Overall I really enjoyed the ride. The scenery was varied, often through sparsely populated areas, and there were long stretches with wide-ranging views over mountains. The route passes through or near several interesting towns and villages, and there are a number of jump off points to explore the region in more depth: I detoured to visit the Ossau valley and Bagneres-de-Bigorre. In Ossau I cycled up the Col d'Aubisque and I was hoping to do the Aspin but bad weather conspired against me. The last few days through Cathar country, the Gorges de Galamus and the Pyrenees Orientales were particularly spectacular.
Most nights I stayed at campsites paying between 10eur and 20eur per night for a solo rider and tent. There aren’t a huge number of sites so it’s necessary to plan days accordingly. Sometimes I needed to take a shorter or longer day in order to find a place to stay. In early June most sites were practically empty.
The route has a reasonable amount of climbing (~5km over 650km total distance) but in the most part the gradients are gentle. My detour to Bagneres-de-Bigorre involved some picturesque riding, but the day leaving Bagneres was by far the hardest climbing day of the route.
Some tips:
* Signage is patchy depending on the departement so it would be difficult to follow the route without GPS
* Some sections don’t have many services so some forward planning is needed to stay supplied. In other words don’t ride past a boulangerie at 11am without checking where the next one is!
