Cycling The Medoc and Pyrenees – on electrics, for heaven’s sake!

The Braynes’ Tour de France Electrique continuing to go rather well, from Bordeaux and the Medoc down to the Pyrenees, where Mark spent a wonderful week this time of year in 1970 helping restore an old police station/young people’s holiday hostel in Saurat, near Tarascon-sur-Arriege (and Andorra).

Alongside the weather’s perfect timing, and the sheer pleasure of being in a European nation that’s PROUD of being European, it’s been particularly good to discover the brilliance of modern e-bikes, which enabled us to climb two 4000′ cols today, barrelling somewhat shamedfacedly past struggling French cyclistes doing it properly.

Jutta esp, who couldn’t/wouldn’t have done this sans electrisme, is glowing with pride and well-exercised muscles this evening. Another col tmmw?

Captions help put the pix in context

Travelling light. Not. Every evening, there are two mega-batteries to be charged for the Kalkhoff e-bikes, plus a robust and very ancient Lenovo X61s Thinkpad, two smartphones, a Garmin, and power for a Sony A7 camera.

This especially for Bill Mitchell. Close-up view of my bike, with Bosch motor and battery (takes 6 hours to charge), handy stand, excellent brakes, 28″ wheels. Seriously well made, and a pre-Brexit bargain at £1500 (£3000 the pair, with Jutta’s step-through.)

All tourists take this pic of Bordeaux, with a clever reflecting mirror pool with added steam vents to show off the municipal buildings at their best. It POURED in Bordeaux, but well-timed.

New wine barrels of beatiful French oak at Chateau Lanessan in the Haut Medoc. The contents are rather pleasant too, fuelling this post…

Couldn’t resist. Snails for sale, alive-alive-oh, at Saurat flower market in the Pyrenees

The exquisitely (in process of being) modernised former police station/hostel which I/Mark helped first renovate way, way back in 1970, with a bunch of fellow students organised by the Service Civil International, the SCI.