Tag Archives: Pyrenees

Day 29 – Bagneres de Bigorre to Boulogne sur Gesse

68km of 2034km so far…

After yesterday’s col, the wet and the cold night, I woke up and started my day late. On top of that I went to the town center to buy and do a few things, so I was on the road at mid day. I wasn’t feeling fully recovered, so along the day I was cycling rather slowly.
I was heading to Toulouse, but it was too far to get there on the day, especially with such a late start. On top of that, I thought I was done with the hills, but still I ended up going up and down a couple of hundreds meters several times.

A nice church on the way, with Pyrenees at the background
A nice church on the way, with Pyrenees at the background

My first stop for a quick lunch was at the castle of Mauvezin, which is located on the top of the village’s hill, overlooking a vast area of land and the Pyrenees at the far south. The weather was once again warm, which I really appreciated after the last three cold days on the mountains, so I spend a good half an hour by the castle to enjoy the sun and have a snack.

The castle of ... and where I had my lunch
The castle of Mauvezin …which is still under construction

Somebody took my banana!
Somebody took my banana!

Moving on, I did a short diversion to join one of the smaller roads which was indicated with a green outline on the map. That was the part of the day’s ride I enjoyed the most. About 20 kilometers of downhill, small and quite roads, which I rode effortlessly, within beautiful forests and small surrounding hills.

A last view of the Pyrenees
A last view of the Pyrenees
One of the small roads within the forest
One of the small roads within the forest
sunflowers
sunflowers
I've been seen loads of similar statues on the way
I’ve been seeing loads of similar statues on the way

Soon enough I got to Boulogne sur Gesse, which is a small town with a campsite and all the commodities I needed to spend the night and so I did. I cooked some food and had a beer by the tent to celebrate.

2000km and the celebrational chocolate
2000km and the celebrational chocolate

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.