Tag Archives: col

Day 28 – Luz Saint Sauveur to Bagneres de Bigorre

54km of 1966km so far…

Another day, another col!
As the weather forecast wasn’t good for the afternoon, I woke up early and I was on the road by 9. Philip and Julia were going to the same col with me, but we departed separately as it is easier to go up on your own tempo.

Julia, Philip and me
Julia, Philip and me

Today’s col was Tourmalet at 2115 meters over an 18km ride. When I saw the first sign, I hadn’t even done 3km from the campsite, which means my legs were not warm enough. Today it was a lot colder and even at the base the temperature was around 11c and extremely humid. A few kilometers later and I could see my breath and my back steaming.

No welcome sign this time, but straight to the point
No welcome sign this time, but straight to the point

The scenery was once again breathtaking. There wasn’t much forest this time, but loads of grass and a lot of running water. The area was populated with cows, sheep, horses as well as eagles flying above the valley.

On the way up
On the way up
Above one of the ski resorts
Above one of the ski resorts
Clouds many of them
Mountain tops and clouds
The road I came through
The road I came through

Once again, I saw many cyclists on the way and I ended up doing the last 5 kilometers of the climb along with two Spanish women. Their mothers were escorting them with a car to film their attempt and support them. They later told me it was their third time on this col and this time they were doing the entire Pyrenees from coast to coast in ten days!
The temperature droped to 5 degrees, my camera and speedometer were complaining for low battery because of the low temperature and I had to stop and put my jacket for the last few kilometers. This time the road was next to steaper cliffs without any barriers, so a few times I cycled on the opposite direction to avoid an accidental jump to the void.

The very last sign, good for motivation
The very last sign, good for motivation
My face right just after I got to the top
My face right just after I got to the top
By the official sign and the famous statue
By the official sign and the famous statue
Another col, another award!
Another col, another award!

I made it to the top and some other cyclists congratulated me. Everyone up there was treated as a winner. I took my photos, took more clothes and jumped into the refuge restaurant for warmth and food. Once again it was full of cyclists. I talked to one of them and I found out they were a groupf of six friends cycling the entire Pyrenees in 7 days, raising money for cancer research, as the leader had recently lost his father.

Me in the spacesuit before the descent
Me in the spacesuit before the descent

This time the descent was even harder. With a pair gloves under my mitts and plastic gloves underneath, my fingers were still frozen and barely able to press the breaks. I stopped to the first ski resort to use the toilet’s hand dryer to warm my self up before I continue with the descent. I wonder how most of the cyclists that make it up there, wear such a minimal clothing and most of them would go for a second col right after.

Some amazing turns
Some amazing turns
Quick stop to warm up and take a photo
Quick stop to warm up and take a photo
More and more descent
More and more nice scenery

At the village Campan I saw this very interesting custom. Every single house and store had one or several dolls in various poses. I found it very interesting and funny.

The crazy puppets at Campan
The crazy puppets at Campan

When I got to the village of Saint Marie de Campan, I had the choice of going south west to the col d’Aspin. But I think I took my little taste of climbing mountains and it was time to head to warmer grounds. I was about to go to Tarbes, but the tourist office told me there aren’t any campsites, so I stayed at Bagneres de Bigorre for the night.

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!