I knew there would be challenges at the start. It was just a matter of what form they would take. And it wasn't exactly what I had expected.
The flights were fine. I maintain my dislike of Dubai airport, mainly due to the horrible plastic chairs that are impossible to be comfortable in, particularly when you are trying to sleep. And by this stage it was around 3am Perth time and I'd had only an hour of sleep, so I was not functioning well. Slept most of the way to Heathrow. My last leg to Toulouse was delayed about an hour, but that just gave me more time to doze ... On the comfy chairs at Heathrow!
The first day of arriving in a new country is always an eye opener, you realise how much you rely on common visual cues for finding your way around. Things like the location, size and shape of street signs make it easier to find your way around when they are familiar. Trying to drive in peak hour through an unknown city and figuring out where the street names are, and what all the unfamiliar signs in a foreign language mean, is somewhat stressful! Thank goodness I had a Navman to tell me where to go.
Which brings me to the first challenge of Day 1. The Navman was a faithful companion in Toulouse. But about 20km into the 200km drive to Vielha, the battery died. And for some reason charging off the cigarette lighter didn't work. So I resorted to enabling data on my phone and using Google maps. I was so worried my phone battery would also die, but with some careful management it got me here!
The solution that I have now implemented is to download onto my phone (on free WiFi) the maps for France and Spain and Italy. It looks like the phone will be my travel planning and navigating tool as I haven't been able to figure out why the Navman is not charging.
On a side note, I'm really happy with the hire car. It is a gutsy little diesel with a great turning circle and loads of space ... At least with only 2 bikes in there!
The second challenge of Day 1 was assembling my road bike. Everything was in one piece so I thought it would be straightforward. But when I tried to put the rear wheel on, I discovered the chain had twisted itself in transit. I knew in theory I should be able to fix it with no tools but try as I might I couldn't do it.
The solution I implemented on Day 2: I found a great, convenient bike shop and paid them 10Euro to fix it. I was SO HAPPY and relieved when finally I went for a ride this afternoon.
I met a guy at the bike shop who is doing the race tomorrow and we went out for a 45km spin. We did the first section of the race, 16km of undulation road into a headwind then 8km up a mountain. My first real mountain climb went well, average grade of 7% but up to 14% in places. The descent back down was a bit interesting as parts of the road were pretty crappy condition and there was some gravel, so I took it very cautiously.
The weather is good, hot enough during the day for shorts and tank top, but cold enough at night that you need jeans and a jumper. I did some clothes shopping in Toulouse to supplement the one change of clothes I brought with me, so I now have new jeans, tank tops, skirt and toiletries. This afternoon it has been windy and a few spots of rain, I am hoping the rain holds off for tomorrow.
Right, time to go resister for the race and continue carb loading!
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