My last week in France has been one of the best...
It started out with a trip to the track (the first and only track i've ever ridden -- it's amazing that you can ride on that steep bank and not fall off... weeee!)
On thursday, we road 100km over 13 hills to the Mediterranean Sea (my first time to the sea!)
so pretty...
ahh...
Friday we did a smaller race not too far from Limoux. The course was a hilly 7.5km loop -- it had a steep kicker followed by a false flat into another hill... then a short down around a sharp turn and up once more before a final long twisty descent. A fun fun course! A teammate of mine was off in a break of two and one lap later, i got away solo... i rode alone for 6/10 laps and almost caught the initial break by the end (but not quite). We ended up getting 2nd and 3rd -- a good ending to our French racing!
and lots of pretty flowers...
Saturday we went out on a beautiful 100km loop from Limoux...
with pretty hills...
a castle...
and a breathtaking descent that i unfortunately don't have pictures of... it was so amazing that I almost fell off the road a few times by looking at the scenery
Today, we ended our french trip with the perfect ride -- a climb in the Pyrenees up the Col de Pailheres, an hors category climb from the Tour de France (and my first climb up a real big mountain!). It was a long and steep climb, but the views riding up and the scenery at the top were well worth the hard work.
(a small) part of the climb...
riding up...
view from the top...
The bike is now packed up and I head home in another day. It will be sad to leave France, but at the same time I can't wait to come back... i miss home.
It will be great to see you back in Flatlandia, USA. See you soon. Jason.
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