On June 24th 2009 we set off to cycle from Paris to Barcelona. Our route took us 1500 kilometres south from Paris, down the Loire into the centre of France, before heading south west towards the Pyrenees to meet the Tour de France as it crosses the mountains back into France from Spain.

Partly a long held ambition, partly inspired by the journeys of Mark Beaumont and James Baxter this trip will be a huge undertaking for both of us, we’ve never attempted anything of this scale before – let alone together. So we thought we’d ask our friends, families and clients to sponsor us in aid of WaterAid.

Scroll down for a map, plus links to photos and RSS feeds.

Pyrenees Route Profile

From Saint Girons to Barcelona the height gain was about 3,500m (12,500ft), though this is just a rough calculation of the major ascents. It doesn’t take into account the numerous other ups- of which there were a lot on the final run in to Barcelona!

Pyrenees Route Profile

Pyrenees Route Profile

The peaks from left to right were:

  • Col de Lers (1516m)
  • Col de Puymorens (1920m)
  • La Collada de Toses (1800m)
  • Unnamed col in the Serra de Granera (950m)

Words and Pictures

Paris to Barcelona T-Shirts

The big push!

I didn’t post daily distances as it wasn’t about the numbers, but a summary seems appropriate. The days link through to words and pictures, I recommend you view the photos as a Slideshow for the best results.

  1. Edinburgh to Paris (Eurostar) – 30 km
  2. Paris to La Genevraye – 94.1 km
  3. La Genevraye to Briare – 114.9 km
  4. Briare to Saint Satur – 53 km
  5. Saint Satur to Bourbon l’Archambault – 112.2 km
  6. Bourbon l’Archambault to Gannat – 81.8 km
  7. Rest day in Gannat – 0 km
  8. Gannat to Aydat – 89.5 km
  9. Aydat to Riom es Montagnes – 78.9 km
  10. Riom-ès-Montagnes to Larnagol – 186 km
  11. Rest Day on the River Célé – 10 km bike + 10 km kayak
  12. Rest day at Larnagol – 0 km
  13. Larnagol to Negrepelisse – 92 km
  14. Negrepelisse to Roques – 99.8 km
  15. Roques to Pouech – 101.1 km
  16. Rest day in Saint Girons – 0 km
  17. Rest day in Foix – 0 km
  18. Tour de France: Pouech to Col d’Agnes – 51.7 km
    - Words
  19. Col d’Agnes to l’Hospitalet – 77.8 km
  20. l’Hospitalet to Campdevànol – 111.5 km
  21. Campdevàno to St Andreu de la Barca – 139.6 km
  22. St Andreu de la BarcaArrival: St Andreu de la Barca to Barcelona Centre – 37.6 km
    - Words
  • Total distance: 1554 km
  • Average per day: 91.4 km
  • Money raised for WaterAid: £1,558

Photos

FlickrI’ll be posting images from my phone to my Flickr account, these will be ‘low res’ images shot and uploaded as we go. Very neatly the images will also be automatically Geo Tagged, so will also display on a Flickr Map. I’ll upload high res shots if we find broadband along the way.

RSS RSS

RSSTo make it easier to keep up with our progress there are a couple of RSS feeds. In case you are wondering RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and is a way of subscribing to updates, either through your browser, email software or dedicated RSS applications.

About WaterAid

WaterAidWaterAid’s aim is to overcome poverty by enabling the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Access to safe water is one of the most basic of human needs and it will be inspiring to think we will be contributing towards their work. It might also remind us to stay properly hydrated!

Other Links