TransPyrénées Gravel

The TransPyrénées Gravel route runs the full length of the Pyrénées mountain chain from the Atlantic coast at Hendaye to the Mediterranean at Banyuls-sur-Mer — a crossing of the full France-Spain border range that stays as high as the gravel tracks allow and drops into valley towns only when resupply demands it.

The Pyrénées are not the Alps. They are lower, less glaciated, and less developed for mountain tourism, which makes the gravel tracks between valleys less predictable than Alpine equivalents. The Hautes-Pyrénées section around the Cirque de Gavarnie — France's highest gravel terrain — crosses passes above 2400m on tracks that are maintained for shepherd access and mountain hut supply, not for recreational cycling. These tracks exist because they need to exist, not because anyone decided they'd make a good bike route.

The Atlantic sections in the west are green, damp, and technically demanding in a different way — the Basque hills are steep, the surfaces are varied, and the gradients don't follow the long steady climbs of the high central range. The Basque terrain rewards technical ability rather than fitness. By contrast, the central section through the Hautes-Pyrénées and Ariège is about sustained climbing at altitude and the management of afternoon thunderstorms that build over the summits with a regularity and violence that require planning.

The Mediterranean end in the Pyrénées-Orientales is dry, rocky, and hot in summer. The Albères hills above Banyuls have wine terraces running to the cliff edge above the sea, and finishing with a Mediterranean swim is a reasonable reward after 14-22 days in the mountains.

Resupply is viable throughout, with the Spanish side providing additional options at border crossings. The route crosses into Spain briefly in several places, and the combination of French and Spanish small-town commerce means food access is rarely a problem for more than 60km at a stretch.

Most riders take 16-20 days. The passes require summer conditions — snow is possible at altitude into June and from October.