Rain Rain Rain

Our plan was to spend today as a day off to lay on the beautiful beaches of Saint Jean De Luz. A quaint little seaside town just south of Biarritz. Of course mother nature had different plans. So here we sit in a very very nice hotel bar in St Jean having a bottle of wine and using the WIFI connection. And no we are not staying in this very very nice hotel our campground and tent are awaiting our return if it ever stops raining long enough for us to make it the 4 miles back there without getting completely soaked. When we left camp this morning the skies were very gray but it had rained sooooooooo much throughout the night that we were thinking that there couldn't possibly be any moisture left in them. How wrong we were!

A recap of the previous days

July 18th 70 miles from Cenac to Parentis En Borne:
Our longest day in terms of miles cycled but one of our best days! The combination of roads and paved bike trails offered a great variety and made it feel like we were really making forward progress throughout the day. The weather was perfect, we never made any wrong turns and the wind was mostly at our backs. The perfect cycling day. Camped near a beautiful lake (see pictures) Sat on the banks of the lake to have a little wine before returning to the campground for dinner at the little restaurant. The music being played was all american/english and we sang along to the familiar tunes to the dismay of the French people around us. Although the small children seemed to be entertained.

July 19th 72 miles from Prentis En Borne to Seigosse:
Our second long miles day. The entire 72 miles we were on a paved cycling path that wound its way through the forest. It was like riding a mountain bike only on a paved single track. I would say that about 75% of the trail was in excellent riding condition but the other 25% was very rough going. Bob handles those situations better than Sherry! Sherry starts to get a little cranky and very tired of being bounced around and holding on to the handlebars for dear life while the fillings in her theeth are coming loose. But Bob he just keeps going and going and is even smiling! Although if he could see Sherry's expressions he might not be smiling quite so much! But all is good and by the end of the day a good cry in the shower Sherry was good. We went out for a lovely dinner and sat on the beach and watched the sun set on the Atlantic Ocean. (now that is something you can't do in the U.S.)

July 20th 45miles Seigosse to St Jean De Luz
Today we got our first look at the Pyrenees! And that also means it was our first day of any meaningful climbing! But with the sun over head and smooth roads with beautiful views and cute little towns to cycle through it was a glorious day! We are staying here for 2 days. We are not entirely sure where we are going tomorrow. The weather will have a lot to do with our decision. We would like to go to St Jean Pied De Port which is the starting point for the Camino De Santiago. It will also be a day of climbing in the pyrenees. If the weather clears then we will head that way. If it continues to rain we will go to St Sebastian, Spain which is a short 20 miles from St Jean De Luz. We will make our decision in teh morning.

It is now 2pm in France and it looks like the rain might stop for a little bit. So long for now and hopefully the next time you hear from us we will be in a small mountain village in the heart of the pyrenees!

Bob & Sherry