Day 31, 21 6 2013, Bagneres de Bigorre to Eauze
The weather forecast for today was not too bad, a few showers and a possible 2mm of rain in the morning, clearing in the afternoon. Only it did not happen like that.
As we rode out of town and the rain started, we looked back at the mountains and thought that the snow line was much lower than when we started up to the col de Tourmalet yesterday. In fact, it looked so low that we wonder whether the road up to the col was even open all the way. We may have got lucky yesterday.
The rain settled in to a steady soaking drizzle. For much of the morning the creeks and rivers we passed were close to breaking their banks.
The ride out to the north took us clear of the midi Pyrenees, and was steadily downhill. We lost 460m in altitude in 75Km at a very steady rate, leading to fast riding. In better circumstances this could have been very enjoyable.
We entered Gascony around this point and rode through low rolling hills with some steep but short climbs.
It was not until around 3.00pm that the rain eased and the temperature cracked 14C, close to the end of our day.
We rode into the town of Eauze and easily found a hotel. We are doing well over the last week with both accommodation and food. The little bistro we went to on both nights in Bagneres was excellent. I think I had the best pizza I have ever had in a restaurant there.
The current plan is to ride more or less directly towards Paris, and if all pans out we should be there with a day to spare before our plane takes off.
So, 107Km for the day. We have had better riding days but all is well that ends well, and the forecast, for what it is worth, looks good from here on.
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