Pyrenean Odyssey - part1

Well two and a half weeks in and this is my first post - slight technical hitch with my iphone / iPad combo  (thanks apple for messing up Bluetooth with the iOS 5.1.1) hopefully fixed now. Most of the first two weeks were spent in the Languedoc in the foothills above the plain of Rousillon, climbing, cycling ... and a fair bit of drinking and eating ! It is an under appreciated area with some superb, rugged countryside, a fascinating history of rebellion against the French establishment including the cathars and the hugeneots, loads of vineyards and wine 'caves' and great climbing. Highlight was climbing at the famous, though now under used Vingrau and doing the classic of the region, the Petit Dru - a six pitch beauty with a real mountain feel, a classic N Wales chimney thrutch in the middle and a technical and strenuous final pitch topping out to views of hills, valleys vineyards and cathar castles - superb :-)

In between I've done some road cycling - my hill climbing is coming on - on good, empty roads and we've tried our new mountain bikes out on some VTT circuits; five punctures on two routes is not the best start, but after a swift call to Decathlon for some  better tyres I'm prepared to give it another go !

The end of the two weeks saw us head up hill to the Pyrenees Catalanes and Font Romeu at about 1700M, but it's now late so more to follow ....

A quiet time ? No !

Well, it has been a quiet month on the outdoors front; the weather has certainly contributed, but the main reason is that its been hectic elsewhere in my personal life - I have got married, finished my job in IT and have been planning a summer road trip to the Pyrenees !

The 'beast' awaits her road trip

In between and when weather has allowed, I have put my new A55 Sport Climbs guide to use and have been getting some routes in at Castle Inn , which must be the ultimate roadside crag; we just need the pub to re-open to make it perfect:-) This is a great venue, especially for the low to mid grade climber and those making the transition to outdoors, so hats off to those who have gone to the time and effort to bolt all the routes and create this facility.

The Pyrenees trip is now almost here and I've got the 'beast' - my pride and joy T5 camper - all spruced up with new 12v batteries and 204V hook-up to give us more freedom to roam and a bit of comfort if/when we need it :-)

The plan is to do a mix of all sorts; plenty of mountain days, which I can log for my IML, some long trad/alpine routes in the Pic du Midi Ossau, and some sport routes in place like Riglos. At the same time, we will be recce'ing for possible future commercial opportunities.

Watch this space for updates during the trip.