Day 1: Crossing the Pyrenees (St. Jean to Zubiri)

Distance: 34.4 mi / 55km

Climbing: 5978ft / 1822m

When I asked the older woman at the pilgrim office about biking the Napoleon route, she flat out told me it was impossible. They recommend that people take the extremely narrow and trafficked road via Valcarlos. As I had seen other bikers in previous years on the route, I thought it was worth a shot.

I didn’t sleep so well at my Gite in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port as I think the anticipation for the climb the next morning kept people waking up at night, moving around and making noise. I was probably also somewhat still off from the jet lag. At sunrise, I woke up feeling like I hadn’t slept more than a few hours, quite exhausted.

I got off to a late start, working on sorting my gear into the bike packing bags (it takes a little while to perfect your system), and then checking some accommodations around town and the local bike shop. The climb up was steep, especially the first 7km at the beginning up to Orisson. I saw only 5 other cyclists all day, and there were three Italians that turned back after the first 2km. An older Swiss man and a determined Spanish mountain biker made it over the pass.

 

We had a perfectly clear day with spectacular views down into France on the north, with hawks soaring above, shepherds and sheep, horses, and cattle. The Pyrenees have beautiful rolling green fields at the higher elevations that are often used for grazing, which afford great views without many trees obstructing. It was nice to see the familiar food van offering snacks and cold drinks where the path leaves the road 2/3 of the way.

Many of the walkers I talked to on the climb kept asking me if it was more challenging to walk or bike, trying to figure it out for themselves. After walking this route multiple times, I would probably attest that it’s more challenging to do the climb on a bike with touring gear, but it’s probably a toss up. The steepest grade is around 15% along the paved road, which is steep but possible if you have the right gearing. There was just one section that you really should walk, over a small rocky pass after leaving the paved road. The rest is ridable if you have wide enough tires, and the first 2/3 is along a steep paved road.

It’s always a wonderful feeling to cross an international border biking or hiking, and thankfully the first day of the Camino Francés offers this opportunity from France to Spain.

Getting down to the monastery at Roncesvalles was a relief, as I assumed it meant most of the challenge of the day was behind me. Later I found out that the climbing over Alto de Erro (some 18% grades) was what really wiped me out, probably mostly from lack of sleep, dehydration, forgetting sunscreen, and general exhaustion catching up with me. The route up and down had some steep and rocky sections, requiring as much focus as I could muster after a long day. I arrived at 6pm in Zubiri, happy to find a great albergue (Suseia, reserved in advance), that was bike friendly and had dinner available within the hour. Thankfully I fell asleep and rested well after a long day.