This is a guest post by Tim Ford
It all started at a friend’s 50th birthday celebrations in 2007, when Jay asked me how I intended to mark my own rapidly approaching half-century. ‘Oh, I think I’ll do the “Raid Pyrénéen”’, I said without too much thought. To be fair, I’d had this ride in the back of my mind for a number of years but there always seemed to be other things that needed doing first. But now I’d said I would do it!
A word or two of explanation – the idea of the Raid Pyrénéen is to cycle from Hendaye at the Atlantic end of the Pyrenees to Cerbere on the Mediterranean coast (or vice versa) in less than 100 hours. A total distance of 720 km plus the small matter of 18 cols to climb over, totalling 11,000 m in height gained. But what goes up must come down, I told myself, trying to make it sound a little bit easier.
Fast forward to June, 2008, and I’m tinkering with the bike on a campsite in Hendaye. I’ve planned my route, the maps are marked up, the official frame number from the Cyclo Club Bearnais (the organisers of the Raid) is attached to the bike so I suppose I’m about ready! The only thing that is worrying me is the weather. The previous night there had been a massive thunder storm which flooded the middle of our tent to about three inches deep! What would it be like in the heart of the mountains? Other cyclists at home had told me that there was still a chance of late snow storms at this time of year. Would this wreck all of my planning and training? I’d just have to wait and see.
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