Celebrating the 4th of July by Returning to a Prehistoric Time Today we biked short (Only 32 kilometers) to Cabrerets, in the Cele River Valley.. We had cycled up the valley of the Lot River to where the Cele enters the Lot and then into the Cele Valley. Anyhow, 1 kilometer up the side of the gorge from Cabrerets is one of the most famous caves in Europe, Pech-Merle Grotto. It has beautiful cave drawings dating from 25,000 to 20,000 years ago. We thought we were going to have to cycle a three kilometer road uphill to the cave. But when we signed in at the campground, the host told us of a 1 kilometer walking trail that would take us to the grotto. We walked the trial to enter a prehistoric time. The calcite walls ... read more

Today is the first day of the official Tour de France; it’s our fifth day in France! For those of you who are cycling addicts, check out the Tour de France’s route this year. During the 13th stage, about July 15th, the Tour will be in the area around Pau, France, on some of the same roads Bill and I cycled just a few days ago. You will also note that those stages are considered mountainous. Let me see Lance glide up those hills with 45 lbs. of stuff on his bike!! We biked just 60 kms. today. Figured we save our energy for the hills and mountains ahead of us. At noon, we stopped in the little town of Miradoux for lunch. There was a small farmers’ market in the town, so we bought a ... read more

Loosely translated, the title of today's blog is "How in the heck do I get out of here?" About noon today we stopped in the small town of Arzacq. Note, I said small town. Make that a village with one main street and only one church. Ate our usual lunch of bread and cheese and an apple. Then headed out of town for the day's destination, Aire-s-l'Adour, a larger town. Though there were about four or five roads leading out of town, we could not find the right one. After wandering around for fifteen minutes (and unnecessarily climbing a steep hill) then studying a map for another fifteen minutes, we finally figured it out. As the French would say, "C'est la vie!" Though the map indicated a fairly flat ride, such was not the case as ... read more

Since yesterday’s blog title was “Going Up,” today’s must be “Going down.” We had less than 10 kilometers of moderate climbing this morning in low lying clouds before we reached the Ibaneta Summit, which we could barely see in the fog. Then it was 20 kilometers of STEEP downhill before we reached the fairly flat final10 kms. into St.- Jean-Pied-de-Port, France. We stopped quite frequently on the descent as our hands hurt from squeezing the brakes so much. What a relief when we reached the bottom, but we commiserated with those who were just starting the climb up the side we came down. One point we have not yet mentioned is that we are in Basque country. This group of people has its own language and culture, and they are proud of that heritage. Therefore, the ... read more

This morning we were awakened at 7 a.m. by a group of twenty or so people serenading, once again, the newly married couple. A pleasant awakening and we were on our way by 8:30. After being so cold just a few days ago, today we were baking in the sun as we began our climb toward the Pyrenees Mountains. Most of the day we were on N111, a road that parallels an autovia, so we had little traffic. That it is Sunday probably helped also. We by-passed several small towns but made sure to stop in Irache, where a 12th century Benedictine monastery boasts a famous wine fountain, from which peregrinos may enjoy free water or free red wine. We tasted the wine, but filled our bottles with water -- too many kilometers ahead of ... read more