Tag Archives: Aquitaine

Day 27 – Laruns to Luz Saint Sauveur

71km of 1911km so far…
Today I cycled to the clouds! Col Aubisque is at 1709m and col du Soulor at 1474m.
The day started earlier than normal as I was woken up by a friend’s message. I took the opportunity for an early start, as I knew I had a big challenge in front of me. After I packed my stuff, I took a few minutes to admire the suroundings of the campsite as the sun was coming out.

The view from my tent

The view from my tent

The drunken's house

The drunken's house

I had my triple breakfast and started my way to the beggining of the col which was just a couple of kilometers away from the village.

Col d'Aubisque welcome sign

Col d'Aubisque welcome sign

The climb was 16km from the base and took me a little more than 2 hours. As usual every kilometer there was a sign for the remaining distance, the altitude and the average gradient at that kilometer. Bit by bit I was gaining altitude and the scenery was gradually changing. Half way through the clouds had completely covered the sky and the tops were on and off inside them. Most of the route was within a wild forests, with rivers, small waterfalls and pleanty of streams that got smaller and smaller as I was getting higher.

Cycling within the clouds

Cycling within the clouds

Going higher and higher

Sheep at high altitude

Above 1500 meters, it was a completely different world. The temperature was keep dropping and for periods of time I was cycling withing dense clouds. On the way I saw dozens of cyclists going up and down and everyone was encouraging each other. I finally made it to the top and I was completely soaked by the sweat and the humidity. When I stoped cycling, I started getting cooler and cooler very fast and by the time I took a couple of photos, I started freezing. Luckily there was a refuge/restaurant just at the side with about 20 bikes parked outside and seemed reasonable to go in. There I had a plate of warm food by the fireplace.

I came from the right...

I came from the right and heading to the left

The bicycles of the giants

The bicycles of the giants

My reward!

My award!

In the refuge, I met a swiss couple that were also touring. Michi ans Silvia had already done about 10 cols in Pyrenees and the Alps. They’ve taken a year off work and after Europe they are flying to south America to cycle around the continent.

The wall of fame

The wall of fame

When I managed to get some warmth and calories, I put my waterproofs to stop the chill and started making my way down to the other side. The decent didn’t require much effort, but apart from being dangerous, I didn’t want to go above 30km/h as the cold air was becoming unbearable. There were times I was breaking and peddaling at the same time, to keep my legs moving.

Going down again.

Going down again.

One for the several streams

One for the several rivers

Col du Soulor

The next col of the day

I went down about 500 meters, I started ascending again to the next col du Soulor. I didn’t stay there long and I continued my descent. On the way down it was easier to admire the scenery and stop for photos. After the fast descent of 20 kilometers, I stopped at Argeles Gazost to see what my options are. In the tourist office, I met another touring couple that I had already seen at the col and as they were heading at the same direction with me, we ended up cycling together to Luz Saint Sauveur and checking into the same camp site. Philip and Julia are spending a week cycling around Pyrenees and they will do as many cols as they have time for.

Philip and Julia leading the way

Philip and Julia leading the way

Hi, my name is cool!

Hi, my name is cool!

Day 26 – Pau to Laruns

51km of 1840km so far…
After my day off and the steak I had for dinner last night, I was feeling ready to conquer the mountain tops. Even if I woke up early, I had a slow start. Being a Sunday I had to buy supplies from one of the supermarkets in the city, as shops would be closed in the country side. A stop in the tourist information office and another stop in the boulangery for the second breakfast meant I was out of Pau at around noon. That was ok though as my destination wasn’t that far away, but I wasn’t sure how difficult it would be in terms of altitude.
Even if the visibility was rather poor all day long, I could see I was heading towards the mountains, so I was expecting to face big slopes at any time. After a while though, I realized I was cycling within a valley parallel to a river. I was still going uphills but it was only a minor gradient and in general the ride was easier than expected. On the other hand the scenery was just amazing, with mountain tops all around me, some inside others outside the clouds.

Cycling by one of the rivers
Cycling by one of the rivers
The sourounding mountains of the valley
The sourounding mountains of the valley

I had a quick stop for a lunch snack at Luvie-Juzon in a very nice location by the river. The village it self is very small and quite, with nice old houses.

The view of the mountains from ...
The view of the mountains from Luvie Juson
My lunch spot
The lunch spot
And let there be light!
And let there be light!

I started cycling again and it didn’t take that long to get to Laruns where it was my primary destination and I knew there were camp sites. It was around 2am and my dilemma was whether to stay there or attempt the high col which was 18km away plus another 18km for the next village of Aucun. The problem was that I wasn’t sure if there are camp sites over there as it belongs to a different county and the tourist office didn’t have information about. I decided not to risk it and I checked in to one of the several camp sites of Laruns. To be honest I didn’t regret it at all. Laruns is a very nice little village at 525meters, surrounded by incredible mountains and only has bout 1000 inhabitants. The camp site I chose is right next to the river, which I can hear from my tent. A very nice contrast after the horrible camp site in Pau, where the only thing I could hear was cars.

Laruns with the big mountains in the background.
Laruns with the big mountains in the background.
Houses at Laruns
Houses at Laruns

After my shower and washing up, I went into the main square of Laruns to have a look. There I met a Portuguese couple and they were touring as well. Actually Pedro and Catia just finished their trip and they were heading back home in a Spanish city, where they live at the moment just on the other side of the mountains. We exchanged some stories and experience and they offered me valuable information about the cols I wanted to attempt as well as others that I should go through. They’ve done several trips in the area so they know it very well.