11th August I leave for the Pyrenees with the ambition of climbing the Tourmalet

The Trip

I am starting in Toulouse, heading down to St Girons for 3 days and then heading to Bertren, which is south of St Gaudens for 5 days and back to Toulouse.

Diary

The question I always get asked is why? Why would anyone want to cycle up mountains? It’s a ridiculously silly idea but in reality it’s about testing your mental capacity for dealing with insurmountable problems.

Having decided that my quest was to find out what I could achieve, I had to have the right tools for the job. So I bought a great toy, a Titanium bike for the job with panniers which could be removed to turn it into a road bike when I am not touring.

I negotiated time off with my ever enduring wife and booked a flight to Toulouse. When my my new bike arrived I kept the box, so I could re-pack it for the flight to Toulouse. I spent the first night with a very kind neighbour who collected me from the airport and made sure I was all set for the journey.

At this stage, whilst I have done a lot of cycling since I started in October last year, I had never climbed a mountain.

Day 1 St Loup to Castet d’ Aleu and Col de Saraille 924/470m 

The first day riding was 90km from St Loup en Comminges to Castet d’Aleu where I booked for 3 nights in a Gite – Auberge de l’Arac, ran by a lovely English couple.

Having checked in I set off for an easy ride to Oust. Had coffee and headed off to explore. I found a road heading back to the Gite, but it said Col de Saraille en-route. It was only 15k back, so it must be a small Col. Well it was 924m, but it was the hottest part of the day and I dud not have enough water. Having already cycled 90k over some big climbs fully loaded, I was pretty tired, but I wanted to see if I could do it. The climb was tough, I stopped and rested half way up and ran out of water. I plucked up courage to ask a local holiday maker “can i have some d’eua sil vous plait”. I am glad no one was there to hear me. I have since learnt to ask for water in French and also that every village has a public drinking water tap. The learning curve on this trip is steep.

I got to the top and at least I knew I could climb a mountain. It was a great moment.

Total 126k and 1400m climbing.

Day 2 Col d’ Agnes 1580/940and Col de Latrape 1110/350

It is with some trepidation that I set off to see if I could tackle a medium sized Col – Col d’Agnes. The Col was part of this years tdf. The road was covered in graffiti, all the riders and their teams.

The start was difficult, it’s so hard to know how hard to push when you have no experience to draw on. The first 100m were relatively easy, less than 5%. Then I started to hit the 8 9 10% and more. Once you get over 10% things get very tough. You constantly question if you can make it, evaluate your bailout options and worry about running out of water or food. But I got into the stride of it by 1000m, counting each 100m until I got to 1500m. The last 80m were exhilarating. Just flew up them and when you get to the top and look at what you just climbed it is impossible.

Total 72km 1400m climbing

3 Cols – Core 1395/900m, Portech 862/430, Catchaudgue 893/290m

Col de la Core was the most stunning assent so far. It is slightly off the main roads and the route through the trees was fabulous. 2 military jets flew past me at one stage, they were below me!

I did the climb in one go, 900m which is my longest so far, and passed 4 riders on the way up, which motivated me no end.

After lunch I tackled the next 2 cols, the first, portech was hard. It was hot and the climb was over half as long as the Core. Nothing daunted, I tackled the next one. It was a killer, steep and even hotter, but what a gorgeous route. I never saw another cyclist and there were only a handful of cars. It was so quiet in the mountains!

I loved today, it is what cycling in Pyrenees is all about.

Day 4 Col de Bouchet 608m 

Today was the hardest day so far. I left Castet and headed for Bertren, with my panniers loaded with all the things I did not need! They were extra heavy and I am sure the temperature was close to 40deg in the valleys.

Arrived in Bertren and met the other people that were staying here this week. A good group of 8 experienced cyclists.

Day 5 Col de Burret 599 & Col des Ares 797 

Today was supposed to be taking it easy, in preparation for the big ones tomorrow, but it’s hard not to race up the Cols when you are In a group. Chris, the tour leader, shot up a Ares like a bullet, I followed him for a bit, but then settled down to a steady pace at the front of the group. Nearly got caught at the end but put in a last effort to retain my place. So much for a rest day. We did about 60k and 800m of climbing

Day 6 Tourmalet 2115m& Aspin 1480m 

Today was the big day with 2 of the mountains from the 2009 Tour. I started on the western side of the Tourmalet, early, my target was to get up it in less than 2 hours without stopping. The climb was 1350m and it was hard, the last km was unbelievable just on and on at over 9%. Stunning views from the top.

Then in the afternoon I did the Col de Aspin, 1480m it was about 700m, not particularly hard, but after the Tourmalet it was tough. The views from the Aspin are even more stunning than the Toumalet.

What a day 117km and 2600m of climbing