The Toughest Day? ~115km

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(really in Prades d'Aubrac)

Today was billed as the toughest of the tour, although I am not sure I agree with that assessment. Whether or not it is true, the day's demands (6 cols - or only 5, depending on how you count them - and 3100 metres of climbing) left everyone feeling uneasy and wanting to get an early start to the day, Breakfast at the truck stop we stayed in (seriously) was as efficient as could be: everything you were entitled to was delivered in a basket, so we were out of there earlier than anticipated.

Last night's rain (there had been a terrific thunderstorm and downpour) seemed to have cleared things out a bit, but the threat of showers and more thunderstorms persisted. I figured they might appear towards the end of the day so was pleased at getting away early, but when I went to claim my bike from the garage I found...yet another flat! The morning was not off to a good start - I had previously discovered the repair job I had performed on my sunglass prescription insert had finally failed, and one lens was now free-floating.

After changing the tire I set off, fairly certain I would catch up to those who had left before me. In no time at all I was out of town and heading eastward i.e. directly into the sun on the 16km (gentle) ride to the first col of the day. It was already warm, and the day had just begun. After passing through several villages we came upon a lookout that afforded great views back at the entire valley before the road degraded into what was essentially a paved goat path through the woods.. There was precious little traffic on it so it didn't matter, and eventually I emerged to the deserted col. If you look closely you can see that at that point, there is a turnoff to climb directly to col #2, so it's debatable whether or not to include this one in the day's count, especially since col #2 was a mere 2km further up (literally) the road.

When I got there, I was surprised to meet some people who, apparently hoping to avoid some elevation/distance, had climbed the road I was about to descend - because of a slight error in our directions (mislabelling a highway) the poor souls hadn't realized that on their way up they had ridden well past where we would make our next turn.

With that anomaly sorted out, I enjoyed my ride down (it was wonderfully twisty) but got held up at the turn because of road work being done. Since I had time to kill I got the flagman to take my picture, asking him to include the sign describing the climb in the frame. While he did so, unfortunately he missed the part that indicated the maximum grade on this 3rd (and major) climb of the day, which I believe was 9.6% for those of you keeping tabs. You may also note that the weather was cool and cloudy on this side of the col, which did not inspire confidence.

There followed a long slog into darkening clouds until finally with about 3km to go the terrain opened up and the grade eased a bit, signifying the end was nigh. It also got increasingly cool and windy, and it was with great relief that I finally arrived at the top and noted the weather seemed to be better on the other side. This time there were no people from other parts of the Commonwealth to greet me on top, but I did enlist the aid of a woman from Montreal in re-creating my cresting of the hill. before enjoying an absolutely crazy, winding descent into sunshine, although having frozen at the top, I never did quite get warm despite the improved conditions.

Following a brief lunch stop part-way down the valley, I continued descending into a cool headwind, and although it took quite a long time, eventually I did warm up. Then, although it wasn't particularly steep, I once again started to overheat on the exposed climb to the not-terribly-scenic col #4. before giving back some elevation prior to confronting the 5th col of the day. As I laboured away, I was relieved to discover the road veered away from what I had incorrectly assumed to be our (steeper) trajectory and was shortly rewarded with a wonderfully summer-like and relaxed descent into the next valley.

Prior to starting out I had reviewed the day's climbs, but with so many of them it was hard to keep track of all but the first (which I knew to be gentle) and the 3rd (which I knew would require a major effort). I thought the climb to col #6 was the one that had a brief intro of 14% but then relaxed into a modest incline, and was a bit surprised to discover it instead involved a 'real' climb (or at least by that point in a hot day, one that felt like it), and I was grateful for the helpful road markings that someone (an Irish tour operator, I guessed) had added. At not very long last, the col appeared, exposing a wonderful valley that contrasted nicely with the woods I had been climbing through. The descent was exceedingly long as I gave back all the accumulated elevation of the day - so long, in fact, that it had 3 distinct phases.

The first was twisty, then the road opened up a bit but became sandy and bumpy, and I stopped at one point not only for pictures, but to let my rims cool down (from braking). It was sunny below, but one could see clouds shrouding the col and building to the west. As I passed through the cobbles of Molitg-les-Bains (great for tourists, not so good for cyclists) I could see the skies darkening, and wondered if I would make it in before the rain hit. The road then opened up into a wonderfully smooth and twisty highway which was a joy to descend even among the traffic that had picked up,and in short order (and after consulting with the map) I found the hotel and checked in. The rain I had feared never materialized.

I'll skip the story about how the 4 of us staying in a hotel separate from the rest of the group managed to get to dinner, but I am pleased to report I did manage to satisfy my craving for vegetables, although at some cost. Whereas some complete menus could be had for 14 Euros, my "salade vegeterienne" cost a whopping 12Euros 50. At least the restaurant where I ate it offered a ringside seat to the festivities associated with the Flamme de St. Jean.

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