Basque Trip – June 25th to 30th – Cycling the French Pyrenees and Rioja Region
On Sunday, June 25th, Pete and I took a train from beautiful San Sebastián to meet our Backroads Group at the Biarritz Train Station in France. This would begin the French Pyrenees part of our cycling trip. We would still be in Basque country, but we would now be in France.
After a short shuttle to a beautiful picnic spot, we cycled 16 miles along the rugged Atlantic Coast to the sunny Bay of Biscay and St-Jean-de-Luz. After a swim in the Bay of Biscay and a stroll through town to take in a local festival (celebrating Saint John), I met up with our group for a dinner in our hotel (Grand Hôtel Thalasso & Spa). I really liked St-Jean-de-Luz. Although not as beautiful as San Sebastián and not as glitzy as Biarritz, it has managed to create a certain amount of quiet elegance and charm while maintaining its character as a fishing village.
Our second day consisted of a 26-mile ride in the morning from the sea to the foothills of the French Pyrenees with a lunch stop in the quaint, but beautiful town of Espelette, which is halfway between Biarritz and Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, which is where we started our Camino trek earlier in our trip.
Espelette is home of the treasured piment d’Espelette, a chili pepper that is known for its slightly smoky flavor. After some shopping and lunch (I had squid in its own ink, which is a local dish), we hopped back on our bikes to complete a short (10 miles), but very challenging ride through the narrow Pas- de-Roland, where we experienced jaw- dropping views of the Pyrenees. We ended our day at Auberge Ostapé, a spectacular 17th-century estate with whitewashed, red-shuttered suites nestled in a sea of green hills with spectacular views of the Pyrenees. We spent our first evening in the French Pyrenees listening to a local discuss Basque Culture, followed by a superb dinner on the terrace of the hotel’s restaurant. The views from the terrace of the surrounding mountains and Basque countryside were spectacular, even with cloudy skies.
On our third day we cycled into the French countryside through bucolic landscapes including the land of Ossau-iraty, a certified Pyrenean sheep cheese famed for its rich nutty flavors for more than 2,000 years. We stopped in the village of Mendionde to savor a 5-course Basque lunch – which included a potato/leek soup, a salad that included Ossau-iraty Cheese, a flaky white fish served with seasoned potatoes, a cheese board, and finally, apple pie with ice cream. Each course seemed better than the last, which seemed nearly impossible after having two bowls of the soup. To stay awake on the bike, I had an espresso to kick off the afternoon ride, which was a 10-miler through the Nive Valley with devastating hills during the last three miles.
In the evening our group took a 10-minute shuttle to the town of Bidarray for a traditional Basque dinner at Restaurant Iparla and a tasting of local Irouléguy wine. A bonus was listening to an all-male group sing some traditional Basque songs. We ended up singing along, which set the tone for a very frivolous, relaxing and joyful evening. This was a very good day indeed.
The next day (Wednesday) we bid farewell to France and the French Pyrenees and began our cycling in Spain and the Rioja region. We started with a 12 mile relatively ride (which was rare in this region) in the Spanish region of Navarra, riding amid limestone mountains and green valleys, admiring the patchwork scenery of wheat fields and vineyards. We had a wonderful lunch in a small town along the historic Camino de Santiago trail. After lunch we cycled over a mountain pass with panoramic views at the top, including stunning vistas of the vineyards of the Rioja region.
After lunch we cycled another 16 miles through several towns including LaGuardia to our final destination, the town of Elciego, home to our remarkable hotel and winery, the Marqués de Riscal. Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, who also designed the Bilbao Guggenheim, the hotel’s unique architecture features a multi-colored, ribbon-like titanium façade.
This day was the only hot day we had while cycling and I felt it. Exhausted, I showered and I flopped down in my room, knowing we would be doing a lot of walking through the walled hilltop village of Laguardia, where we would have a tasting of one of the Rioja’s flagship wines, made from Tempranillo grapes, in the award-winning winery’s private cellar. Later in the evening we made our way through the village, sampling local pintxos and typical dishes.
The next day I did a long morning ride (29 miles) with much of the ride on the Camino Santiago. Riding on gravelly roads through Rioja vineyards with almost no cars, it may have been my favorite ride of the week. Afterwards, we stopped for an exceptional tapas lunch! I skipped the afternoon ride and walked around Elciego and enjoyed a picnic in the vineyard next to the hotel.
In the evening we had a private visit of the Marqués de Riscal winery and its cellar, followed by a 8-course dinner at the hotel’s Michelin rated restaurant.
On our final day, before shuttling to Bilbao, we biked a quick 13 miles (50 minutes) on a loop through the vineyards that surrounded our hotel. After a bit of relaxing, we had our farewell lunch and then headed to Bilbao, where most of us would watch the Grande Depart of the Tour de France with the first stage starting and ending in Bilbao.
