For those that want to give those classic Rene' Herse and other demountable bikes or Jack Taylor camping trailers a workout, here is something that was just e-mailed to me. Unfortunately, I'll be stuck in the states that week grunting up some smaller hills. I hope this isn't too off topic.
Dan Artley Parkton, Maryland
Breton Bikes (http://www.bretonbikes.com), a bike camping tour company based in the Brittany region of France, is sponsoring what may well be the most challenging charity ride ever. The company will take nothing from this trip, not even expenses. All the cost to participants ($350 or about $500 a head) plus all funds they raise individually will go directly to Intermediate Technology (http://www.itdg.org) to supply at least 140 sets of bicycles and trailers to impoverished farmers in Peru. By giving a farmer a bicycle and trailer he can carry to market far more produce, without carrying the crippling (literally) loads on his/her back. Distances become less of a problem. The farmer is able to sell far more produce, there is much more food and choice at market for people to buy, and the economy grows in a natural, organic way and so is far more able to weather natural cycles.
Now the tough part. As Geoff Husband of Breton Bikes writes, For a sponsored ride to work, it needs to be a challenge for the participants. It also needs to be appropriate and I hope interesting. So for me the choice was natural, the Pyrenees, and in particular the most famous 'cycling' mountain of them all - the Tormalet... The trip will begin from the campsite at Biarritz on the 13th September, 2003. There then follows a five-day ride east amongst the foothills of the Pyrenees, then a turn south, then east along the backbone of the Pyrenean range. First col will be the Col d'Aspin (1489m), then the mighty Tormalet - all 2115m of it (7000ft). Then follow the Soulor (1474m), Aubisque (1709m) and Col de Marie Blanc (1035m). Then in one evil day the tiny D19 will take us from Larrau, up and over the Col Bagargui (1284m), Col de Burdincurutcheta (1135m) and the Col d'Haltza (782m) and on to St Etienne do Baigorry. The final day in the mountains will then take in the Col d'Ispigny (672m) and Puerto d?Otxondo (670m). Ten cols in all... The end point is back at Biarritz on the 27th September.
He goes on: OK, I hear you say, people do this all the time on racing bikes. The difference will be that the group will be camping, carrying full camping equipment and there is no motorized backup; anyone who fails (me included) just has to turn round and freewheel back down to the foothills and then back to Biarritz. Trust me, there is considerable difference between climbing the Tormalet on a 9kg. racing bike and a touring bike loaded up to 40kgs. For more on the ride, visit http://www.cycling-in-france.com.