On The Up And Up (And Up)~103km

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Depending on how picky you are, today was either a 3 or 4 col day. But I am getting ahead of myself again.

Morning saw something new: the absence of rain in the forecast; the clouds, however, lingered low, and our host suggested they wouldn't burn off for another few hours. Breakfast at our hotel was served somewhat late (by our standards, at least) so I eventually got on the road at about 9:15, and quickly discovered that yesterday's cyclecomputer woes had not sorted themselves out overnight. In fact I now could tell only the time of day - speed and distance information were no longer available. The absence of the latter was particularly annoying since it makes following directions that much harder when you don't know when to start looking for the next turn.

Although I had been surprised at how well I had felt the night before after such an arduous day - my knees seemed not to even notice the stairclimb to our room - I woke to find them already hurting somewhat just lying in bed. Nevertheless I ended up discarding my original notion of walking up the short but steep hill back to the highway (recall that our last-minute accommodation was off our planned cycling route) and stubbornly grunted up the incline just to ensure my membership in the EFI club remained intact.


• Motorcycles (travelling in either direction) will time their appearances to coincide with tunnels or other structures so as to maximize the noise they generate in passing.
• Cars will similarly appear at the worst possible points at switchbacks: when you are ascending they will ensure you have no choice but to keep to the inside where the gradient is steepest, and when descending they will similarly prevent you from cutting from the apex of the curve through the inside, canted corner and out the other side, which is the best/safest line to take in a corner.


At any rate, the climb to Aubisque seemed agonizing, and it was only while at the top taking photos (of the sign – there was little scenery on offer, although the views on the way up had been impressive) that I discovered my tire had gone flat – again, although this time it was the rear wheel. There was some solace in the suggestion that that was why the climb had seemed as arduous as it had (although I couldn't say for sure when my tire had started to go soft) and great relief to discover that I at least had suffered a 'legitimate' flat – one caused by a sharp object having imbedded itself in my tire rather than another failure of the rim strip. No matter, during the time it took to effect repairs, the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped, so after bumming a spare tube from yet another group of Brits I encountered (this time from Bristol) I suited up for the descent, and literally had a blast racing through the curves, having to be mindful only of the free-roaming livestock, which thankfully stayed off the roadway (at least when I went by). It was also a relief to note that going over the col du Soulor was achieved relatively easily since it was just a slight hiccup on the overall descent from Aubisque (hence the argument over whether or not it should be included in today's col count).

Unfortunately the rest of the descent was marred by loose gravel, which can be rather unnerving (i.e. terrifying). I encountered only one instance where my front wheel slid a bit as I was leaned over at speed in a turn, but it was a decidedly unpleasant experience that I hope not to replicate.Once down to the valley, there followed a long slog up a small road to the col des Borderes, a decidedly unfamous bump with no cachet (nor view) whatsoever, made memorable for us solely because of the brightly-clad road worker exhorting cyclists to slow down on the descent because of the being-freshly-spread-as-we-passed-by gravel ahead. This provided a teachable moment demonstrating that a full thoroughfare of gravel might actually be preferable to a fully paved roadway scattered with bits of 'gravillons' everwhere, which is what the rest of the descent offered.

Once that was over, there was a nasty climb through a nondescript town before joining the smooth highway for a flowing descent I reluctantly had to interrupt in order to check my directions before continuing. Then following a bit of confusing route-finding in Argeles-Gazost I finally limped into Aspin-en-Lavedan against the wind, to find our hotel nestled by the highway in the middle of nowhere, and after such a gruelling day rewarded myself with my first beer of the tour.As it turned out, though, the hotel was a delightful find which reminded me just how seriously the French can take both service and food – the latter being both inexpensive and delicious. One thing I neglected to mention in a previous entry (since I hadn't been there to witness it and only heard about it later) was the accident incurred by one of our riders, who is visually impaired (legally blind, in fact). He had been part of a group passing through some sort of low bollards, but since (in violation of cycling protocol, FWIW) no one had called out their presence he ended up striking one head on. Although he wasn't injured in his fall, the collision cracked his (carbon) bike's frame, rendering it unsafe to ride (unlike most other materials, carbon fibre fails rather ungracefully – dramatically, in fact. Think of exploding hockey sticks). Fortunately he has since been able to borrow a bike from the wife of one of the other riders, who is keeping our driver (wife of one of the tour's organizers) company, and is continuing the tour.

After arriving at the hotel I learned that today, alas, cracked frame #2 (owned by said tour organizer) was discovered, although fortunately before being ridden and by inspection only. Although the cause of the damage is not known, we strongly suspect the baggage handlers in Bordeaux, who were seen to be literally throwing bikes onto the conveyor at the Oversize Luggage claim area, may be at fault. It is for that reason, BTW, that I bring my titanium bike on these excursions: even though it is heavier and thus harder to haul up a mountain than my carbon bike, it is also harder to damage. The good news is that a quite-lovely replacement bike was purchased from a shop owned by a former professional rider.

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