Cycling Solo In The French Pyrenees.
On today’s ride I cycle down the mountain only to have to ride back up again. But what a ride!
For more information about staying in the area, please visit: pyrenees.cc
#DesignedForTheRide #MyAltura
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Hello there and welcome to today’s ride a bienvenue a journey in france Chris and vicky have a rather long gravel drive it’s actually three kilometers long and this little golf cart is the best way to get down to the main road it’s also rather fun Yesterday’s ride up the colder costume was pretty tough so today i’m just going to take things slightly easier chris has very kindly sorted me out with some roots which he created on strava as you can probably see chris isn’t with me today he’s busy buying building materials would you believe
So it’s it’s down to me to ride solo today and uh the route that he’s created for me is 25 kilometers down to the village of amelie libba and it’s going to be about 300 meters of climbing so pretty similar to my edmy’s lane route at home but unlike that
This is going to be 300 meters down and then 300 meters straight back up again [Applause] [Applause] As you can see the weather today is fantastic again 19 degrees and fairly sunny and i’m being a little brave wearing short kit the wind is coming from the north so that’s making it a little bit colder when i’m in the sun it’s absolutely lovely but in the shade
It does get a little bit cold so i’ve got my arm with me just in case it’s all very quiet for a thursday afternoon following a route on the crew is sometimes a little over complicated and that’s exactly what’s happened today particularly with the uh there’s a diversion due to traffic works
In the village there so i’ve taken a wrong turn but you know not to worry we’re just out to explore today and it’s a rather pleasant uh wrong turn because i get to have a look at the view of this river and the bridge i recognize this i think this is probably
Levoir belt which follows the old railway line i could be wrong the road feels like it’s just generally continuing on down and indeed when i look at the uh the altitude on my crew i can see that we are definitely losing altitude a bit Hey [Applause] just a quick stop to take in the view here on my left i’ve got a very picturesque terrace of houses and then on my right here a nice line of pink blossom no idea what the trees are I’ve just stopped to do a quick check of the map because i think i’m riding away from amelie lebanon now i am following the route but i do want to go into town have a little bit of a look around and possibly even visit a cafe i am in france
Oh no panic over looks like i am heading towards town now [Applause] It’s all starting to look a bit familiar now i was here two and a half years ago the last time i came to visit chris and vicky that was december 2019 and obviously it was on the approach to christmas and there were all the christmas decorations out but today here we are in
Early april and the temperature apparently is 25 degrees celsius that was a very nice meal in le grand cafe de paris some kind of very very nice piece of pork with a vegetable that we just could not work out what it was the the bar owner and i he looked it up
On google translate i never even heard of it in english it was some sort of root vegetable but it was very very nice and he even remembered me from the last time i was there which was two and a half years ago well that was the very pleasant little town of amelie labelle
They did have a couple of stings of climbs going out of town but i’m well on the way back to the house now and i think that’s just up all the way looks like i’m back on lavoie i came along this way this morning so it’s all looking a bit familiar
Luckily the climb back up so far isn’t too bad it’s just one or two percent well this is a bit that i don’t recognize i don’t think i’ve been on here before that was the village of al sur tech which is experiencing some traffic problems at the moment due to roadworks
And as i was going through the one-way system there at one point i had a string of about 10 cars waiting to pass me but at no point did anybody get frustrated or toot their hooter such is the way that cycling is regarded here in france as you may know
In the uk we drive on the left-hand side and over here in france they drive on the right-hand side and some of you are probably wondering how easy or how difficult it is for me to convert well it’s actually pretty easy i don’t really think about it
I’m so used to riding and driving on the right here it’s pretty much section second nature That sun’s getting warm now according to the kuru it’s 27 degrees celsius i think if it’s like this tomorrow i’ll be putting on suntan lotion fantastic [Applause] Okay there we go that’s another fantastic day of cycling here in france 26 kilometers and 247 vertical meters absolutely fantastic hopefully we’ll be going out again tomorrow the weather will be equally as lovely and it’ll just be amazing all over again thanks for watching i don’t know
41 Comments
Nice video. You should have videoed the meal you had. Food is such an important part of the experience.
Beautiful ride and video. We all live vicariously through your adventures. Thanks so much.
What a lovely place…..no rubbish…no graffiti…nice roads…..pleasant fellow doing the narration……thanks Mr Lee
lovely vlog and ride Leonard, sometimes taking the wrong turn can lead to taking the right route 🙂 looks great out there, nice one
excellent fun in the sun. Drew.
Wow. You make the best looking videos.
Kudos to your French! You're close to not upholding that bad French tradition of Brits! And I was impressed when my father uttered: Ou et la rue de St. Katherine in Montreal 50 years ago! Almost as good as the German police man's English when I rode a bicycle on the Autobahn! No. He didn't say " You crazy American "! Honestly it did start out looking like a country lane!
Leonard – I almost gave a dislike to this video purely out of envy for where you are and what you’re doing 😄. Brilliant ride, brilliant video (your French is pretty good too 😀). Cheers!
I really envy you. Such a beautiful location.
Lol…nice ride…always amazing (being a ignorant American) hearing other people (Europeans) rattle off a 2nd language ..my older sister (who I was unaware she spoke fluent french) did that too when we met at the Notre Dame and got lunch at a cafe and she ordered for me when the waiter pretended he didn't know what I was saying..lol
Loved the scenery nice part of the world 🌎
What fun! Looking forward to seeing more!
Glad you didn't damage your bike when you smacked it against the drain pipe. 🙂
Nice video, again…it's just feels like I m riding… 🙏 Thanks
Lovely video as always Leonard , wonderful scenery etc 👍
Nice little route today 😊getting in the kilometres in and nice weather 🚴♂️
Very nice. Keep em coming.
FYI, those trees are pink-blossom trees.
I am so jealous! Hope you had/are having a tremendous time; it certainly looks like it!
I love these videos, bringing back many happy Kms of riding in the area.
As for the pink blossom, I imagine that they're cherry. Nearby Céret is famous for them and has an annual cherry fête, usually around the end of May.
Hi Leonard. Just detected your channel. Brilliant 😀Love your videos, and I can improve my English…. 🤣Regards Thomas / Dortmund
Nice work on the bike, and well done for doing your bit to bust the stereotype about Brits abroad shouting at Johnny Foreigner in English.
How much you weigh?
Fantastic scenery. I must admit though I raised an eyebrow at 19C being a bit chilly. That's positively tropical! 😂😂
said it all at 8 minutes in, cyclists much safer in France. Nearest scrape I've had was an overtaking Brit in a big motorhome. The Pyrenees a wonderful location, enjoy your trip!
So impressed with your French , I have tried for year to learn French it won’t stick 🙃 great vlog x
Your weather, even in the UK is way ahead of ours.
In Michigan, I spotted my first daffodil just last week.
Lovely little adventure, Leonard and with a bit a good language practice too! As a rule of thumb, as soon as spring comes I start applying sunscreen on sunny regardless of the temp. Maybe it's stronger in Japan but I can catch the sun very easily even getting burnt on overcast summer days!
The "wrong" side riding is only a little challenging at a single road with unsuspected oncoming trafic. The first days on the islands it's difficult not to take the right side.
That’s a really well filmed video, looking forward to more
I found a lot of South coast Bríts spoke reasonable French when I was in France.
Beautiful. Great cycling!
which month of the year when your were cycling there ? Oct. ?
Today I took a road bike for a test ride. Ridden with racing handlebars for the first time in 25 years. I'm obviously too old for this. But the bike was great.
The roads and towns look so fresh and clean.
Great music. Very nicely edited video. Thanks
Looks stunning mate, last week I completed 100km of flow vèlo from thiviers to angoulême and was blown away with France's natural beauty. Cant wait to return in the summer 😍
Impressive French there Leonard. The golf buggy looked fun too
Good to see you having such a great time, I know I was watching you , great video
Mr Envious 😁😁
How was the bike after whacking it off the side of the house?
WOW! Dude!!! awesome!! beautiful ride, great scenery, beautiful day, it's so great that you are having so much fun. Thank you for sharing. cycling is truly the best way to enjoy life and you are doing that. The golf cart is really cool too. keep riding. thank you
Superb Leonard, and your French is great. Looks like a great time and fantastic ride.Enjoy.