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Jun 2009Rory's Pyrenees peace mission LESS - Coast to coast across the Pyrenees - by bike. 5-9 June 2009.
Peace Direct supporter Rory Souter has recently returned from his 450mile (708km) cycle from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through MOREThe Pyrenees. It’s a four and a half day event and can be undertaken at any time during the summer; it follows a prescribed route through the mountains and takes in 18 ‘cols’ or mountain passes many of which are well renowned as classic Tour de France climbs. Read his full account below (it's exhausting just reading it!)
- Jun 2009Day 1 LESS
- Wet – 90 miles along the coast and inland, rain followed by harder rain but fortunately not cold, if you kept going that is! Soon very rural and rustic which was to MOREbe the theme of the trip. Great tastes too at our coffee and lunch stops – a basque omelette filled with the most delicious mushrooms I’ve ever tasted, unforgettable! 90 miles and our taste of our first 4 cols, gradual creeping climbs but comfortable warm-ups for the big ones tomorrow. Last one col d’Osquich (495m) taken in pouring rain and fog after 100 k’s tested me out but the happy with the first day and 140kms. Stopped over night in a proud village, Arrette, and very comfortable hotel where our bikes were washed clean by the proprietor – an act I thought demonstrating how high the French hold their biking heritage. Same service in England – forget it!
Dinner – 3 course as much as you could eat – superb. Proprietor makes a later appearance, smashed! (More the English way!)
- Jun 2009Day 2 LESS
- breakfast – hit the spot, taking on board a lot of baguette, abricot jam and nutella over a long period of time!
Set to be our hardest day of the trip. MOREThe first thing I notice is the vertical scale is wildly different on the laminated pocket direction cards given out by PM for each day, showing the profile of the day. Day 1’s scale went to 500m, today it goes over 4x that to 2200m! We kick off and are soon into the first of the 3 big cols of the day – col do Marie-Blanque (1035m), about 10k of ave 8% gradient. You can tell it’s going to be steep from the cyclist’s board at the bottom of the climb marking out the gradient in 1km’s – that coupled by the smell of over-used brakes from the cars descending…. The climb’s manageable and good to bash it out early in the day. A rough road surface turns to perfect tarmac 1k from the top making a massive difference, and then onto a great wooded descent.
On to col d’Aubisque – 20k of similar gradient, up through a ski-station to above the tree line and exposure to the elements – our first big haul but met with a monster baguette at the top. Mark has a hard time but soon recovers. A great descent down steep, cut-out roads and breathtaking views and soon back down into the warmth.
On, on and up again, after 90 k’s and 2 big climbs it’s on another 35 k’s to the top of the most famous climb, Tourmalet – hairpin upon hairpin of relentless climbing, probably taking 3 hours to get to the top, through onto the snowline and on an officially Route Barrié closed road. A big haul, but a warm welcome by Ian and Julie at the top and a snack before the 15k descent through La Mongie ski resort with teeth chattering and front wheel wobbling from the shivers running through your body.
Rest at a very unwelcoming hostel, the only downer of the day just when you need a boost. Pathetic dinner finishing off with a natural yoghurt pudding, with 3 hundreds and thousands failing to jazz it up….Interesting photo collage of Tour de France feats through history, putting our efforts into perspective, the whole Pyrenees was one stage in the 1930’s, I recall a total of 372km done on track roads and the heaviest bikes of the times; apparently brandy was the energy drink then….
- Jun 2009Day 3 LESS
- June 7 and Arthur and Bert’s first birthday. I owe Trend a lot for putting up with me disappearing for hours on end during the training and for manning the busy fort MOREfor the 6 days I’m away – We knew the boys wouldn’t notice my missing their day but it was more of a special anniversary for us both. And it was to be a long day in the saddle thinking of the fun there’d be at home. I resolved to recount Happy Birthday as many times as I could that day to my imaginary friends just in front of me. I wasn’t so good at it going uphill, but it must have sounded strange on my descents!
So back to the biking, Day 3, the first of our 2x 170km rides – straight into 2 monster climbs each to 1550m but with stunning scenery to take your mind off matters. Sunny but cool suits me well, too hot and it would have been a different challenge. Again the descents are breathtaking – proper fast and fancying yourself as a Tour de France racer but realizing they’re probably going twice as fast as your 70kph! On, on though very quiet, remote countryside to the spiky climb of Col de Portet d’Aspet infamous for the death in 1995 of a Tour leader and Italian Olympic gold medalist Fabio Casartelli who died on the descent. Past his memorial and my body is maximizing its effort to ‘top out’, through the sharp 17% cheeky parts of the ascent. A fabulous 20k descent, memorably going through a rustic village in the warm sun 6ft behind a gliding swallow at road height – it was a moment that stuck in time for me – I felt pretty free and above all, lucky to have the good health to be where I wanted to be.
- Jun 2009Day 4 LESS
- Came to an end with a mega descent of 40 k’s – rain spoiled the first third – if I’d been there 20mins earlier I would have enjoyed what the crazy gang MOREexperienced, but we had to hold off in case the front wheel went from us and we careered over the ravine (dramatic license). With a dry road we motored on, faster and faster to our resting place. I ended up going all out on the flat into the town with 8.5 stone ironman Huw, totally overdoing the effort but it was great to know what the body can still pump out after 9 hours and 100 miles! Into Prades and a swimming pool to enjoy, surrounded by mountains, we’d broken the back of this gruelling challenge.
- Jun 2009Day 5 LESS
- An 86k parade to the coast, with a twist. PM’s Ian leads the way, his first day back in the saddle for 2 weeks after breaking his collar bone. Sets a great MOREpace and riding in a group we get swept along, and along, faster and faster. If you fell off the back, like I did when something fell off my bike, it took a full 20mins at warp speed 1 to get back into the group. It shows the how superhuman these TdF riders are after a fall, to get back in the pack. On and on again along the flat (hooray) and through vineyards, Cotes de Rousillon, and orchard down to the sea, a welcome site. But another 20 k’s of purgatory as we all race the undulating coastal road and hit leg sapping climbs to the next bay and manic descents, desperate to finish the job off. We roll into Cerbere 2 and a half hours later and it’s all over – YES! Backslapping, photos, swim and a good lunch, job done!
- Jun 2009Lastly LESS
- First off, I couldn’t have done it without the long rein I was afforded by Trend to see the challenge through, it was a big commitment and I’m lucky to be able MOREto do my own thing, thanks darl. Second, for the support of everyone who sponsored me for Peace Direct, I will have raised £1000 for the charity that prevents and resolves disputes in conflict areas. That support did mean an awful lot and I can really say that I recounted your names in my mind many times when the going got tough and you made me complete it, so THANK YOU, it really did make the difference!
Lastly to Ian and Julie, the husband and wife owners of Pyrenees Multisport whose superb organization and dedication to the group made it a fabulous experience for us all. They were always there for us, at the start middle and end of climbs, all with the best humour and professionalism to make us feel great. I’d heartily recommend you visiting their centre and taking the same trip we did, or some other sports-based break!
Altogether an exhilarating trip in a beautifully unspoilt area of France. See the photos sent by PM – careful there’s quite a lot of lycra! http://gallery.me.com/tripyrenees/100181.
