#8: [12-May-23]

#5: [26-Jul-18]

#6: [12-Jul-18]

#7: [28-Mar-18]

#3: [14-Jul-14]

#2: [22-Aug-05]

#1: [08-Sep-01]

10-Apr-2016 -- This is the third out of four reports reaching confluence points in Southern France. The story starts at 43°N 0°EW and continues from 43°N 1°W.

When I left 43°N 1°W around noon time, I never would have expected to reach another CP that day. Actually, it was almost 2 PM when I left the confluence area after repairing twice the rear tyre on my bicycle and after having a picnic lunch at the Saison River (also known as Gave de Mauléon). It was the strong Foehn wind that blew me northwards. At one point I got as fast as 50 km/h on a flat road! So when I reached the city of Dax around 6 PM, I decided to make use of the remaining daylight and attempt the confluence which was still 40 km away.

The area around the confluence is absolutely flat and almost entirely forested with pine trees. In the forest, the wind was not appreciable anymore, but I made it in time taking a tiny asphalt road from the hamlet Le Bouscat up to the water tower that marks the last turn before reaching the confluence in 700 m on a gravel track. From that track, a walk of 100 m over an uneven meadow was necessary to reach the exact location right at the edge of a pine forest.

I spent the night 10 km further in the very hospitable Chambre d'hôtes called Le Chtipanier in the town Morcenx.

CP Visit Details:

• Distance to a road: 700 m
• Distance to a track: 100 m
• Distance of bicycle parking: 100 m
• Time to reach the CP from the road: 3 minutes
• Time at the CP: 7:50 PM
• Measured height: 48 m
• Minimal distance according to GPS: 0 m
• Position accuracy: 3 m
• Topography: flat
• Vegetation: pine forest, grass
• Weather: partly cloudy, 18° C (felt temperature)
• Given Name: The Rapid Foehn Confluence

The story finishes at 44°N 0°EW.