Thurday 19th May: We woke to a coolish and overcast day in Sos del Rey as we departed the beautifiul Paradore hotel and town and rode down into the valley below (see above pic) to head on our 160 km ride today to Biarritz in France. Even though we climbed up to a 1000m today it was largely a gradual climb and in some nice tree covered valley roads. The countryside is looking much greener and more trees and forests etc. Roads somewhat smoother again to which is appreciated by us all. We stopped for coffee at the 75km mark, then a quick PP stop at 77km and then just as we got going again, around the next corner we discovered it was the lunch stop! 1km after lunch, we topped the 1000m summit and then rode an awesome fast and winding descent for some 15kms dropping down 800 m as we entered France. We then had a reasonably fast last 60 kms or so down into Biarritz. We could easily tell we were in France now and no longer in Spain - how you might ask? Well in Spain, the motorists are most courteous to cyclists - passing us carefully, not tooting their car horns and allowing us to pass through intersections and around roundabouts as a group. In France...well its somewhat the opposite! We have the first non riding 'rest day' here tomorrow in Biarritz (yippee!) Will clean the bike, do some more laundry, a couple of small maintenence jobs on the bike, a massage and generally have a relaxing quiet day exploring the nearby downtown, beach and market areas of the town. We are staying in the Radisson hotel which is superb.
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