PyrX 2

Description continued from PyrX_1 Stage 9 This stage leaves me with two options: stage finish Seu d'Urgell (65km) or stage finish Bagá (another 65km). As the weather forecast predicts heavy rain for the next days, I vote for the latter. The roads are easy-riding: mainly paved, almost no traffic (axcept a short stretch before La Seu d'Urgell), never too steep. At least until I reach the ascent to the Col de la Torn, which tops this stage with a deathly steep climb that guarantees to make your legs burning. Only the really tough guys will manage to stay in the saddle. The topography also tries to fool you but just when you think that the pain is over, it bends around a corner and another 200 vertical meters climbing are waiting for you. For those who don't want to suffer too hard, I recommend the detour following the public road. Maybe there is also a place to spend the night in Molí de Fórnols, which is 2km off the route (at least there were some road signs to a camping and a restaurant), so you actually have three options. 130km, 3300m, 8:20 Hotel La Pineda, 45€ (incl. dinner and breakfast), good Stage 10 First look out of the window tells me the weather forecast was right with the rain. But they also said there will be increasingly more dry periods during the day. As I don't care about rain when going uphill (I just make myself think it's part of a watercooling system), I attack Col de Pal (2110m) without hesitation. But instead of alleviation, the rain becomes worse. On top of the pass the view is so bad that I am unable to find the trailhead for the downhill. So I stick to the road, which unfortunately ends abruptly a few meters later. So I find myself sliding down rough gravel roads and muddy ski slopes down to La Molina. Totally soaked I call it a day, wait two hours for the next train in the train station's chilly (one-digit temperatures even here in the valley) waiting room. After changing trains in Latour de Carol (at the French-Spanish border) and in Villefranche (from a historic train to a modern one) I finally reach Perpignan. Even here at the coast it is a whapping 15°C colder than it was when I left almost two weeks ago. 38km, 1400Hm, 3:00 Conclusion: A bit of everything: - alpine mountains in the Central Pyrenees, rolling hills on the first stages - unbearable heat in Jaca, snow on some passes, rain in San Sebastian, fresh snow on the last stage - lots of forest roads and public roads (though almost never with too much traffic), but also some nice single tracks