Day 12: Final countdown

 

Final day of this cycling adventure crossing the Pyrenees was an easy one. Not in terms of distance and time but in terms of the intensity of the Mountain climbs. It was strange knowing that it was the last day and that 2 weeks of daily cycling passed already. It was great to know I would manage to complete the whole journey with no incident and I was feeling good enough despite a bad night sleep.

The day started with an overcast weather, cold and cloudy and I only understood why after we completed the first climb of 6 kilometers straight out of the hotel door. The Elgoibar village sits on a very narrow valley and the clouds were just hanging on top of the city  the top of the hill was as sunny and warm. Nice view.  We also started not as a group but staggered small groups of 2 and 3, as some were eager to finish the ride sooner than others. I was in the last group with Dale and Paul. 

From there we had a long rolling hill road and some cities to negotiate traffic before the first long climb of the day, 8,5 kms of average 6% gradient. I started as last of the group and decided to keep a steady cadence of 60 rpm and HR of 150 and change gears to keep it steady. It worked great and I could catch up with almost everyone. Only Dale was ahead and I was just 10 meters behind Cliff at the top. 

At the descent I let the bike roll and barely touched the breaks for a long time with some top speeds between 60 and 68 km/h. Really fun and safe. In one of the cities on the way Cliff and I regrouped and we continued until the first eating break with 55 kms on the teller. We would have a quick bite but that turned into a long break again. I decided to stay with the group in the last day and enjoyed taking it easy. I guess we were all tired.  We rolled all together to the second mountain of the day, the famous Jaizkibel, part of the Classica San Sebastián race.

This climb is a little harder at the beginning with ramps of 11% and then it gets easier after the first 2 kms, rolling around 6 or 8%. And from there one can see the sea already. First the bay in San Sebastian and then the open sea. And even getting a little sea breeze to cool down. I climbed in the same way and finished feeling really good and in a fantastic view of the ocean.

After that we celebrated completing all big climbs and headed down to the city for our last challenge, the Igueldo climb. Before that we had to cross the city center and the famous coast, which was super annoying with so many people, cars and traffic. San Sebastián isn’t made for cyclists in lycra. 

The Igueldo climb is a  brutal 2,5 kms ascent that stays constant above 24% and has ramps of 16 and 19%. Brutal after 1.400 kms on the legs! It pushed me to the limit but I managed well enough, just behind Dale. After that we just rolled down to the hotel and the final celebration and photos with the whole group before getting to our rooms and a well deserved shower.

And of course to wait for my girlfriend arrival after 3 weeks without seen each other, to enjoy a good long weekend in here with nice views and good food.

To say that I enjoyed this event would be a huge understatement. It was a dream come true. I enjoyed everything. The planning and training was long but well done, including the rides in the heat and hills of Alicante; the travel thru France and Spain incredible scenery; meeting fantastic new people that I enjoyed been around non stop; the different style of hotels and food we encountered every day; the ritual of each end of day before dinner to write the daily recap for the blog (and on time so Dale’s mother could follow the day’s events) and finally the accomplishment of riding thru so many mountains passes, cities, roads, wild forests and farms all powered by my own legs, heart and lungs. I am proud and grateful for the privilege of being able to do such thing! 

Now, time to enjoy the weekend and go back to normal life. And start to think what’s next… 🤔 

From left to right: Dale, Paul, me, Cliff, Dave, Gert-jan, Maarten, Aaron and Kevin. Amazing guys.

Under the clouds there is a town.

Next valley also under the clouds. Great views.

Jan cooking for us! I haven’t eat this much ever

It is funny that it says max of 10% and immediately it goes to 12%. But qnot funny hahaha

Views while going up the Jaizkibel

Hang in there bro. Almost done.

And done.