When I tell you we spent the bank holiday weekend in Biarritz, you’d be forgiven for imagining blue skies, sunshine and warmth; that’s what we had in mind when the cycling club booked for the annual cyclefest in the Pays Basque, an event attended by thousands of cyclists every year.

We left Nogaro  on Saturday morning in rain that got steadily heavier as we neared the coast; the wind was blowing and there was thunder and lightning to boot. Nobody was stupid enough to ride in those conditions, so we all headed off to Spain, to a bike shop someone knew of, where we stayed out of the deluge for a couple of hours. Lunch and back to Tarnos, where we’d booked chalets, most of them now standing in water. There wasn’t a lot to do for the afternoon, but most of the men were more than happy to pass the time in a bar, watching the European Rugby finals.

The next morning dawned dry, if cold and windy  so we headed to the start of the ride; there should have been a choice of four routes, from 36km to 160km, but the longer two were cancelled because the cols were closed, due to snow! It blew a gale, but at least it stayed dry, so they all enjoyed their ride.

Monday  was mostly dry, so Nick and three others went for a ride from Capbreton, just up the coast from Tarnos. Guy, who has an apartment there, invited us to join him for lunch in one of the local fish restaurants. The meal started with mussels, which arrived in buckets, followed by parilladas, which is basically a selection of seven different fish with potato croquettes. Protein overload, but delicious.

A good weekend, in spite of the weather.