WHY THE RAID PYRENEAN?

The Raid Pyrenean is one of the 'must do' rides for any cycling enthusiast - it is truly an epic! The route across the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean was established in 1950 keeping as close to the Spanish border as possible on surfaced roads, not surprisingly this takes in most of the big cols en route. Then, as if this was not hard enough the organizers introduced the rule that the route had to be completed within 100 hours! 

It is a challenge for sure, as any multi-day cycling event is, however, it is also a chance to ride most of the famous cols in the Pyrenees, including beasts such as the Tourmalet and Aubisque, and to cycle the quiet and beautiful back roads and passes of France's southernmost mountain range.  The scenery is stunning, the road surfaces good, and the occasional car drivers are extremely courteous and respectful of cyclists. Consequently the Raid is also a holiday and Marmot Tours takes care of all the logistics for you, so all you have to do is ride, eat and sleep.

Please feel free to look at and print out our Raid Pyrenean Itinerary. 

Am I fit enough for the Raid Pyrenean?

This is a concern for lots of people who are thinking about the Raid.  Certainly the Raid Pyrenean is a challenge, and you do need to be a regular road cyclist in order to enjoy and get the most out of this trip. 

The majority of our riders are club cyclists or have done cyclosportives or some longer distance rides, however by no means all of them have, and we have had clients who have been very new to road cycling who have done some training for the trip, and taken their time, and successfully completed the Raid Pyrenean route in the 100 hours.

The key to success on the Raid Pyrenean is pacing yourself, and we are very keen to emphasize that you don't need  to be cycling fast in order to manage the daily routes.  The absolute worst thing is to push yourself to cycle beyond your normal pace on the cols, or early on in the trip, which ends up becoming very tiring and can cause problems on later days. With our 2 vehicles for support, we are happy for you to take as long as it takes to do each days route, and we will give you all the support and encouragement that you need.  All you need to do is eat, drink, cycle and sleep - we will do the rest!

We do recommend that people coming on Raid Pyrenean train prior to coming out, in order to give themselves the best chance of completing the challenge in the 100hours, and to make it as enjoyable as possible en route.  It can be difficult finding extended climbs for the training in the UK, but generally if you can build up your comfort in doing long daily distances, and your stamina, then you will really benefit when it comes to the Raid Pyrenean itself.

2010 is the 100 years anniversary of the Tour de France coming to the Pyrenees, so we have put together a special challenge to give people the opportunity to ride all 4 of the 2010 Pyrenean Tour de France Stages on consecutive days. This challenge is actually tougher than the Raid Pyrenean.

If you are looking for more of a cycling 'holiday' rather than a challenge they please look at our Classic Cols trip which takes in most of the classic climbs but gives people the chance to take in optional extras and gruelling stage endings, making it possible to take on over 3000m of ascent per day.

There are a couple of blogs / articles written by people on our Raid Pyrenean trips which gives an impartial opinion about what the raid is all about. Please note these are external websites and we are not responsible for their content!  SportiveCentral.com , Glasgow Nightingale CC and Foyle Cycling Club.

We have also put together a youtube video! (external website)

Why choose Marmot Tours for your Raid Pyrenean?

There are several companies offering a Raid Pyrenean package so we thought we would point out the benefits of doing the trip with us.

We are a small company (run by James and Cathy Thompson) focusing on customer service and the personal touch -

• we help you arrange your travel including any extra nights etc that you may want to have at the start or end,
• we are always available to answer any queries you may have or discuss honestly with you, whether this is the trip for you.  Contact us by phone or email with any questions
• we cater for various dietary requirements and supplement your breakfasts with wholesome cereals and fruit to give you that kick start in the morning (continental breakfasts aren't always the best for cyclists!)
• we use small friendly and family run hotels that know our company and our needs (particularly regarding cyclists), and who make every effort to make your trip comfortable and easy
• we even provide you with home made snacks en route - our banana and walnut bread (the walnuts are from our garden!) and flapjacks have a very good reputation!
• we limit our group sizes to 20 so you get the benefits of being with enough other cyclists to find others who cycle at your pace and to have a good laugh en route, but also so that you are not just 'one' in a sea of faces who never get to know anyone else in the group, or your leaders.
• we always have 2 support vehicles driven by experienced Marmot Tours staff. The front van offers support to the speedier cyclists in the group, plus makes sure that everyone's bags are at the hotel before they arrive.  The back van stays on the road with the second half of the group ensuring that they have support for as long as it takes for them to complete the days ride.  This means that we can have a group with mixed cycling experience and different paces, and still offer everyone the same, high level of support.  It also means that in the case of any emergencies or mechanicals, a van is never far away.
• We provide comprehensive route cards with colour maps, altitude profiles, detailed directions, information of places to stop for food and the odd bit of local / historical information.
• our leaders  know the cycle routes from the Atlantic to the Med very well and so you can be sure that the information we give you on the routes is up do date and accurate, as well as easy to follow. They also speak French
• our leaders our cyclists themselves (varying levels of seriousness!), who have cycled most of the cols en route, we know what it is you are going through on the climbs, and when you are most likely to need support, snacks, water, or a wave from Margo (our marmot mascot!)
• An excellent bike mechanic wil always be available to give you a hand with any problems en route (though it is helpful if you are independent as regards punctures).
• our Raid Pyrenean trips start on a Monday, so we are able to sort out any bike problems that have occurred in transit (shops are open until 1930).
• On specific departures where Cathy is one of the leaders, as she is aa qualified Swedish massage therapist she will be on hand to offer cyclist specific massage at the end of your hard days riding (if this is important to you, please make sure at the time of booking that Cathy will be a leader on the trip you are booking).
• we know that annual leave is like gold dust, and that you may have family commitments that can make taking a trip like the Raid difficult.  We therefore make our Raid trip as short as possible, starting on a Monday and finishing on the Saturday so that you only use up 5 days of your holiday entitlement.  However, for those that want to extend their trip for extra nights at the start or finish, we will be able to give you advice on where to stay etc.

We also understand the need to follow the exact route of the original Raid Pyrenean, to keep the ride official.  This profile map gives  you a bit of a taster..  don't let it put you off though!

Marmot Tours has been running road cycling holidays since its conception in 2003.  James has been in the leisure industry for even longer and so you can be sure that we will not overlook any aspect of your trip, from the riding, to the travel arrangements, to the accommodation.

Lastly, we would ask you to have a quick look at what some of our Raiders from the past couple of years have said, as it will help give you an idea of how we run our trips...  client comments

RAID PYRENEAN DATES

We only run the Raid Pyrenean in June and September as it can get too hot during July and August (making the ride much harder), and some of the cols are not open before June due to snow cover. 

2010  Dates:
Mon 7th June - Sat 12th June 2010 (trip code RFR J24)
Sun 13th June - Fri 18th June 2010 (trip code RFR J25S)
Mon 14th June - Sat 19th June 2010 (trip code RFR J25)
Mon 21st June - Sat 26th June 2010 (trip code RFR J26)
Mon 28th June - Sat 3rd July 2010 (trip code RFR J27)
Mon 6th Sept - Sat 11th Sept 2010 (trip code RFR J37)
Mon 13th Sept - Sat 18th Sept 2010 (trip code RFR J38)
Mon 20th Sept - Sat 25th Sept 2010 (trip code RFR J39)

2011 Dates:
Mon 6th June - Sat 11th June 2011 (trip code RFR K24)
Mon 13th June - Sat 18th June 2011 (trip code RFR K25)
Mon 20th June - Sat 25th June 2011 (trip code RFR K26)
Mon 27th June - Sat 2nd July 2011 (trip code RFR K27)
Mon 5th Sept - Sat 10th Sept 2011 (trip code RFR K37)
Mon 12th Sept - Sat 17th Sept 2011 (trip code RFR K38)
Mon 19th Sept - Sat 24th Sept 2011 (trip code RFR K39)

For all 2010 Raid Pyrenean challenges there is the option of staying in a hotel in Cerbere on the Saturday night for an afternoon on the beach, celebration and seafood dinner (not included). We will then transfer you to Carcassonne airport on the Sunday morning. The cost of the extra night, breakfast and transfer is £60 (twin share) or £85 (single room). There are a limited number of places available for the extra night, so please enquire before booking.

HOW MUCH DOES THE RAID PYRENEAN PACKAGE COST?

This price includes:

5 days supported rides. Route notes and colour maps. Entrance to the official "Raid Pyrenean". Airport Transfers (at specified times).  'Marmot-tours' cycling top. Medical and Mechanical support from 2 vehicles.  5 nights accommodation. 5 evening meals with table wine. 5 substantial breakfasts. Cycling snacks and fruit during the ride. Certificate and badge on successful completion of the challenge.

WHERE DO WE STAY?

FOOD

GUIDING AND INSTRUCTION

You are accompanied by a 2 experienced tour leaders, with mechanical and first-aid training. It is not expected that the group will stay together, so you will be given comprehensive notes, with directions, altitude profiles and details of the night's hotel. One tour leader will be driving the support vehicle near the rear of the group, offering support and lifts up (or down) the hills as needed, and the other will be at the front of the group and will ensure that all luggage is at the hotels before you arrive. You can expect to see a support vehicle between 5 and 10 times per day, so you do not need to carry much on your bike.

OUR RAID PYRENEAN GROUPS

BIKE INFO

If you are bringing your own bike, you may have some questions regarding gear ratios. One of our experienced clients who has cycled the Raid suggested the following:

"The only really important thing to worry about is the lowest gear: - all of our group had a lowest gear of 34" and they all reckoned it worked perfectly given the gradients and length of time going uphill. This can be obtained with the following combinations:
a) Small ring at front 34 tooth, large ring at rear 27 tooth  
b) Small ring at front 36 tooth, large ring at rear 29 tooth    OR

If using a triple chainset then small ring at front 30 tooth, large ring at rear 25 tooth."

He did also add that there was no substitute for training! 

In June 2009 Phil Corley (one time British National Professional Road Race Champion and manager of Corley Cycles in Milton Keynes) came on our Raid. He is happy to offer advice and naturally sell you the relevant components to get your bike 'Raidworthy'.

BIKE TRANSPORTATION

The airlines are constantly changing their policies on the carriage of bikes, so it is best to check the policy before booking your flights. Ryan Air changed their policy in Nov 09 and now charge £40 (each way) and have a rather mean allowance of 20kg, with every Kg over that charged at £20! You can check in up to 2 hold bags for £15 each (max 15kg per bag).  You are however allowed 10kg of hand baggage). However Ryan Air are the only airline that actually limits the number of bikes at the booking stage, so it is impossible for there to be more than 15 bikes on the flight. Also with their ridiculous charges for hold baggage, most people just fly with hand luggage meaning that their hold is actually fairly empty. In terms of how bikes are handled, it actually has nothing to do with the Airline but the Airport ground staff (which are the same for BA, EJ, KLM, Ryan Air etc. ).  If you not sure how to pack your bike, or do not have a bike box, then check out Bike Box Online for hire of boxes and professional bike packing.

HOW DO I GET THERE?

We get people coming on our holidays from all over the world, so it is impossible to include all the information on our website. The notes below is tailored to travellers from the UK. People from other countries please contact us for advice.

We offer airport transfers to tie in with the most appropriately timed flights in and out of London Stansted. However, we appreciate that there are other flights from regional UK airports which may be more more convenient for you, so will endeavour to advise you on the best ways of getting to and from the Raid. For all the details on transfers and flights, please follow this link to the Raid Transport section. Both Hendaye and Cerbere are served by very good rail links, so it may be possible to use the regional UK flights and transfer to the start / end hotels independently.

Some people prefer to arrive a few days before and stay in vibrant seaside town of Biarritz. In this case we may be able to meet you at your hotel on the Monday morning and transfer you (or if you are cycling, then your bags) to Hendaye.

At the end of the Raid we offer transfers on the Saturday afternoon to Girona Barcelona Airport. However we also offer people the opportunity to spend an extra night in Cerbere and transfer to Carcassonne Airport on the Sunday.

Please see the Raid Transport section for more information on airlines, airport transfers, driving to the start or taking the train from the UK. If you want advice of packing / transporting your own bike then see our bike hire section.