Category: France

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

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Lac de Serre-Poncon Loop – Day Three

My original plan for today involved a 1 hour drive to Vinadio in Italy to climb the Italian & French sides of Colle della Lombarda/Col de la Lombarde . However, when I shared my plans with the owner of the hotel we’re staying in, he advised that it wouldn’t be safe, as rain was forecast & at that altitude it would likely turn to snow. In my experience our hosts & hostesses have always been willing to share their local knowledge of weather / likely road conditions & I’ve learned to trust their recommendations.

One of our other planned rides was a 75 loop around Lac de Serre-Poncon, which is lower down the Ubaye valley than Barcelonnette, so I played around with that to come up with an alternative 58 mile route, with the option of further reducing it to 45 miles if the rain arrived as expected at 11am. We drove 15 miles to the start of the route, which was just outside Le Lauzet-Ubaye.

Once we’d either dressed in, or stowed, all our wet weather gear, we commenced a clockwise loop of the lake, under bruised & broody dark grey clouds, which looked ready to dump their rainfall at any time! The early miles gave brief glimpses of the lake far below, the water was a shade of turquoise that you only ever see in Alpine lakes, as a result of the moraine that gets washed down from the mountains above.

The lake was created when a dam was built across the River Durance to create a hydro-electric power station that is now operated by EDF. There’s also has a small overflow lake below it, which we would also have to circumnavigate.

The first 14 miles were on the main D900 which links Cuneo in Italy with Gap & Sisteron in France. Although it was a bit busy, all the traffic was very courteous & gave us plenty of room. The road itself rose steadily for the first 7 or 8 miles, then descended 5 miles on a wide road, with sweeping bends which meant I only had to brake twice – once because of temporary traffic lights that were on red & the other time to stop & turn on my lights as we had to go through a tunnel. The final mile took us round & over the small overflow lake, before we took a right turn onto a much smaller & quieter road, which followed the opposite side of the small lake.

The huge dam holding back the water from Lac de Serre-Poncon was in front of us, so the only way the road could go was to zig-zag up the side of the valley, until eventually we were level with the dam itself – I was hoping to get a few photos, but unfortunately it’s closed to the public. The road continued its hairpin ascent of the valley wall at a gently 5 or 6 % for the main part, until we reached an EDF PR site, where there was a panoramic view of the lake below & also information on the construction of the dam & the positive impact it has on the surrounding area.

We were 1 hour 15 minutes into our ride & we felt the first spots of rain, which fairly quickly turned to drizzle, so it was time to put on the remainder of our wet weather gear. We continued climbing with occasional views of the lake in the foreground with what should have been towering mountains in the background (today it was clouds!!).

At the 17 mile point we passed through a long tunnel which took us away from the lake, but we continued climbing towards Col Lebraut (the only signed summit of today’s ride) at the 19 mile marker. I stopped to get a quick photo, then we followed the road downhill, as it twisted & turned towards one of the lake’s numerous inlets, where there would have been bathers & kayakers if the weather had been dryer & warmer.

After the descent down to the lake, our feet & hands were soaked through (so much for the waterproof qualities of neoprene!), so we were feeling the cold. The next 6 miles followed the shoreline & was relatively flat, so we took the chance to build up some body heat with some high tempo pedaling. We now had a choice to make, continue around the lake & stop for lunch at Embrun (still another 12 miles away), or cross the lake via the Pont de Savines & shorten the ride. It’s an indication of how cold & wet we were that we chose to shorten the ride by taking the bridge & then stopping for lunch in Savines Le Lac. No photos of food today – we were so cold & hungry that we wolfed it down before I had time to take a picture!!

The road started climbing as soon as we left our lunch stop, but the gradient was always comfortable as we rode through the forest which surrounded us. To our left was a huge monolithic rock that towered over the surrounding hills –this is the Col de Pontis, which while being accessible by road, is a bit too steep for my comfort (about 4 miles at 10%) & as it was raining, I had the perfect excuse to give it a miss today!

La Sauze de Lac marked the top of the climb & under normal circumstances we would have had huge views across to the opposite side of the lake, with big mountains providing a stunning backdrop. However, today it wasn’t possible to see the mountains or the sky, all that was on offer was rain & dark grey clouds. The final descent back down to the shoreline of the lake was a twisting one, with several hairpins, made a little trickier than normal by the water streaming across the road.

All that remained was to head through one final tunnel, before a gentle 400 foot climb back to the car. In spite of the rain, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day out, in part because we cut the ride short before it felt like a chore – we have 3 more great days riding planned. Having driven back to the hotel & had a warming shower, I looked out the window & there was fresh snow visible on the lower mountain peaks, so goodness only knows what it must be like on the Col de la Lombarde, which is some 3,000 feet higher up.

The kit I wore today was so wet that I could wring out my gloves, jacket, socks & shoe covers – I even got the hair dryer out to try & get the rain jacket ready for tomorrow’s ride, where I plan to use it for its windproof qualities! All in all, another great day of cycling in the Maritime Alps.

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

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Col d’Allos, Col des Champs & Col de la Cayolle – Day Two

Today’s ride was the Queen Stage of the Barcelonnette adventure. It was the biggest & boldest ride of the week, taking in a loop of 3 Cols (Col d’Allos, Col des Champs & Col de la Cayolle), all of which top out at over 2,000 metres in height.

The first surprise of the day was finding out the temperature had plummeted to -1 centigrade overnight & it was still properly chilly when we set off from the hotel at about 8.40am. Arm warmers & gilet were essential items of kit as we descended for the first 2 miles, before hitting the lower slopes of the Col d’Allos. The climb itself is just over 12 miles in length, with about 3,700 feet of ascent – I knew what to expect, as we’d ridden the Col d’Allos on a previous visit to Barcelonnette, back in May 2012 (it snowed on that visit!).

For the first few miles, the road climbed the side of the valley through wooded slopes, with occasional lookouts to the valley floor below. As we climbed steadily higher, we popped out from the shadows & the temperature instantly rose a few degrees, giving me the opportunity to shed my gilet & arm warmers. Behind us, our Barcelonnette base receded ever further into the distance, as we climbed ever higher. We were surrounded by huge mountains all around us, the majority of which were still free from human habitation.

After about 5 miles, the trees gave way & we found ourselves climbing a cliff road with little more than a 3 foot high wall between us & the valley floor 1,500 feet below. Luckily, we were on the opposite side of the road to the big drops! This was a great opening climb for me, with consistent gradients between 6 & 8% for most of the way up – this is within my comfort zone & also means I can climb at an acceptable 5 to 6 miles an hour.

At the 9 mile point, the trees thinned out & gave way to alpine meadows – in winter these are where the skiing takes place. At this time of year, however, it’s mainly hikers who enjoy the wild, open scenery. Before we knew it (well, 2¼ hours into the ride), we were at the refuge, just shy of the summit, so it was time for a brief stop to enjoy a freshly made blackcurrant & raspberry tart, with a café au lait.

After a brief stop at the summit for a photo of the Col sign, we were on our way again, for the 14 mile descent to Colmars.

The first 4 or 5 miles of the descent were on no much more than single track tarmac, with an amazing view of the surrounding mountains & a birds-eye view down to the ski resort of Allos below us. Once we were through Allos, the road widened significantly & the gradient became much shallower – this road was purpose built to ensure that coaches could ferry skiers in & out of the resort throughout the ski season.

At Colmars we took a sharp left onto a small lane & we started climbing again. The Col des Champs is a little known climb to anyone but the locals, but it’s a beautiful (if challenging) hidden gem. I’d been advised to tackle the route this way round, as the surface of the road had loose gravel & was a little rutted, which would have been no fun descending!

On the early slopes, the road hairpins through a pine forest & the gradient is a steady 7% – this is very gentle introduction for what lays ahead! The climb itself is only 7½ miles in length, but the real challenge on this climb is the 5 miles of climbing that averages between 9 & 11% in gradient (with sections that kick up to 13%). In truth, this is a bit too steep for me to enjoy, but there’s a real sense of achievement in having a few difficult moments on a ride – ultimately, it’s what escalates a ride to epic status!

After about 5 miles, we rose above the treeline & a rocky moonscape took its place – it looked & felt a little like the Casse Desert on the Col d’Izoard. We could see a gap in the rocks in the distance & we were convinced it was the summit, so put in a concerted effort to push on – we were rewarded by a false dawn, there was more climbing to do! The good news was we only had about another ½ mile to do before we summited, we’d climbed about 3,000 feet in 7½ miles, which had certainly left an impression on my legs.

There wasn’t a Col sign at the summit so we stopped briefly to put on windproof jackets – the views to the mountains in the far distance were amazing, it felt like we were on top of the world. This is a great descent, the tarmac was really smooth & grippy, while the road swept from corner to corner. This is marmot country & we were lucky enough to see 4 of them at various points on the descent – they’re very camera shy, but we could hear them calling to their friends & family as we passed them.

The plan was to stop part way down the descent & have some lunch, but unfortunately the restaurant was closed. As we continued to descend, the landscape changed & we returned to woodland, which also meant the road was tighter & the turns became hairpins – still great fun to ride! The road flattened out at the 45 mile mark & we took a left turn at Saint-Martin d’Entraunes, this was my back up for lunch, but nothing was open! I was out of cycling food & getting very hungry, not a good situation to be in.

However, we had to crack on, as we didn’t have any other options available to us. For the next 3 miles, the road gently rose as it took us ever closer to the start of the Col de la Cayolle, the day’s final challenge. The early slopes hugged a cliff as we zig-zagged our way ever higher & the scenery become more remote – we were surrounded by enormous buttresses of rock. By this stage I was in real need of food, we hadn’t eaten since 11am & it was now almost 4pm. As we reached the small hamlet of Estenc, the Relais de la Cayolle came into view – at last somewhere that was open. I downed a coke, twix, pear tart & coffee in about 5 minutes flat. Not the healthiest of meals, but essential fuel that would get me to the summit, a mere 4 miles away.

Back on the bike, I could feel the strength returning to my legs, as we continued to twist & turn up the side of the valley. Every now & again, we got a view of the wild mountains that were all around us. Less than an hour after our stop we rounded a corner & spotted the summit marker in the distance – as we got closer we could see hundreds & hundreds of sheep being herded down the mountain from the higher slopes, right towards the road!

After stopping long enough to savour the view, take a few snaps & wrap up warm, we were on our way – this is an exceptional descent, the road drops for about 18 miles, as it twists & turns down the valley. Every now & again we crossed a small stream that fed a larger river further down the slope. Almost all the corners were open enough to be able to see whether any traffic was coming up the mountain (it wasn’t, we saw 2 cars in 45 minutes!). We followed the course of the river down the valley & almost before we knew it, we’d completed the loop.

This qualifies as one of my top 5 days of cycling (along with Passo della Stelvio that I did earlier this year). A combination of the distance & climbing made this a real challenge, however, the route also took us through stunning scenery on quiet back roads in perfect cycling weather. This is why I train throughout the year to enjoy days like this!!

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

Alpine Adventures – Tour de Barcelonnette – September 2019

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Barcelonnette to Guillestre & back via Col de Vars – Day One

My second (& final) Alpine Adventure of 2019 was based around the small town of Barcelonnette, in the Maritime Alps of Southern France, about 90 miles north of Nice. Yesterday’s travel day was longer than planned, due to my inability to queue in the right car rental queue – I spent 45 minutes in the Europcar queue, before realising I’d booked the hire car through Hertz!

In the rush to put our bikes together before heading out for something to eat, Sean’s collar on his seatpost failed, which meant his saddle wouldn’t stay in the right place. All the bike shops were already shut, so it meant we had to adjust plans for this morning’s ride – in the end I found a bike shop in Jausiers (about 5 miles down the road) that opened at 10.30am, so today’s ride was a 64 mile ‘out & back’ to Guillestre, over both sides of the Col de Vars.

We started out following the River Ubaye upstream to Jausiers & within 15 minutes, the friendly mechanic at Technicien du Sport had found a replacement part & fitted it for the bargain price of €7 & we were on our way. After 10 miles of gently climbing alongside the babbling Ubaye, we turned left off the D900 & joined the smaller & quieter D902 – this is a legendary road in Tour de France history. In the space of less than 100 miles, this road goes over the epic Tour de France climbs of Col d’Izoard, Col du Galibier & Col du Telegraphe in addition to the Col du Vars, our climb(s) of the day.

For the next 5 miles, the road climbed steeply as it twisted & turned up the side of the valley, passing through quiet villages along the way. Whilst the climb wasn’t long, the gradient was consistently over 9% & I found it a challenge to keep up with Sean, although he was riding well within himself – I’m a few pounds heavier than my usual touring weight & I felt it today. The views across to the surrounding mountain peaks were amazing, with white clouds providing great contrast to the blue skies & they took my mind off the difficulty of the climb.

At the summit there’s a couple of signs, a café & a large car park. We stopped long enough to take a few photos, put on a wind proof jacket & then we were descending the longer, but shallower side of the col, heading towards Guillestre. Along the way, we rode through the ski resort of Vars – this is where the world record was set for skiing, some 254 kilometres per hour….on skis!!!!

Descending into Guillestre was fun, the road was wide (so coaches can get the ski resorts in winter), the corners were easy to navigate & the surface was good quality. After about 8 miles of the 12 mile descent, huge views down to Guillestre & across to the Izoard came into view. In less than 25 minutes we’d reached our lunch stop in town – we hoped to grab a panini somewhere, but all the restaurants in the main square were proper sit down affairs, so we settled in for an extended lunch & set about demolishing some pasta.

We were on our way again by about 2.50pm (at least a couple of hours later than we would have expected), now all we had to do was conquer the 12 mile climb back to the summit of the Col de Vars. We estimated that this would probably take us in the region of 2½ hours, on the basis we would climb at about 5 mph. The first 3 miles were a consistent 7 to 8% & this meant we could settle into a good rhythm. As the road hair-pinned its way ever upwards, we could see the climb spread out before us.

As we rode through Saint-Marcellin there were loads of wood carvings of winter sports characters, including a huge man on skis. After a brief stop to admire the artwork & take a couple of snaps, we were on our way again on what was my favourite part of the climb – it had a 1 mile descent at this point! The entire climb was less steep than this morning & as a result I was better able to enjoy the views & chat as we rode – this morning all I could do was huff & puff!

The final couple of miles of the climb took us past a moody looking lake, with big rain clouds beginning to gather in the distance. This was the direction we were heading, so the appearance of potential rain clouds was of interest to us.

After just over 2 hours of climbing we were back at the summit, once again it was time to wrap up warm for the descent (10% for the first mile) & then enjoy the ride!

It took just over 13 minutes to descend the 6 miles back to the main road – it was incredible how quickly I gathered speed when I released the brakes. Luckily there were plenty of twists & turns to ensure that we both took the descent sensibly. The road back to Barcelonnette via Jausiers was slightly downhill all the way, but any thoughts of free miles were scuppered when we picked up a full-on headwind! Oddly, the downhill section into the headwind took longer than when we rode it in the opposite direction as an uphill this morning.

After a slow start, the day turned into a truly great expedition into the high mountains of the Maritime Alps. I’m looking forward to finding out what tomorrow will bring, but in the meantime it’s time to toast today’s great adventure in Bar Tandem!

Col du Soulor, Col des Borderes & Lac d’Estaing

Col du Soulor, Col des Borderes & Lac d’Estaing

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day Six, Lourdes (8th September 2017).

Somehow today was the final day of cycling in The Pyrenees, where has the last 6 days gone? I spent 30 minutes last night looking for a replacement ride for today, as we used up our planned ride when we extended our day out to Col des Tentes yesterday.

I eventually came up with a plan to explore some quiet back lanes, tackle a couple of climbs & then loop back to Lourdes – all in all, about 55 miles of riding with 5,500 feet of climbing. The ride started outside the hotel door & as our way out of town took us past the Sanctuary, we stopped to admire the view & take a few photos.

As soon as we left town, we found ourselves on quiet roads with views of the large mountains in the far distance. At one point, we took a wrong turn & found ourselves on a small gravel lane that took us past some unusual wooden sculptures, before ending abruptly at a tiny convent – Lourdes, as you might expect is home to many convents, monasteries, churches & religious orders. It’s a strange mix of peace & tranquillity, offset by chaotic parties of pilgrims.

Once we were back on the right road, a fast flowing river guided us down the valley, as we passed miles of maize fields, where the corn on the cob looked like it was ready to be harvested. These were the quietest roads we’d cycled all week & it was one of the few occasions where we were on relatively flat roads – it made for very relaxed riding.

At Lestelle-Betharrem, we saw signs for Notre Dame de Betharrem, so pulled in to find out a little more – it’s a church that is set right next to the river & it has a large plot of hilly land, where 19 chapels have been built over time & it was an incredibly peaceful & tranquil place.

We turned off the main road & headed along remote country lanes towards the lower slopes of Col de Soulor, which begins in earnest at Farrieres – I had it in my mind that this would be a great place to stop for coffee….. except it was a far smaller place than I expected & it was only a small village!!

From here, the Soulor climbs 2,950 feet in 7.5 miles, at an average gradient of 7.4% – this was the first climb of the week where the gradient was fairly constant for the entire climb & it made such a difference! I chose a gear & then spent the next hour & a half enjoying the views & stopping every now & again to capture the stunning scenery & get out the way of the local wildlife.

At the summit, we stopped for a lunch of waffle with Nutella & a coffee, before descending back towards Argeles-Gazost. We took a right turn after about 5 miles & headed up the climb of the Col des Borderes that we descended on Sunday. As we reached the Col, we made an impromptu decision to take a side road up to Lac d’Estaing – we had no idea what to expect on the climb, but the point of exploring is to find out what’s there! I was a little nervous of what lay ahead, as I was having problems with my gearing, the cables have stretched slightly as the week’s worn on & I could no longer use 1st gear – not the ideal situation for a weak climber like me. However, I didn’t want the ride to end yet, so we set off for Lac d’Estaing.

As we climbed, the surrounding forest protected us from the sun. After about 5 miles, we crested a rise & there before us was the lake & we weren’t disappointed! It’s a beautiful expanse of open meadow, with a lake at its centre. There are strict rules & regulations for using the area & as a result it’s in pristine condition. They were people fishing on one side of the lake, while at one end there were wild horses frolicking in the shallows – before today, I’d never seen a horse in a large expanse of water. This is a place that’s well worth a visit & I’m sure I’ll be back again at some point in the future.

Although we were still more than 20 miles from our hotel, the first 10 was downhill, so in next to no time we were in Argeles-Gazost for a well-deserved fruit tart & coffee. From here we took the same route back to Lourdes as Sunday, again it was slightly downhill, but into a headwind – for every ying there’s a yang!

In the end today’s ride was just over 68 miles long & had 7,000 feet of climbing – both numbers were bigger than planned, but it was our last day of riding, the sun was out & we were keen to make our adventure last as long as possible!

As it was our final evening, we popped into town to watch the sun set over the Sanctuary, then raised a glass to celebrate a glorious week of riding. I’m sure I’ll be visiting The Pyrenees again in the not too distant future.

Cirque du Troumouse, Lac des Gloriettes & Col des Tentes

Cirque du Troumouse, Lac des Gloriettes & Col des Tentes

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day Five, Lourdes (7th September 2017).

Today we took the third & final commute of the week. It was a 30 minute drive to Luz Saint Sauveur which is a mecca for road biking climbs – within 10 miles are Col de Tourmalet, Hautacam, Luz Ardiden, Col de Soulor which have all hosted Tour de France stages.

The original plan was to cycle out to Cirque de Troumouse, take a short, but steep detour up to Lac des Gloriettes, then if the legs were feeling good, also climb Luz Ardiden. We started riding in very, very light rain & under slate grey skies. It seems like the days here are very much like my climbing legs, they take a while to brighten up in the morning!

As the road leaves Luz St Sauveur, the road climbs a valley & regularly criss-crosses the river far below. Low cloud & the threat of rain meant the road was far quieter than expected, as normally loads of tourists would use this road to get to Cirque de Gavarnie – a UNESCO site. It also meant that the views of the high mountains were also hidden. After 6 miles there’s a turnoff signposted to Cirque de Troumouse on a small single track road & it’s here that the ride started to get fun. As we turned into a new valley, the sun popped its head out & it was time to get rid of the arm warmers & rain jacket.

The road climbs at a fairly consistent 6-8% as it twists & turns by the side of a gurgling stream & after a couple of miles, the valley widens out & the track is in the middle of meadow land. This continued for another 3 or 4 miles, before we reached a toll booth, where cars had to pay to climb the remaining 5 miles to Cirque de Troumouse. Cyclists & pedestrians are free to continue free of charge! The road began to rise steeply up the side of the valley & soon we were in sheep & cow grazing territory & we could hear marmots calling to each other.

There’s a café half way up this section, so we stopped for a slice of fruits of the mountain tart & a coffee.

There were now only 2.5 miles of switchbacks between us & the car park at the summit – stunning views awaited us, including our first sight of snow on this trip, way up above.

I took a few minutes to enjoy the peaceful surroundings (there were more sheep than people).

The descent was on a rutted & bumpy track, so there was no danger of going fast, as the surface was covered in loose grit & gravel, plus there was always the chance of meeting a car on a blind corner. This was still a really enjoyable descent, it simply required full concentration!

I’d read on one of Will’s blogs that on the way back there was a great detour up to Lac des Gloriettes, a hydro-electric dam. This was too good an opportunity to miss, although it required significant effort, as the 2 mile climb never dropped below 10%.

The views were well worth the effort of reaching the dam! At this point I floated the idea of changing our plan for the day & extending our trip up the valley to Port de Boucharo, via the Col des Tentes, rather than riding to the ski resort of Luz Ardiden.

Col des Tentes is a 6 mile climb that rises to 2,208 metres, making it the highest paved road in the French Pyrenees (even higher than the mighty Tourmalet!). It’s set in stunning scenery & had hardly any traffic on it – the wildlife far outnumbered the cars. The climb has markers every kilometre, so you know how far is left to go & what the average gradient is for that section (this is common in The Alps & Pyrenees), but someone had fun when they made the signs, as every single gradient counter was wrong – this had to be somebody’s idea of a joke, as the steepest sections were marked as 1.2% average, while the shallower sections were marked as 10.2%!!

The early slopes of the climb were through woods, then meadows & as the road wound its way ever higher, this changed again & it resembled a moonscape. Along the way, we had to dodge our way through herds of sheep & cows, as they clearly own the roads around here! After about 75 minutes of effort, we finally made the summit – this was the first time in many years that a single 5 mile segment took more than 60 minutes to complete, which shows how tough the climb really was. I forgot to refill my water bottles when we left our coffee stop, so had also run out of water about two thirds of the way up the climb – schoolboy error!

At the summit, the car park was pretty much full & there were hundreds of ramblers, hikers & families out enjoying the walk out to Port Boucharo – this is the French/Spanish border & although I fancied crossing it, I didn’t want to fight my way through rush hour, so in the end we gave it a miss.

We had to negotiate the cows & sheep on the descent back to Gavarnie, where we stopped for a quick coffee to warm up from the fast & cold descent from Col des Tentes. From there we were back on a wider & smoother road all the way back to Luz St Sauveur. This ended up being our largest climbing day of the trip & was another real adventure in the wilderness of The Pyrenees!

Piau Engaly, Lac de Cap de Long & La Route des Lacs

Piau Engaly, Lac de Cap de Long & La Route des Lacs

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day Four, Lourdes (6th September 2017).

I make no secret of the fact that I use a website called http://www.cycling-challenge.com for the majority of my research into where to ride on my Alpine Adventures (& now my Pyrenees Peaks too). Today’s ride is one that Will has called ‘the best road-bike climb that I have done in The Pyrenees’ – as soon as I read that, I wanted to do this ride!!!

St Lary Soulan is just under an 80 minute drive in the car, so it was another early start to the day. When we arrived the skies were leaden & the big mountain peaks were hidden from view, but we’re on a cycling holiday & will make the best of any conditions – it was dry & the winds were light, so it was a great day to be riding!

The early slopes out of Saint Lary Soulan are on a steadily rising main road (never that busy in spite of being an artery into Spain via a tunnel) that after 9 miles took us to La Plan, which is the start of the climb proper to Piau Engaly (the first of today’s 3 ascents), although by then we’d already clocked up about 1,600 feet of ascent. The clouds were low in the sky & even as I started the climb it was obvious that views would be restricted higher up, so we decided to simply enjoy the climb for what it was – a very consistent 7-8% gradient over almost 4 miles with plenty of switchbacks to make it fun.

As expected, the ski station was closed (we’d experienced the same at Superbagneres on Monday) & we were above the base of the clouds, however, we did see some eagles soaring on the thermals. We stopped just long enough to get a photo or two, ride around the resort & wolf down a banana, then we descended back to the main road & retraced out pedals towards St Lary. When we reached Fabian, we took a left up what looked to be little more than a single track road – in fact it was exactly that! This was the start of a truly awesome day in the saddle & whatever I write simply won’t do the ride justice, but here goes anyway!

Straight from the get go, the road kicked up to about 9% & it was a real effort to keep climbing – in truth, this is probably more to do with fatigue after 4 days of riding. We made our way up a narrow valley, with the constant babbling of the river helping to take my mind off the pain of pushing the pedals. After about 3 miles, we hit a stunning stretch of switchbacks, which meant that the slope eased slightly & also provided great views back down the valley.

As we reached a fork in the road we were met by the sight of a huge dam (Lac de Cap de Long) high up in the far distance & Lac d’Oredon directly in front of us where the Route des Lacs continued up to Lac d’Aumar & Lac d’Aubert . We chose to tackle Cap de Long first – approximately 3 miles in length it climbed around the lake below until eventually we were looking back towards the fork in the road some 1,500 feet below us!!!

By now it was gone 2.30pm, so we had a quick snack of Blueberry Tart & coffee, took some photos to help me remember this cycling paradise, then headed back to the fork in the road.

The final climb took us around the back of Lac d’Oredon & ever higher on a vehicle free road – cycling heaven! As we climbed, we passed goats that were either laid in the road or grazing on grass in the shadows of the pine trees.

As we ascended, we got views across the lake to where were we riding only 30 minutes previously. After a few final switchbacks, we reached a plateau with a couple of smallish lakes below us & the much larger & prettier Lac d’Aumar in front of us.

As we cycled along the edge of the lake, we passed ramblers on their way to Lac d’Aubert which marked the end of the metaphorical & physical road – in total the climb was only about 4 miles.

I took the opportunity to dip my feet in the pristine water & cool off as I took in the beauty of the surrounding scenery.

From here it was all downhill – we stopped briefly at the café on Lac d’Oredon for a quick espresso, then we retraced our way down the single track – the descent was very technical with lots of blind corners & steep stretches, so it required full concentration the whole way back to the main road – from there it was an easy 5 miles back to the car.

This has been by far my favourite day in The Pyrenees this week – what an amazing ride! I can’t sign off without saying a huge ‘Thank You’ to Will for sharing his epic cycling adventures.

Col du Tourmalet & Col d’Aspin

Col du Tourmalet & Col d’Aspin

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day Three, Lourdes (5th September 2017).

I was super excited (to quote pro cyclists the world over) this morning, as today’s ride was a loop straight from the hotel & we were taking in two more Tour de France climbs. The first climb needs no introduction, the Col du Tourmalet (The Distant Mountain) has featured in the Tour de France on more occasions than any other mountain since 1910 – a total of 85 times. There was the opportunity to also add a bonus ascent of the Col d’Aspin, which has featured a on a mere 73 occasions!

The route started on quiet country roads, as we twisted & turned between fields, with big views of the Pyrenees in the background. The first 10 miles took us in a similar direction to our Sunday ride, but as we reached Argeles-Gazost we took a left turn & started gradually gaining altitude as we followed Route de Luz up a small river valley. By the time we reached Luz Saint Sauveur, we were 20 miles into the ride & had clocked up 1,600 feet of climbing & the serious stuff hadn’t even begun. We decided to stop & have a quick pain au chocolat & espresso while we gathered our thoughts for the big challenge ahead – from Luz St Saveur, Col du Tourmalet is 11.8 miles long, gains an altitude of 4,606 feet & has an average gradient of 7.4%.

The early slopes are very gentle & provide an opportunity to take in your surroundings (big mountains on all sides!) & get into a rhythm for the climb ahead. I know from many previous experiences the key to long climbs is slow & steady at the start, as you can’t recover if you expend too much energy early on. There are a few pretty villages lower down, but as soon as we passed through Bareges, we left civilization behind.

By now the gradient has reached a fairly consistent 7-9% – I far prefer this to a constantly changing gradient, which seems to deaden my legs in no time! The views by this point were spectacular, as it was possible to make out the summit café way off in the far distance & also look back towards the parapenters who were riding the thermals. Once again, the cows & sheep have complete freedom of movement & it’s the responsibility of drivers & cyclists to get out of their way.

All that remained was to tackle the final 4 miles, as I started climbing the ‘back wall’ of the mountain – effectively riding switchback after switchback up what would have been a sheer drop if the road wasn’t there. The engineers had built one final hurdle for me to overcome, as the final ½ mile or so ramps up to 10%. Having researched the climb in advance, I knew this in advance, so had a bit of energy saved up (not much, but enough!). After 2 hours & 20 minutes of effort I was at the summit & it was time to celebrate with a fanta citron et tartelette du myrtille (lemon fanta & blueberry tart) as I took in the massive views in all directions & got a couple of souvenir photos.

As we continued over the summit & commenced our descent, we bumped in to a herd of llamas! I had to get a photo, as I knew no-one would believe me without the evidence! We also stopped briefly in La Mongie Ski Station for a quick lunch of chicken salad baguette. Although I was going downhill, this looked the more difficult side to climb, as we fairly flew down the mountain through long, sweeping bends. At Campan we decided the legs were feeling good & we should also climb Col d’Aspin – it’s 8 miles long, gains 2,106 feet & has an average gradient of 5%. This is all a little misleading, as all the serious climbing is done in the final 4 miles, where it averages 8%. Most of the climb is through pine forest & the smell was amazing, although the views were somewhat limited as a result. The other remarkable feature of the climb was how peaceful & quiet it was – traffic was light & it was great to hear nothing but the sound of the bikes changing gear as we climbed.

Once again, the views from the summit were beautiful & it made the decision to ride the climb so worthwhile. I enjoyed a few more moments of quiet contemplation before getting a photo of the summit sign as a memento.

We fairly flew down the descent again (back the way we came this time) & I stopped briefly on the lower slopes to get my photo taken between two dolls/models – they were everywhere in Campan, although I haven’t yet found out why there were so many of them! This really wraps up the interesting part of the ride – at this point we were 60 miles into the ride & all that remained was the final 20 miles of the loop back to Lourdes & to be honest there wasn’t anything memorable about it – there was also nothing wrong with it either, we’ve simply been spoiled for stunning scenery today!

Col du Tourmalet & Col d’Aspin has been one of my favourite days of riding in the high mountains of Europe. It lived up to its billing as the Queen Stage of the Pyrenees Peaks adventure & I still have three more days of riding to look forward to!

Col du Peyresourde, Superbagneres & Col du Portillon

Col du Peyresourde, Superbagneres & Col du Portillon

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day Two, Lourdes (4th September 2017).

The plan is to explore all the major Tour de France climbs within a reasonable distance of our base in Lourdes – the weather forecast was changeable, so we decided to commute to Bagneres-du-Luchon, some 80 miles away & hope for the best. By the time we’d parked & got ourselves sorted out it was about 10.45am, so we knew we were in for a late finish too, as we had big plans for the day. The great news was that our gamble had paid off, as the sun was shining when we arrived in the town that’s twinned with Harrogate.

Bagneres-du-Luchon is an outdoor adventurer’s paradise – during the course of the day we saw parapenters, gliders, mountain bikers, hikers & rafters in addition to road cyclists. We were aiming to ascend 3 different mountains, all of which have featured in the Tour de France. First up was Col du Peyresourde (used in the Tour on 64 occasions since its debut in 1910), at 9.5 miles in length & a height gain of 3,081 feet, the gradient averages 6.1%. The climb is fairly constant, with views of the huge Pyrenean peaks all around. Although the road is a main road, traffic was minimal, so there were plenty of opportunities to stop & admire the architecture as we rode through small villages. We found a public water fountain at the halfway point, where I needed to fill my empty bottles – it was a humid day & I pretty much leaked sweat all day!!! Sorry, too much detail….

As we neared the summit, the famous Peyresourde hairpins came into sight – there was still graffiti on the road from 2016, which is when Chris Froome attacked over the summit in 2016 & won the stage as he pedalled whilst sat on his top-tube.

We stopped briefly at the summit to enjoy the views & take a few photos – sadly the Crepe stall didn’t open on a Monday, so we were soon descending back to B-d-L for a quick lunch of baguette & patisserie. The café owners kindly filled our bottles for the afternoon’s first challenge.

Our next challenge was Superbagneres, which is a ski station high up above Bagneres-du-Luchon. The climb is 12 miles in length, with a height gain of 4,000 feet, so the gradient averages 6.3%. It doesn’t sound much, but there are some flatter stretches, so this also means there are stretches of +10% to test the legs! It’s been used in the Tour de France on 6 occasions, most recently in 1989, when Scotland’s Robert Millar (now known as Philippa York) won the stage.

The first 4 miles were next to a river & there was the constant babble of water, which was a real distraction from the hard work of climbing! The next 4 miles were through thick forest, so there were only sporadic views down to the valley floor below. As it’s a ski resort & it’s September, we hardly saw any traffic – bikes definitely outnumbers cars! All of a sudden the forest ended & we had huge views across the valley – we were even able to look all the way down to B-d-L, thousands of feet below! By now we were also exposed to a blustering headwind as we continued to wend our way ever higher towards a massive hotel in the resort of Superbagneres itself. As we reached the summit, my fears were realised – a ski resort in September doesn’t get many visitors, so the café’s were all shut!!!

The upside of a really long, steep climb, is a lightning quick descent on a near deserted road. At one point I saw my speedo top 45 mph, before I had to start braking for the next hairpin – it was a fast, fun, but straightforward blast back to B-d-L. Having taken 1 hour 45 to climb to the summit, it took less than 25 minutes to descend!

After a quick espresso (& another recharging of my water bottles – I drank x8 bottles of 0.75 litres on today’s ride) we set off for the day’s final challenge. The Col du Portillon has featured in the Tour de France on 18 occasions, most recently in 2014, The Col marks the geographic boundary between France & Spain, so I took the opportunity to snap a photo of a Spanish summit as well as French one!

The climb itself is 6.3 miles long, climbs 2,178 feet & has an average gradient of 6.5% – it sounds easy, but again the lower slopes are very shallow, resulting in the final 5 miles averaging 8.4% (& a nasty stretch of 13%!). As we looked up & across the valley, we could just make out Superbagneres, in the distance. We were in forest for the entire climb, so it was almost impossible to get a scenic photo, although I managed to get a few album fillers. I’d love to come back here again & explore the Spanish side of the mountain, as the climb is supposed to be amazing. The descent was another non-technical one on quiet roads (fast in other words!) & we were back in town before we knew it.

This was a special day in the saddle, we rode for 5½ hours & climbed 8,800 feet in 57 miles – 3 epic Tour de France mountain summits in a road cyclist’s paradise. The original plan was to have a meal in B-d-L, then drive back to Lourdes & head straight to bed. We finished riding about 6pm & nowhere was serving food until 7pm, so in the end we jumped in the car & drove the 90 minutes back to Lourdes & have just returned from devouring a cracking pizza.

Col des Borderes, Col du Soulor & Col d’Aubisque

Col des Borderes, Col du Soulor & Col d’Aubisque

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Pyrenees Peaks – Day One, Lourdes (3rd September 2017).

Before I start my review, let me introduce my new heartthrob – Domino. She’s a brand new Trek Domane SL 2018 model & what a beauty she is! The short story is my original bike had a crack in the carbon fibre frame & it was replaced under Trek’s Lifetime Warranty. I want to say a huge THANK YOU to Ryan from Mud Dock Cycleworks & Cafe for working incredibly hard to ensure was Domino ready for the trip & to Dan at Trek Bicycle UK for sorting out the warranty claim quickly. Without their help, I wouldn’t have had a bike to ride.

The first task of the day was to check out the breakfast facilities, so we turned up at 7.30am & were impressed to find that everyone has designated tables & that coffee, croissants, fresh French sticks & OJ were delivered directly to us!! All we had to do was choose our own cereals & jam / honey / marmalade! I’m delighted to report that our hotel is everything I’d hoped for & more – in addition to the excellent breakfast facilities, I have an enormous ‘single’ room, luxury shower, room to store everything & decent wifi.

We arrived in Lourdes at 10pm last night, so we needed to build our bikes before we could start today’s adventure. As a result, we set off at about 9.15am under bruised grey skies – it was still cool enough to need arm warmers & a gilet as we took the cycle path out of town & followed the river upstream towards Argeles-Gazost. We stayed on the path a bit too long, but as a result we were able to see a time trial race at very close quarters, as proper athletes on expensive machines whooshed past us as we pootled along the road!

The detour only added a couple of flat miles & we were soon on the right road up the early slopes of Col du Soulor, as we got our first view of the Midi-Pyrenees. We took a left turn onto a quiet back road, to take in an additional ascent of Col des Borderes to warm up the legs. By the time we were 5 miles into the climb, we were ready for a coffee stop & although we were on a fairly deserted road, we stumbled across a camp site with a café that was open – although there was no cake, the coffee was very welcome after 20 miles of riding. The final part of the climb went up in ramps, ranging from a very enjoyable 5%, up to a lactic acid building 16% in one instance – certainly not expected! My introductory photo of Domino was taken at the summit of the first climb.

After a brief descent, we made our way back onto the Col du Soulor, for the final 11km of the climb – this was first used in the 1910 Tour de France, at the end of a 300+ km stage! It’s a steady gradient all the way to the summit & with pretty views in every direction, the miles quickly passed. At the summit, we had our first experience of animals in the road, as a herd of cows strolled across the road without a care in the world – we also learned that they have right of way, as they had no intention of stopping!

After a quick ham & cheese baguette, we were on our way to Col d’Aubisque (all day I had Chris Rea’s Auberge in my head – not the best ear-worm to have!). The first couple of miles were downhill, before the road gradually started climbing again towards the heavens. There were huge drops down to the valley floor on the right hand side, so with a howling crosswind, we rode on the English side of the road where possible!

Before we knew it, we’d made it to the summit of our third Col of the day. Being a regular Tour de France route, there was a display of massive yellow, green & polka dot bikes, to represent the Tours major jerseys.

At this point, the hard riding was over for the day, we just had to negotiate the wild horses on the road during the descent (& brief climb) to Soulor, before a fun 12 mile swoop back to Argeles-Gazost for a quick refreshment stop. We then jumped on the cycle path for a gentle 10 mile ride back to Lourdes.

We were back in Lourdes before 4pm, so took the opportunity to explore a bit of the town on bike – we found the incredible Sanctuary, where pilgrims were queuing to up to enter the church. All in we were in the saddle for just over 5 hours & we clocked up 64 miles, with 7,000 feet of climbing. The perfect start to our Peaky Pyrenees adventure.

Col de Beau Plan & Col du Telegraphe

Col de Beau Plan & Col du Telegraphe

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Amazing Alpine Adventures – Day Ten, St Jean de Maurienne.

Our final day of this year’s Alpine Adventure, so we decided to mix another secret climb with a real Tour de France legend. This morning we took a short drive to St Michel de Maurienne & parked up – from here we would be enjoying two separate rides.

The Col de Beau Plan loop isn’t one of the well-known climbs in Maurienne valley, but it’s a treat of a 16 mile loop. As we reached the right turn for the Telegraphe & Galibier, we turned left & almost immediately the road started rising. The first ½ mile or so is through residential housing, but in almost no time the buildings are replaced by fields & open grassland.

Going upwards & out of town, it became obvious we were heading to some fairly remote countryside & it was unlikely that we’d see much in the way of traffic – cycling heaven in other words! As we continued to climb, we could make out Les Karellis & L’Albanne ski resorts from our day out on Saturday. To begin with, they were up above us on the opposite side of the valley, but as we continued climbing the difference in height steadily reduced. In addition, we also had amazing views of the Fort du Telegraph & beyond, towards the mythical Col du Galibier.

We took a slight detour on the recommendation of someone staying at the hotel – it was with the disclaimer that the views would be amazing, but the road had been recently resurfaced. As we were climbing, the loose chippings were a mere inconvenience & didn’t detract from the detour in any way.

Having left town, it took more than an hour for us to see our first car, the roads really are remote & wild! The detour took us to over 2,500 feet above the valley floor below & also opened up views to the Orelle mountains some 3,000 feet above us. We were well & truly above the tree line, with the main crop appearing to be hay – the perfect opportunity to do some hay bale surfing (of sorts!).

As we reached the Col de Beau Plan, there was a side road off to the right & it would have been rude not to explore – it was a wide two lane, which wouldn’t have looked out of place as an access road to a ski resort, but after about 2 miles, the road simply stopped – we hadn’t passed a single building, so it’s a mystery as to why the road was built!

We descended back to the Col & continued over the summit & had a fairly sketchy descent for a mile or so, as there was gravel on pretty much every corner. We were still in the back country, although every now & then we rode through tiny hamlets as we continued losing altitude. Somehow we managed to bag our 2nd Col of the day as we descended towards St Martin La Porte, the Col de Beaune.

By now, the single track had become a proper road & for the last 3 miles we zig-zagged our way to the outer edges of town & back into the main street.

It was almost 1pm, so time for lunch – we found a great place where the Plat du Jour was roast chicken, chips & salad. Needless to say we filled our boots & inside 30 minutes were ready to start our final climb of the trip.

All that remained was to visit the Col du Telegraphe, as we’d seen it during Saturday & Wednesday morning’s rides. This is the first part of the legendary Tour de France double act of Col du Telegraphe & Col du Galibier which, when combined together is the biggest ‘bottom to top’ climb in France.

We headed back to the traffic lights in the centre of town & this time headed right & immediately crossed the River Arc, which marks the start of the climb. From here we would ascend 3,200 feet in a little under 7.5 miles. The first 1.5 miles are through quiet villages until the forest takes over – for the next 6 miles the road would twist & turn through the birch & pine forest, however as the sun was directly overhead, there wasn’t much in the way of protection available.

The climb is a consistent 7% to 8% & is a favourite training climb for the professional teams – today we saw the Fortuneo-Samsic team going through their paces – their star riders (including last year’s Polka Dot Jersey winner, Warren Barguil) are currently taking part in the Tour de France. The guys we saw training absolutely powered up the climb in their ‘Big Rings’ while chatting & laughing!

Every now & then the Telegraphe allows you views to the opposite side of the valley & we could clearly make out where we’d been riding only a few hours earlier! One of the neat things about Col du Telegraphe & the nearby town of Valloire, is that they make a different straw man every year – when I last visited he had a wood cutters axe, however this year the theme is skiing, so I stopped at the summit of the col to get a photo. We also made time to enjoy a final espresso & fruit tart stop – I chose apple, Sean appears addicted to Myrtille (blueberry)!

All that remained was to turn around & then descend the 7.5 miles of twists & turns back to the valley floor below. I feel so very fortunate to have enjoyed 10 consecutive days of cycling, as I’d accepted that my injuries & lack of fitness would likely limit me to shortish rides every other day. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I’ve enjoyed having them, Salut!!