Day Nine: Hegetmau-Oloron St Marie

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Day nine begun with a rather late breakfast as breakfast was not allowed before 8am! However the intrepid two were on the road by 9 although it was a particularly cloudy day. Although they were glad of this as the route was very hilly in places. As it was Sunday they weren’t expecting many opportunities for tea breaks so had packed in preparation. However in Arthez de Bearn they managed to find an open bar and had a very welcome cup of tea. A short time after this they joined a good road which led them to cycle in the centre of a valley, which was unfortunately surrounded by oil and gas refineries and did not have the most pleasant of aromas. After this while passing Monein they found a small patisserie where they had half of a French stick and two cakes. However it would have been nicer sat at a table rather than on the kerb, which was rather difficult to get up from. After lunch there was the final long climb into Cardesse before the final run into Oloron St Marie where they managed to find the town centre not their hotel. However they asked a local who was posting a letter who happened to be planning on parking his vehicle opposite the hotel so they were able to follow him there. As it was a Sunday the hotel was closed so they used their pass-code to get into their room, having left their bikes in reception. A pleasant day again, as they had arrived over the final hills they had caught their first glimpse of the bottom of the Pyrenees and the sight of things to come.
Stats:
Days Miles: 43.7
Total Miles: 538.3
Ascent: 2606 ft
Total Ascent: 23’648 ft
Frenchmen in berets: (2)

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