This route is the first and also warm-up route in the Pyrenees Mountains Roundtrip collection.

The route starts in Estadens, a small village, where the Pyrenees Passions holiday domain has found its place.
Pyrenees Passions is run by Rob and Flo, a Dutch couple who have found their second home at the foot of the Pyrenees.
Pyrenees Passions is also the base of this route collection after arrival and return in Estadens.

The route starts at the domain and passes a first gas station after barely 7 km. In the Pyrenees, it is best to make it a habit to top up regularly as petrol stations are rather scarce in the mountains.

The route is initially nice and quiet and is an ideal warm-up for the hard work. If you look at the location of the route on a somewhat larger scale, you will notice that you do not really go into the high mountains with this route. However, that does not alter the fact that you will achieve many (medium) high peaks. 11 in total with height differences of sometimes more than 1000 meters. So you can rest assured that you are doing the right training for better mountain work.

The start is already promising. A nice wide track will allow you to speed through the first kilometres. When you cross the river 'Lez' for the second time, the first, somewhat more intensive bend, introduces itself. Still not the intensive work, but it's starting to come in jobs that have been downsized first and foremost. Enjoyable driving of course, but still a little careful; There are not many fall-back options on these narrow lanes.

From now on you also start to pass several colletjes, some a bit more beautiful than the other, some a bit more vicious than expected. But all in all it remains quite well-behaved, after all it is and remains a warm-up route that is intended to prepare the muscles and the engine for the better work.

In Seix, at the first passage of the Salat, we look for a first break. On the banks of the Salat we are sure to find a place to take a short break.

And from then on the real Pyrenean foreplay begins. One bend follows another and on these narrow roads it really is a feast. One load change is not over yet when you can already throw the motor in the other direction. Very simply as you drive steadily in the direction of the Col de Péguère, the highest point in this tour. From here you descend further, sometimes briskly, in the direction of Foix, the turning point of our route.

Foix, located on the l'Ariège, was inhabited very early, even in prehistoric times. However, its heyday began at the time of the Roman Empire, when the Romans built a fortress on the rocky hill.

A relaunch was made in the year 849 AD when the Abbey of Saint Volusien settled there. Because of this, the surrounding region began to develop. A turbulent period followed during the Crusades and the castle was finally abandoned in the 13th century by the last noble inhabitants.

Today, the castle has been restored and towers mightily over the city. The medieval city center is very cozy with delicious restaurants.

After the passage and a stop in Foix, our winding route continues, at least until Encourtiech. After the second passage of the Salat and a refueling in Saint Lizier, the route gently winds through the last 30 kilometers, back in the direction of Estadens and our residence 'Pyrenees Passions'.

The route is an ideal warm-up route after the long transfer to the south of France. It shows wonderful views of the Pyrenees and literally allows you to enjoy it 'from a distance'. You will soon ride these mountains and experience them up close. As an aperitif, the route can therefore certainly count and is therefore an integral part of the dinner that is served for you in these mountains.