Ride 1 Col du Portillon (both sides) and Superbagneres: 47.45 miles 7,966 feet
Ride 2 Peyresourde y Pla d'Adet: 41.86 miles 6,575 feet
I've not been updating this blog because I don't know how to use Google's Blogger like I used to. A few years ago Blogger was simple to use, configure, edit, post photo captions, etc. Now? I can't seem to figure it out and I've given up on making it look pretty.
Maybe, then, this just ends up as a bit of a photo dump.
I wrote a bit about Bagneres du Luchon. . . lovely little town. The first day routes were tough given that they were full of climbing and we'd not been doing much climbing.
Add to that I've been very unhappy with my bicycle, i.e. the way it fits. And, actually, the way it rides, too. It rides like I'm in sand. Just no forward propulsion. Then again, maybe I'm just n lousy shape, or jetlag or something.
I am a slow rider, which I can live with. What I DON'T like is FEELING slow. There is a huge difference. This bike makes me feel slow. And the fit, after a half hour or so of climbing, my lower back is just screaming. Fortunately it stops when I get off the bike. My big fear is developing some kind of permanent damage.
So, riding, Bagneres du Luchon. . . . After the Portillon/Superbagneres ride, it rained the next day. Neither Linda nor I rode at all that day. A few others did, Deb Finley even rode to the top of Superbagneres. Which was nuts since it was nearly freezing at the summit.
No one was particularly excited about riding Friday the 13th, a travel day to Saint-Lary Soulon. The original plan was to ride from Bagneres du Luchon over Col du Peyresourde and down and around to the new hotel (with an option to climb to Pla d'Adet). I was the only one that ended up riding. For the most part it was a good decision--except for the descent from the top of the Peyresourde to the valley below.
Getting a little ahead of myself though. I bundled up and took every warm piece of clothing I had with hopes of bundling up warm enough to endure any cold I might experience descedning the Peyresourde. The Peyresourde climb was nice, I'd done it once before in 2017--felt a little better this time than that. In 2017, after climbing a few other hills, including the Port de Bales, I was having the worst day I'd ever had on a bike. I had a Red Bull at the top of the Peyresourde and, well, it gave me wings. Descended (on my own bike) with no problem, and was the quickest of our group of 10 up the Col d'Azet, the final climb of that day. Point being, I knew what to expect on the Peyresourde CLIMB. The descent was what I feared the whole way up.
The rest of the team took the bus over to the next hotel and they started a ride from there. We had to take the same road over the Peyresourde to get to Saint-Lary Soulon. I left a bit earlier than the bus and Linda was able to click off a few photos as the bus drove by (scared the crap out of me as the driver honked as he went by):
Got to the top of the Peyresourde no problem. Word is that at the top you have to have some crepes from the little shop on the side of the road--12 of them for 7 euros! So I did. I missed video of them making crepes as there was a short lull when I happened to be there. I bought three and a hot chocolate. The place has been there for several decades, I wnat to say 35 years, but I'm not 100% sure of the duration. Open Tues-Sunday from 9:30am to 6:30pm. I can't imagine Monday is the only day they close througout the year. Snowstorms and holidays surely must get in the way? I would have liked to have learned more about the owners. . . . Language gets in the way.
They had jam for sale, too, which would have been even better on the crepes--but I would have had to buy a jar and I don't like the thought of carrying a glass jar on my bike while riding a bike.
So far, so good. Now the descent. Pulled my arm warmers back up (I'd rolled them down for the climb), added leg warmers. Added a thermal jersey on top of the one I was already wearing. Added another heavier one on top of that. Added a wind jacket on top of it all. Surely this would be enough to keep me from shivering and a case of the shimmies.
It lasted about a mile. I had about 9 more miles to go. It was ridiculous. On a long run like that I should have been able to easily do 30-40mph. I was having to keep it under 10mph, and even stopped a few times, the shaking was so bad. It was the worst time I've had on a bike in a long, long while. As I dscended and the air got warmer, I was finally able to pedal without the bike shaking apart. And once that happened, the rest of the ride to Saint-Lary Soulon was actually very nice. Except for, of course, an unresponsive bicycle. It felt like I was pedaling in mud, even with a tail wind.
On arriving at the Saint-Lary hotel I texted Linda to find out where she was. She'd headed up the climb to Pla d'Adet. I was afraid she'd say that. I'd never done the climb but you can see if very clearly as it rises from the valley floor. After the morning I'd had descending the Peyresourde I didn't want to get to the top of the Pla d'Adet and then find out it was going to be too cold and I'd have the same shviering problem I'd had before.
But, against my better judgement, I took off--slowly--after Linda and Deb Finley, hoping, stupidly, that maybe I'd catch up to the them before they reached the top. The climb's tough, steady above 8%. It was a mental challenge and I was already going slowly from not having taken on enough calories.
As it turned out, I crossed paths with Linda and Deb about 3.5 kms (a little over 2 miles) from the top. I briefly thought about turning around and following them back down but 2 miles from the top? I had to keep going. There's a decision point with just under 3 kms to go--left to Pla d'Adet, right to Col du Portet. . . I wanted to do Col du Portet, but it was another 5 miles v. the 3 to Pla d'Adet, it was getting later in the afternoon (meaning cooler) and I was already dreading the descent regardless. So I went left, the closer of the two. I had hoped to be able to go to the top of Pla d'Adet, descend back to the junction, and go and do Portet, thus avoiding having to climb over again the part I'd just done to get to the junction. I knew there was a possibility I would't do Portet if I didn't do it right then. But it was too risky.
I did make it to Pla d'Adet. It was dead. . . nothing up there at all was open--the summer activity is over and it's too early for skiing.
Decision point:
Made the descent. The first 2 miles back was shaded and cool. . . the scariest part. I started down and just monitored everything--was I getting cold? How cold? Watch for the slightest bit of a shiver. Made it to the junciton and the sun and from then on it was much, much better. Still not supremely confident in the bike's descedning characteristics, but at least there was no shivering and I didn't come near to going over the cliff. I was glad to get down and it was LATE.
The restaurant in Saint-Lary Soulon was outstanding, l'Authentique:
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