We awoke to yet another beautiful day and still not a cloud to be seen. We have been blessed with exceptional weather for the last week and that has made this pilgrimage easier (there is nothing worse that biking in soggy porridge).

Eager as hungry cats we sped off through the vast forests of the West Coast of France. The smell of pine was almost overpowering at times and there was no one to be seen except for the odd lycra clad road warrior. Soon we became adventurous and took to some a path that was like a high beam. It was too much for my lycra friend who came crashing to earth with much German foul mouthed language! That is 4 crashes now he has had to my 2. It’s these darn "clamp ons" that we have on our feet attached like ski bindings to our little velouts. When you have been biking for hours you forget you are in your bindings and hey presto you are kissing tarmac.

We know now we have been on this trip too long as we are now talking about the types of tarmac and how it affects our performance (sad but true).

Our journey today passed through many other surfing havens and incredible stretches of beach. Even the surfers seem to respect the men of lycra with a nod of the head to each other signifying respect.

Soon we were heading inland to passing by the great Lake of "Lac de Lacanau" and stopping for our baguette at a place called "Pick up Cafe" in Le Porge. Around Le Porge there are a haven of "Camp Naturelle's" but we decided against looking in for fear of the large German lady and her Alsatian. We were now reaching our final destination of Cap Ferret for a small ferry crossing over to Arcachon.

This was our quickest day yet-108km with an average speed of 23.8kmph.Our fitness has certainly improved and our legs feel more like tree trunks...in fact rather worryingly are starting to look like tree trunks.

DUNE LE PLAYA THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD

Day 11 - Arcachon to Mimizan Plage

We woke up with misty heads having slightly over indulged in Arcachon with the French red medicine. Our first port of call was Dune de Playa which is the tallest natural sand dune in the world at 400 feet and 3km long. It really should be one of the 7 Wonders of the World and worth visiting for anybody ever going to the Arcachon area.

The road beckoned back again and quickly the scene changed to hills and strong wind and a searing heat. Big Mac nearly came to grief when he wandered (in a weary moment) across a bike path in front of two speeding lycra men and near calamity. The speeding lycra men hurled much abuse at him but we understood little of it.

Now we were really struggling today and the last 2 weeks definitely starting to wear away on us physically and mentally. Some of the roads seem impossibly straight and were playing tricks on our minds. Also there are times when it seems you are going uphill when the terrain looks downhill. Every time you go downhill you always know there will be another hill to climb when you reach the bottom and so the monotony goes on.

Today was only 90km at a slowish pace of 20.5km into a strong headwind. However we reached Mimizan Plage went straight onto the beach and collapsed asleep for an hour. The sea then beckoned and we went for a bracing swim in the chilly Atlantic to try and soothe our aching limbs. I think tonight we will be playing chess again and early to bed-our chess games now have extra incentive as the loser has to carry the chess set weighing in at 1 pound.

THE LONG STRAIGHT FOREST ROADS NEVER SEEM TO END …

Day 12 - Mimizan Plage to Capbreton

After losing at chess last night it was my turn to carry the wretched chess set - I just don't have the heart to throw it away and am strangely attached to it.

Today is the day our women folk arrive so we ate like hungry tigers and set off at blitzkrieg speed to Cap Breton. We were greeted in the woods by a shoot that was going on and did not stop to survey in fear the hunters might like some chicken legs.

We stopped for lunch in Vieux Boucau les Bains having set a blistering pace of 24.7kmph in the morning. It’s amazing what a little incentive can do to your legs!

Soon we arrived in Capbreton and suddenly San Sebastian seems not very far away. Our adventure is coming to an end but we must not lull in to a false sense of security as we have the Pyrenees to tackle for the next 2 days before we reach our destination.

Justin

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