La Traversée des Pyrénées à vélo : Perpignan – Hendaye

Bienvenue sur ma chaîne !

Passionné d’histoire et de géographie, je réalise des vidéos avec mon drone et ma Gopro, en rando ou à vélo, afin de mettre en lumière le charme de nos régions : au programme, découverte de villages éternels, de châteaux de contes de fées et d’espaces naturels colorés.

Mail : charly.juhel@hotmail.fr

Under my feet, on my head and everywhere, silence. The silence that makes us want to run away, the eternal silence and the immense mountain, because the air is still and everything seems to be dreaming.

It would seem that the sky, in this solitude, contemplates itself in the waves, and that these mountains, over there, listen, collected, in their grave attitude, to a divine mystery that man does not understand. For as long as I can remember, I have always loved going on adventures. At first, it was not

Very far, in the small paths behind my house, then later on the roads of my region, Touraine, then later still, discovering other regions during cycling trips. About fifteen years ago, I crossed paths with another great explorer, Cédric, and since then we have enjoyed discovering new places,

Imagining each time that we are the first to set our sights on a mountain, a river or a rock. Last summer, we set ourselves a big challenge: crossing the Pyrenees by bike in a short week, from Perpignan to Hendaye, from Catalonia to the Basque Country,

From the sea to the ocean. A crossing in 6 days during which we will begin with an immersion in Cathar country. We will then travel through Ariège and then attack the major passes of the Tour de France. We will then cycle through the heart of Béarn then scrape along

The steep roads of the Basque Country to finish in apotheosis on the shores of the Atlantic. Nearly 700 km in total and more than 11,000 meters of positive altitude difference. This film retraces this exceptional adventure which allowed us to enrich our minds with luminous moments.

Residing in Tours, we begin our journey with a day by train to reach Perpignan. The few cyclists with whom we have the opportunity to speak take us either for professionals or for sick people. At the dawn of a day that Météo France announces as the hottest of the year, we put on our

Cycling shorts, slather our cheeks with sunscreen and leave Perpignan. We pierce through the Roussillon vineyards, magnificently lit by the rising sun. The tramontana blows hard and pushes us towards the first reliefs of this Cathar country about which we know nothing. After

50 km of road, we discover the first treasure of our odyssey: The Gorges de Galamus Located on the border of the departments of Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales, they stretch over 5 km and are one of the natural curiosities the most remarkable of the Pyrenees.

The Agly or “river of the Eagles”, which flows at the bottom of the Galamus Gorges, has dug this cut several tens of meters deep in the rock. The gorge was once impassable until the 1890s when the road was built with a crowbar by men attached to ropes.

The following poem, by Léonce Rives, was engraved at the entrance to the tunnel opening the gorges: “In this peeled rock that the sabine finds, where the eagle in its flight alone dared to come, hanging by a rope with the bar mine, man like bird has found a path. »

We resume our route towards the west, entering the department of Aude and are now experiencing temperatures which exceed 38 degrees in the shade. Unfortunately there is no shade , and we understand the ordeal of the people who live in this region where it has not

Rained for 14 months. “My mouth is broken.” It is with immense relief that we reach a few km further our oasis in this Cathar desert, the Intermarché of the commune of Esperaza. After emptying the Cristalline section, we go back on that and set off on an adventure on the Occitan roads.

We reach the department of Ariège and discover with wonder a natural site that the locals present as the Ariège diamond: Lake Montbel “You treat yourself to a little moment of relaxation. After a day under the dodger. The godfather on the shore of his swimming pool.”

Start of the chef who changed equipment to tackle the Portet d’Aspet and Menté passes . A day that promises to be epic, head to the Domaine des 3 Marmottes. We cross Foix, prefecture of the Ariège department, dominated by its 12th century castle. An essential historical monument of the region,

It is famous for having long resisted the attacks of the Crusaders of Simon de Montfort during the crusade against the Albigensians between 1208 and 1249. We cycle with enthusiasm, having a snack in the town of Saint-Girons then we enter the department of Haute Garonne. The Col de Portet d’Aspet,

Used 34 times by the Tour de France peloton, is now in front of us. Chef, already 230 kilometers, how do you feel as you approach the first pass? It’s not easy to hit the first pass after 100 km today, I think it’s going to hurt, especially since the

Sun rose just for our arrival. A nice climb, and I think that in 3 or 4 km we will no longer be able to make videos since we will be in a mess. See you at the top then!

As is often the case in the mountains, we went from bright sunshine to thick fog in the space of 5 minutes. We painfully reach the top of the pass then plunge into the descent. I take the time to stop in front of the stele of Fabio Casartelli, this young Italian cyclist

Who tragically died on the descent from the pass in 1995. Having not eaten enough for lunch, I am cruelly lacking in strength and suffer martyrdom on the climb. from the Col de Menté, last relief of the day. We descend cautiously and reach the Domaine des 3

Marmottes in Saint Béat, a small haven of sweetness located on the borders of the Luchon Valley. The menu for today’s stage is copious, including the 14 km of the Peyresourde pass and the 20 km of the terrible climb towards the Néouvielle lakes. Almost 300 km since we left Perpignan,

And here we are on the Peyresourde pass, early in the morning. The buttocks are fine, the perineum too, the equipment is a little defective for Cédric but hey he’ll make do, he’s strong, there had to be an added difficulty. 10 kms to climb, that will do it.

At the bottom of the descent we discover Lake Loudervielle then walk through the heart of the Louron Valley. We then leave our bags at our evening lodge and head towards St Lary Soulan. Here we begin an endless climb towards the Néouvielle lakes. The first part of the ascent, not very steep, takes place

On a wide road where coexistence with cars is sometimes difficult. 10 km higher, at Aragnouet, we turn right and approach the first killer ramps of the climb. The road steepens suddenly and has long passages at more than 12%.

How do you feel, Cédric, about the climb to Cap le Long? Extremely difficult but we’re not going to hide from you that it’s perhaps the most beautiful climb in France, so we’re going to grit our teeth and enjoy! The mountain reveals itself and offers a sublime setting to the rare cyclists who

Dare to climb its sides. The thousands of pines that line the climb form a thick forest where we find numerous areas of shade. After almost 2 hours of climbing, we finally reach the wonder for which we are pedaling from St Lary: Lake Orédon.

Located at an altitude of 1849m, Lake Orédon stretches over nearly 46 hectares and offers hikers blue water like no other in the world. We sit speechless for many minutes in front of this sublime mountain painting. Km 415 from Perpignan with Hourquette d’Ancizan for breakfast,

Which we have been hearing about for some time now. Apparently the landscapes up there are magnificent, but first, we have 10 climbing points, early in the morning, so we’ll hang on. In great shape, it is the light sock that we are tackling this 4th stage. A little-known pass,

The Hourquette d’Ancizan is rarely visited by cars and thus allows early morning cyclists to listen to nature awakening. The Hourquette is done, now it’s time for the Tourmalet! By reaching the summit, we have the impression of discovering another country: The immense pastures of La Plagne and Hourquette d’Arreau,

With their free-roaming animals, remind us of the steppes of Central Asia populated by wild horses which once the fame of Mongol horsemen. We slide down the descent and reach Ste Marie de Campan, world capital of cycling and foot of the legendary Col du Tourmalet.

Giant of the Pyrenees, this pass stretches for more than 17 km, has an average percentage of 7.5% and culminates at an altitude of 2115m. First used by the Tour peloton in 1910, the Col du Tourmalet has since been crossed 84 times, making it

The most crossed pass in the history of the Tour. In 1913, the cyclist Eugène Christophe broke his fork while descending the Col du Tourmalet and was forced to repair it alone, in compliance with the regulations, in a forge in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. The memory of this

Event has not left the place and has made this cyclist, a former locksmith in the town of Malakoff in Hauts de Seine, a legend of the Tour de France. Live from Ste Marie de Campan, foot of Tourmalet,

The Mecca of cyclists. We’ll tackle the pass in a quarter of an hour. It’s going well, we’re in good shape, but we know it’s going to be very, very hard so we’re not bragging too much. It’s starting to get super hot, it’s going to be a great game.

Overwhelmed by the heat, Cédric suffocates and loses his footing shortly after the hamlet of Gripp. Then begins a long way of the cross for him, the summit being located nearly 12km away. Announced in distress by Radio Tour, he held on as best he could and managed to reach the Mongie station.

1 liter of Coke later, he gets back on his little queen and resumes his journey towards the summit. Departing from Argelès Gazost, we start this penultimate stage with a climb of almost 30km through the Val d’Azun. We are indeed going to follow the coast of Arras,

The Col du Soulor then the legendary Col d’Aubisque. At the top of Soulor, we descend a few hectometers and take a road offering a breathtaking setting in the heart of the Litor cirque. The last ramps of the Aubisque are not the

Easiest and it is with relief that we reach the summit of the pass. We hurtle down the descent at high speed, cross the Gourette and Eaux Bonnes stations then reach Laruns. After 3 days in the high mountains, we temporarily found

Flat and straight roads. We make a brief appearance in Béarn, then head towards Mauléon, gateway to Soule, the interior Basque Country. Roasted by a sun that left us no respite today, we began the ascent of the Col d’Osquich, the last

Climb of the day. Our hotel is located at the top of this essential place for woodpigeon hunting. Exhausted, we quickly turn on the hazard lights and zigzag like zombies on the asphalt. We reach the summit as best we can and discover to our horror

That our hotel has permanently closed its doors. Completely dehydrated, we decide to start the descent to reach St Jean Pied de Port, located 25km to the west, with the hope of finding a small place in a hostel for pilgrims. 1 km further down, we fortunately and

With relief came across the real hotel restaurant of the Col d’Osquich. As surprising as it may seem, until then there were two hotels with the same name in the middle of this very remote place. Shaken by this emotional lift, we spread out on the hotel terrace

And took the time to appreciate the Basque decor, from early evening until sunset… 600 km after our departure from Catalonia, we begin the 6th and final stage of our journey. We meet a few pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela while climbing the

Galcetaburu cross, the first firecracker of the day. We enthusiastically discovered the famous Basque houses, remarkable buildings with immaculate faces and orange hairstyles. We are progressing through the heart of this country, as steep as possible. It’s always a special moment for dreamy cyclists to travel across

Plains that are unknown to them, curious to discover what awaits them at the top of each hill, dazzled by the treasures that nature has in store for them. We reach the village of Itxassou and head towards the Nive gorges. Along a low stone wall, we pedal in slow motion,

Fascinated by the picture that presents itself to us. 2 km further, we reach the famous Pas de Roland, a colossal rock pierced by a narrow passage. Historical figure of the region, the knight Roland, nephew of Charlemagne, once took this path to lead a

Warlike expedition to Pamplona in Spain. It was his horse Vieillantif who would have pierced this gaping hole with a violent blow of his hoof in order to allow the army corps to continue on its way. We resume our route towards the Atlantic coast and cross Espelette, famous for its famous chili pepper.

We pedal at a brisk pace, see the silhouette of the Rhune emerging on the horizon then arrive at St Jean de Luz. Physically and psychologically scarred, we feverishly look for the azure reflections of the ocean. A few hectometers further, we touch happiness with our fingertips. We spread our wings and literally soar over

The shores of the Atlantic, from the bay of St-Jean to Hendaye via the spectacular Corniche road, the last page of our Pyrenean Odyssey