The main feature of this area is the Col de La St-Pierre Martin and Port de Larrau, two huge climbs that cross over into Spain.
If you see a road that crosses the border, you should go bike on that road, they are epic.

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"bike-friendly" trains...

Many many cute towns like this over a river

At high enough elevation you always find livestock

Beautiful going down the col St-Pierre

These little guys infest every last rock and brick

That's what they call Cattleguards in France

Some dipshit broke the pump of course

"Easy" second day going up the Cirque de Lescun

A cirque is when the road just ends at the foot of high mountains

I found two hikers with a rented pack mule on top

This climb is seriously steep and the road is bad. Avoid?

It has some epic views though

Little detour to Fort du Portalet

Oloron of course has a 1000 year old church

Always worth a quick in-n-out

I feel judged

3rd day going up Port de Larrau, into Spain

The high mountains in these parts are still green

It's interesting to see the landscape change as you get to the center

Nearer to the coasts, the mountains are not as high

These are just 2000, they get up to 3500 later

Extreme winds at the peak where the road descends to spain

Of course the pyrenees are full of hikers

And for some reason, lots of horses. Why?

Cows make cheese, what do horses make?

3 - Lourdes

Cirque de Gavarnie and Col des Tentes - 123km / 2200m
Col D’Aubisque - 112km/1875m
Hautacam - 57km / 1350m
Col des Spandelles - 110km / 1900m
Luz Ardiden + Cirque de Troumousse + Gloriettes - 147km 3175m
Tourmalet pas Campan - 100km / 1950m

Met up with Dar here. There’s a few other cities south that are deeper into the mountains but there’s nothing to do in them and no train station. Lourdes is an interesting city in its own right and some of the most famous climbs in the Tour de France pass through it anyway.

If there’s just one area you have time to visit in the whole Pyrenees, this is it.

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Bike bag starting to suffer from being dragged on cobbles

Going up deep into the mountains in Gedre

That's where one of the tour stages ended for this year

Col des Tentes in scorching heat at 2000m

Cows didn't seem to mind

Cirque de Gavarnie

Second day on col D'Aubisque

Probably a top5 climb for the views

Very popular and crowded at the top

Going down Aubisque on col du Soulor

3rd day "rest" up Hautacam

Little gravel road disappearing into the hills

Top of Hautacam. Really beautiful climb close to Lourdes

The animals leave piles of shit everywhere...

Many groups from organized tours in this area

Bike path bridge going back to Lourdes

Exploring the city. There's an old fort with a museum

All the animals you won't see unless you hike really deep

The best part of the fort is the view at the top

European towns are really picturesque, I'll give em that

My favourite thing: The old timey bowling room

The typical museum stuff

Lourdes is a famous religious destination for the sick

There was some miracle at this cave in the 1800s

People come to get the magic water and touch the cave walls

They built this massive church on top of the cave

It's well worth visiting. No bikes allowed... don't ask

Hanging with a friend from Montreal days!

Did col des spandelles at 35c to go watch the Tour

Some swag one of the promo cars threw at my face

Pogacar coming down the Tourmalet in first place

He went on to crush everyone that year

Biking back down to Lourdes... again... along the gorge

Day 5: Luz Ardiden. Don't miss that one!

The best switchback views in the Pyrenees

Dar, still happy and not completely dead

Napoleon bridge. He "built" it.

Now back to solo up the Cirque de Troumousse

There's a parking and a restaurant... sort of near the top

The last part of this climb is very sheep infested

Only the sheep do this. I think to escape some of the heat

The cows have not figured that trick out yet

It's not possible to showcase the epicness of these Cirque views

Usually a 180-270 degree view of the mountains

Little trains bring hikers 500m up the last switchbacks

It's really one of the coolest places but you have to want it

The road is nasty and lots of parts covered in gravel and sand

Last bonus that day was up to the barrage des Gloriettes

Not a crazy bonus but not super worth the detour either

Last day, going out to ascend the famous Tourmalet

Going through a few tiny towns surrounded by endless fields

Nearing the peak of Tourmalet, some of the most epic views here

My best Dar picture

Soaking in the views, dreading leaving to go back to real life

The top is packed and has 2 restaurants and a little museum

And this epic statue ( of me )

4 - Montrejeau

Col de Peyresourde + Col Val Louron-Azet - 133km / 2475m
SuperBagneres + Hospice de France + Port de Bales - 114km / 3150m
Bikepacking to Piau-Engaly - 70km / 1600m
Route des Lacs + Col du Portet - 139km / 3150m
Col de La Hourquette - 118km / 1850m
Cap Neste - 103km / 1850m

Said goodbye to Dar as I made my way to the next and much crappier city of Montrejeau. The train could have gotten me a little deeper into the mountains so I am not sure why I picked this place. Did I mention the brutal heatwave this entire time in France? At just 400m above sea level, you really felt it being in Montrejeau and cycling in the more rural parts of france is mostly rolling hills and twisting farm roads with annoyed peasants.
I stayed at an Airbnb with a nice lady who made sure I always had everything, so that’s good! You never know who you meet.

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Another cute city on a river. Kinda ghetto near the train station

Airbnb lady and her visiting grandson

She had a huge garage and tried to fix my bike bag a bit

Common France thing: The farmer's markets popping up randomly

Historical cathedral in the hilltop town of Saint-Bertrand de Comminges

Bagneres-de-Luchon is the town I should have stayed at

It's at the base of the Col de Peyresourde

A really nice one with lots of switchbacks at the last 2km

Went down to Loudenvielle, small city on a lake

Then back up the tight switchbacks of Val-Louron-Azet

Then slow descent through the valley, along the river

In the town of Arreau, still 20km from Montrejeau.

Next day: Just took the train to Luchon. Saves 35km/300m 20km saved

Top of SuperBagneres ski station. Definitely a must-do

I think the train to Luchon was only recently put back in service

Definitely do not stay in Montrejeau then

Town of Luchon seen from the top of SuperBagneres

Huge gravel lot where campers stay overnight

We have this back home now. They will take over the world

Funny drawing of the Pyrenee guard dogs that apparently can be dangerous

Second climb: Hospice de France. Very steep

Absolutely no views the entire time, all in the woods

Pops out at a big cabin where hikers venture deep into the high mountains

Anyway skip that climb. Horse back in Luchon

Last climb: Port de Bales, connecting directly to Montrejeau

It's a beast if you do it from Montrejeau. 1200+m and steep

Day3 I decided to bikepack deep into the mountain

All uphill that day. Mistake: Bringing 5 pounds of boiled sweet potatoes...

Beautiful road along the river here with many small towns

Making it to the top of Piau-Engaly, the ski resort I booked my room at

It's a beautiful climb/area and was quite cheap as well

Many gravel roads leading to long hikes

It's a huge complex with several hotels but was mostly deserted

Rare sunset opportunity, ending a great day. I crave the novelty

In the morning I took the ski lift up even higher

Probably at 2200m+ here, where all the hikes start

Thunderstorm warnings that day so I didn't linger

Ski lifts on top of big climbs are my favorite thing now

Back down then back up the Route des Lacs

Quite bad roads that fork to several large alpine lakes

It's a somewhat unique area and still a 1000m climb

Had a break in town before doing the Col du Portet

The "Queen of the Pyrenees". 1400m at 8.4%, closed to cars for much of the day

The one place I saw all the fat marmots!

Very heavy livestock presence and high winds

You have to be careful on the way down, dodging all the poo piles

Next day: Rest and visiting a cave near Montrejeau

Airbnb lady gave me a lift! It's one of the few such caves still open

Pictures are not allowed so these are from their site

It is notable for its dozens of prehistoric hand prints

Made 20-30 thousand years ago. Mind blowing.

Col D'Aspin. This is why you don't want to stay in Montrejeau

37km to reach the bottom then 37km back...

Col D'Aspin is one of the famous ones and it connects to Tourmalet

More sunflower fields on the flat roads back into town

Last day: Cap Neste, right out of Montrejeau. 900/7% mostly in the woods

Ends at a cabin to start hikes. I have to get into this "hiking" stuff apparently

Ended doing a large-ish loop in the fields at 35c. Only mountains please

5 - Ax-les-Thermes

Plateau de Beille + Bonascre - 106km / 3075m
Col du Calvaire to Ski Station + Col de Pradel - 121km / 2600m
To Andorra + El Serrat Ski Station - 104km / 2700m
Port de Cabus + Beixallis + Port D’Envalira - 121km / 3250m
Col de Pailhere - 90km / 2400m
Massif du Montcalm + Port de L’Hers(Est) + Col de Peguere - 176km / 3375m

Last city for me, Ax-Les-Thermes. It’s a pretty strange one that’s not near any of the top climbs but it is close to Andorra, the strange tax haven ski COUNTRY that you can only reach by car or bike. I had quite a fun time staying there for a night like I did from Montrejeau to Piau.

You can bike everywhere in Andorra in under a week, easily.
The port of entry from France tops out at over 2400m, it’s a monster climb if you did it all the way from Ax.

Andorra is well worth checking out.

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Day 1 already getting diverted by cows not wanting to move

Awesome castle on the way to the plateau de Beille

If you take the secondary road up in the hills, it's quite nice

Most roads are in deep valleys of course

It's an alright climb...

You can see the mountains are shrinking at this point

Day 2, took a train to save 40km

Over col du calvaire down into Mont-Louis

They have one of those castle cities like Italy!

Rainbow cloud. Pretty cool I dunno

Castle ruins on the way to col de Pradel

Col de Pradel has no views, just forest mostly. Avoid

Day3 - Taking the train as high as it'll go towards Andorra

It pops you out 700m above Ax but you have a long way to go still

The last switchbacks before crossing down to Andorra

Almost 1000m climb from the train station still

Andorra is mostly all new constructions, very different from outside

World's longest suspended bridge in Ordino

Those damn birds that never sit still. Finally got you motherfuckers

I randomly stumbled upon a Tim Hortons in the capital city

Of course I had to go to see. Omelette? Heresy

Got myself an expensive maple donut instead.

Andorra La Vella has tons of interesting shops and decorations

Sweet weeb store I found. What a day

Construction everywhere in Andorra

Port de Cabus, the best climb in Andorra. Gravel crossing into Spain if you want

The pretty typical view halfway up most climbs here

Made a little stop at... The Comic Book museum!

Beastmaster poster haha sweet.

Very cool museum. Lots of original art as well

And like half dedicated to Judge Dredd for some reason

Next day doing a loop up col de Pailhere. Foggy day

Finally saw a funny screeching deer

Many towns in the Pyrenees are known for their thermal baths

Ax has some warm pools open to all

Last day! Starting with Massif du Montcalm

Quite a tough climb up to a big dam

Looping back by Port de L'Hers

Then Col de Peguere

Passing through Foix with the best castle so far

6 - Transit to Girona

Alt de St.Grau + Coast - 93km / 1200m

Time for another “rest” day going all the way to Girona. 3 hour delay on the TGV meant I got there only around midnight. Yikes.

Chani arrived the same day! Yay. We had time to do one decent bike ride before starting the epic transpyrenees hotel packing journey.

We left our main luggage/bike bags at her friend’s place in Girona for 23 days of bikepacking!

Girona is a very popular destination…for…some reason. It’s a moderately sized city quite far from the Pyrenees but has a huge bike culture because a pro opened a bike-theme cafe. We say a dozen high end bike shops while walking around.

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The TGVs are quite bad for taking bikes and bike bags

3 hour delay and I had to stand in the hallway the whole time

Climbing out of Girona with Chani!

This... this is a famous Girona climb...

The best part by far is the road along the coast

Lots of twists and turns and going up and down

Through so many scenic coastal resort towns

Thanks to everyone following along on Strava! That first month was truly epic, France has some amazing sights to see…. outside the big cities. Part 2 soon!

CHIANG MAI CYCLING GUIDE [] ITALY CYCLING GUIDE [] CYCLING IN MADEIRA [] CYCLING CANARY ISLANDS [] CYCLING HAWAI’I [] CYCLING TAIWAN

— > Book a Tour with Chiang Mai Cycling Buddy < —

BACK TO TRAVEL

Louis Fernet-Leclair

Cycling The Pyrenees part 1 - France

Foods of France

1 - Toulouse

2 - Oloron-Sainte-Marie

3 - Lourdes

4 - Montrejeau

5 - Ax-les-Thermes

6 - Transit to Girona

Cycling Around Taiwan