Be careful out there

This time last Monday I was just finishing my last evening meal, having met all my fellow riders on the Raid Pyreneen. It was warm, a bit cloudy and there was a sense of nervous expectation in the air.

The briefing had been done, detailed and exhaustive too, and we all had our blue and orange Marmot tops to wear (not my colour, still free kit is free kit...), and everyone was at pains to stress it was a holiday, relax, chill, etc. Yeah right.

Including Bunny and me, there were 18 paying riders, plus one rep who was going to ride too. The Yorkshire Lad (YL) had been a racer in his younger days, although at 39 he probably still could be, as well as two other support crew from Marmot Tours. So, with our bikes ready, pedals fixed, kit laid out, drinks mixed, we settled down for a restless night's sleep, waiting for the off the next day.

Hendaye, the town the route started in, is not somewhere you would choose to stay, but it is where the cyclo club de Bearn had decided the Raid Pyrenean should start, so who were we to argue. The Hotel Campanile was pretty good, plenty of food at least, and our room even had air-conditioning!

Tuesday morning dawned, well struggled into life more like. It was overcast and the rain alternated between drizzle and rain, but there wasn't much wind so that was something. We mounted our steeds and formed a loose peleton for the three mile ride down to the beach, the Atlantic Ocean at last. But the nerves and the rain had clearly got to a few people, and we had one spill before we got down there. This was to be a feature of the morning and i suspect it was a mixture of bad luck, a lack of experience of group riding, nerves and maybe just a touch of recklessness in the very wet conditions.

Not content with last weeks "chaingate" my hire bike, lovely in all respects to the naked eye, decided to punish me by dumping the chain off after about three miles. By the time I'd fixed it I was way back, but fortunately Charlie had the route downloaded upon him, so I was able to catch up before the start of the first col.

If you can call it a col, Col St Ignace is 169m high and very lovely it was, with wooded slopes, fine views, and even a bit less rain. The descent was similarly gentle and it wasn't long before we were in Espelette, getting our carnet stamped as evidence we were on our way. At 176m the Col Pinodietta was a bit higher, but blink and you'd have missed it and yes it had stopped raining. There then followed a long gentle drag upwards, which we rode in small groups, up to the town of St Jean Pied de Port. By now we'd done about 50 miles (you'll get used to the juxtaposition of miles and km, I did it all week long in my head "divide by 5, multiply by 8...)so it was a very amiable time for lunch.

Bunny and I decided that this should be introduced to all sportives, as the lovely town and its lovely cafe served up fresh soup with chips for a reasonable price. And by now it was actually sunny, so we divested ourselves of wet gear which went onto the van, and headed off up the first proper col-the Col d'Osquich (500 metres, and about 5km long from memory.

A blast downhill across rolling farmland, well on the road, but you know what i mean, and along to our second control point at Tardets-hot chocolate for me this time. With 80 miles done, the day had seemed fairly easy, but we then entered the last 30 miles to Arudy, up into a forest with a road like treacle, and despite a few dons, it was hard going. Then it rained again.

But all in all it was a great day to kick off with as we arrived in the town, with 112 miles under the tyres and a stiffer, steeper test ahead of us on Wednesday. A few riders had bumps and scratches but we were all in good spirits, and enjoyed a great dinner in the hotel restaurant, full of character and quirkiness.

The support and directions from the Marmot guys was great, attentive but relaxed, and Bunny and I had a great room overlooking the town square. He bagged the prize of the day though-a double bed, and I declined his offer of a Morecambe and Wise impression.