So we got up and ate a ton of food for the big day. We were riding from basically Lourdes to Oloron-Saint-Marie, but going over the Col du Soulor, then up to the top the Col d’ Abisque, down into the next valley and then up and over the Col du Marie-Blanque. This time the weather was amazingly clear. Blue skies everywhere as the glacial carved peaks towered over the valley floors.
The ride up to the base of the Soulor was quite nice. The initial climb was similar to rides in Colorado. Just a consistent 6% through a bit of rain forest. Then as you make it up into the small villages and out of the forest, the road pitches up and you consistently ride at 8-10%. The sun started to heat up and so did we. The cows in the valley played a tune or dozen as they grazed away on the lush landscape.
We got up to the top of the Col and there were tons of people at the snack shop. As were tons of sheep and a few cows. Then we started the climb up to the Aubisque and I was gearing myself all up for a nasty climb, but it was a pleasant 5% up until the last couple K’s, where it was 8%. There were masses of wild horses and their young foals trotting across the road as we and several cyclists worked our way up the hill. Then the last couple hundred meters were a blast, as the wind ripped across the top at a minimum of 40 mph. We shot some photos and were excited to see the peaks this time. This was the first ride we did last week and the top was socked in. This made for a completely different experience, even more so on the descent. Then you realize how the road basically zig zags down a sheer face of the mountain.
We rode down into a town below to grab some lunch before heading out to tackle the last climb of the day. The wind was blowing up the valley making for a bit of a slow go instead of being able to cruise down to the next turn. The sun was also heating up. The Marie-Blanque is a weird climb. You start out on some steep switchbacks (8-10%) and then it levels off a bit where there was a ton of people relaxing in the creek and shade of some trees. On all of the classic cycling route climbs there are markers every kilometer that state the distance to the top and the average grade for the next K. On this climb there was one that had a grade of 0%. Talk about a fun sign to read after a ton of climbing. But then there was another sign that stated 5% and my Garmin was reading 12-14% for much of it, save for a slight descent at the end. Talk about false advertising. Damn. As I was working into the final kilometer I felt a funny pattern under my wheels. Then one of the loudest bangs I’ve ever heard rang out. I thought it was just a tube popping, but as I looked over my tire I found a gaping hole and the guts of my “low mileage” tire hanging out. There was only about 300 meters to the top of the climb. Luckily Peter was riding with me and he had a boot to try and put under the hole, but it only lasted to the top before it began to tear more. So we had to wait for the group to ride into cell coverage and get the van headed our way to help. So Kristin and I just hung out on the side of the road and listened to the breeze in the trees before playing some tunes on her phone.
We rode the van back to the hotel, figuring that we didn’t want to be late for dinner. There was about 20 miles to go, mostly downhill, but we had done all the hard work and I was ready for a shower. I think I was summoning flies from other countries after sweating so much for the first time in a couple weeks. Despite all that trouble it was a fun day and we hammered out 8,000 feet of gain in 52 miles. Fun times.
-JL
