Featuring the usual suspects

Featuring the usual suspects

Thursday 28 June 2012

Promenade à vélo après


Rule# 43 - Don't be a Jackass
But if you absolutely must be a jackass, be a funny jackass. Always remember, we’re all brothers and sisters on the road.

One crucial part of the 5 days was the evenings spent talking about the days we'd had over a few beers. Only a few beers as hangovers and cycling don't go well together. Except of course the last night where a few more beers were had, well it would be rude not to!

We talked about Gareth's shiny shoes that very nearly didn't see the light of day (they only came out on the last day after he was shamed into using them).

Gareth's new shoes

Mr Serious....not
 We talked about the sheep that could sleep anywhere, even while standing up!
Dead sheep standing.

Procy's Assos pose
 But most of all we talked about how good the riding was
That was awesome!

What?...................Where?.........Which way?
So what was the best?......... In my opinion:
Best climb......Luz Ardiden. Just for the aesthetics
Best descent....... has to be Col du Tentes, its high, no traffic, great tarmac and you can see whats coming for miles.
Hardest climb........Col du Tourmalet, from the East.
Most awesome ride........Col du Soulor to Col d'Aubiqsue.

5 days - 250 miles - 44000ft

Go there, you won't regret a single minute.

Monday 25 June 2012

Day 5 - Col du Soulor and Col d'Aubisque

Rule# 5 free your mind and your legs will follow.

Your mind is your worst enemy. Do all your thinking before you start riding your bike. Once the pedals start to turn, wrap yourself in the sensations of the ride – the smell of the air, the sound of the tires, the feeling of flight as the bicycle rolls over the road, the steepness of the climb, the scariness of the drop, all things to take your mind off the pain.

If someone had suggested leaving the longest and hardest day until the last day I think we all would have suggested that person was slightly mad....... That person is slightly mad, but for other reasons.

On 2nd June every year the locals take the large metal statue of a cyclist 'Montee du Geant', from its winter home in the valley, back up the mountain and place it onto the Col du Tourmalet for the summer. We had intended to join the group and venture back up the Tourmalet. But as we'd already seen the summit twice it seemed stupid to go back again when there was stuff we hadn't done. So we decided to head out and tackle the Col du Soulor and see how we got on, at 4800ft it would be the lowest col we had done and it was only 25 miles away. So again we headed down the valley that morning. As we got to 'Luz we met the giant and a large group of cyclists heading the other way, for the next 5 miles heading down the valley we were advised by numerous people we were going the wrong way!! How wrong they were!!

'Montee du Geant' heading back to the Col du Tourmalet

At Pierrefitte we'd again been advise by Rob at the hotel of a nice short cut along the back roads, again Rob's advice took us along some great roads that brought us pretty much to the base of the climb up to the col. A fairly easy 2000ft climb later and we were at the summit.

Not sure where we all were!
So was that it? Time to go home?..................No.

We'd talked the night before about carrying on and doing the Col d'Aubisque but as were all tired we'd agreed to just do the Soulor and see what happened. Well we were at the top and in the distance we could see the Aubisque, we could also see what lay between us and it:

The road to the Aubisque.

 
Well the only way to describe it is a 3000ft slab of rock with a road cut into it about 1/3rd of the way up. We headed down from the col a mile or so then started the traverse. The road is an excellent two lane road that winds its way along and through the side of the slab. The only issue is the lack of guard rail, barrier, wall or safety net and the knowledge that if you did stray to close to the edge that certain death was not far away. Oh.... and the fact that as you head out your on the right (wrong) side of the road and cycling next to a big drop.

Heading out


At the other end, note nothing to stop plunge to the valley bottom.
I can safely say its the scariest and at the same time most awesome mile of road I've ever ridden across. After the traverse there's another stiff 1500ft climb to the Col d'Aubisque.

Now those are bikes.
The last hill?

So that was it, we headed back over the traverse to the Col du Soulor. I even plucked up the courage to video some of the return ride, see the video posted before 'day 1'.
After getting back to the col we headed straight back down into the valley. Stopping at the base of the Soulor we had a coke or two and a baguette sandwich each. Now all that was left was the ride back down to Luz and the climb back to the hotel!
It was heating up again in the valley, we got to Luz and opted for some more caffeine in the shape of espresso and coke (a cola). Since we'd descended from the Soulor black clouds had started to form and the sky was looking angry, as we set of from the cafe in Luz it started to rain. Cool refreshing 'Carlsberg' rain (if Carlsberg made rain it would probably be the best rain in the world) this rain was just right. The last climb was so much easier with a cool dose of rain.

So that was it we'd set out to have an easy day and ended up doing our hardest, you can trick your body into doing anything if you take you mind of the pain!

Day 5 - 67 Miles and 12,800ft of climbing

Thursday 21 June 2012

Day 4 - The Col du Tourmalet.

Rule# 10 it never gets easier you just go faster (or further or higher - or all three)

Training and racing is hard. It stays hard. To put it another way, per Greg Henderson: “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”

When the end is the other side of the mountain, short of digging a tunnel, you've got to fight the gorilla!

After two days of climbing back to the hotel we decided a down hill finish was in order. After some more good advice from Rob we agreed on a loop heading out close to Lourdes, finishing on the Col du Tourmalet from the east.

Route = black dotted line
So we set of on our usual 5 mile descent, happy in the thought that we would not have to come back that way, at least not that day.

The route down towards Lourdes was the same route we'd done on day one, we then joined a cycle path that headed further down the valley. Just before we hit the town we headed east into what I can only describe as a typical British dale, short ups and downs, narrow roads, green grass and enclosed roads, just like being at home. Only sunny and dry! After a excellant 10 mile route across country we hit the main road heading East out of Lourdes, luckily it was fairly quiet as we took a right and headed towards Bagneres de Bigorre and started climbing.

What country are we in again?

Pic du Midi, the Tourmalet is just behind.

That's about as busy as it gets

Excellent back roads, they know how to lay tarmac in France.
As we left Bagneres we started looking for somewhere to eat, it wasn't until we got to St Marie-de-Campan, right at the foot of the Tourmalet, that we found a decent spot.

During the Tour de France in 1913, on the slopes of the Col du Tourmale,t Eugène Christophe broke his forks; he then walked for 14km to the village of Saint-Marie-de-Campan where he worked for almost four hours at a blacksmith's repairing the damage. The blacksmith shop is still there.

We found a little cafe, 'we'll just have a small snack' we agreed. A three course meal including trout and pasta for the main course and about an hour later we emerged, stuffed with food. Not sure if it was because we we're hungry after 4 days of riding or just putting of what was about to come! PAIN.

We knew what was about to come........


So all we had to do now was ride to the top of the Tourmalet and freewheel back to the hotel.

There was a distinct split in the team after our stop, one half consisted of those who had managed to digest at least some of the meal, the remainder who were struggling to keep the contents of their stomach where it should be. I believe the battle was lost.............. once or twice.

It was mid afternoon, no wind, mid 30's in the shade, 10 miles and about 4000ft of climbing. I can safely say this was the hardest single climb of our week.

The road just goes up, with hardly any hairpins, its relentless. As the road reaches the ski resort of La mongie it gets steeper and the buildings just seemed to radiate heat from every direction.

Procy in La Mongie, self portrait, 'fighting the gorilla'
Its another hot and steep 3 miles from La Mongie to the summit but at least there are a few hairpins to break the monotony.

Llamas or Alpacas?

The last drag to the summit.

The summit, 2nd time in 4 days.

And that was it we'd fought the gorilla, we were tired but we'd won and the slopes had gained some pasta and trout on the way.



Its all downhill from here. The hotel is 8 miles that way!

Day 4 - 65miles and 8,600ft of very hot climbing.


Saturday 16 June 2012

Day 3 - Circ du Garvarnie and Col d' Tente.

Rule# 85: Descend like a pro.

To put it another way: All descents shall be undertaken at speeds commonly regarded as “ludicrous” or “insane” by those less talented. In addition all corners will be traversed in an outside-inside-outside trajectory, with the outer leg extended and the inner leg canted appropriately (but not too far as to replicate a motorcycle racer, for you are not one), to assist in balance and creation of an appealing aesthetic. Brakes are generally not to be employed, but if absolutely necessary, only just prior to the corner. Also see rule# 64 

Rule# 64:  Cornering confidence increases with time and experience - This pattern continues until it falls sharply and suddenly. (The road and/or the rider and thereafter the confidence)

After a hard day the day before and a few beers the night before. Oh......... and boiler room-gate (I'll explain later). We decided to have an easy day..................only one climb.

Circ de Gavarnie is a natural 'bite' taken out of the side of the Pyrenees. 800m across at the based and 3km accros at the highest point. It has the highest waterfall in Europe.

We set off down our 5 mile descent to Luz....' then took a left and headed up the valley. The road to Gavarnie is deceptively easy being a 2000ft climb over 10 miles.

Circ de Gavarnie from Gavarnie village.

From Gavarnie the road climbs upto Col de Tentes which at 2270mtrs is higher than the Tourmalet. This is an excellent climb from Gavarnie about 3000ft of climbing in 8 miles. At the top the road is barriered of from cars. the tarmac however carries on until the border with Spain.

Bob about 1/2 way
Alan and Gareth at the 'end of the road'

Past the end of the road heading towards the border.
Procy's patent bike stand.

At our highest point (procy's bike used as camera stand)
Now we had the descent to do. There was no traffic, apart from a few half dead sheep, who were to ill looking to do anything apart from lean on each other, and two motor bikes. A great road surface, as there are no trees you can see whats coming from a long way off. So this was the perfect descent to live up to rule# 85 and see how far you could hold your nerve into the corners.

Alan, Procy and Bob are true ambassadors for that rule! I'm still playing with rule# 64 at times.
Rule# 85 to be obeyed.

Day 3: 49 miles and 9200ft of climbing

Oh I nearly forgot - Boiler room-gate. As I'm reminded most of the time when at home, we're not the tidiest of people (boys that is). Living up to this we were given a polite reminder that wet clothing hanging up in the corridors, on the fire extinguishers and in the boiler room were not really the done thing, as there was a perfectly descent drying room for that sort of thing.....its fair to say that from then on the 'cold' drying room became warm and very effective. Never let grown men loose on their own!

Friday 15 June 2012

Day 2 - Hautacam and Luz Ardiden

Rule# 68 - rides are to be measured by quality not quantiy.

Or in other words:
Rides are to be measured by the quality of their distance and never by distance alone. For climbing rides, distances should be referred to by the amount of vertical covered; flat and rolling rides should be referred to by their distance and average speed. For example, declaring “We rode 4km” would assert that 4000m were covered during the ride, with the distance being irrelevant.

So in search of the perfect quality ride we set of on day two. Advice from Rob, the Hotel owner, was to do the Hautacam first as its West facing and gets the sun in the afternoon, where Luz Ardiden is East facing and more sheltered in the lower slops so the sun isn't as bad in the afternoon. This was good advice.

The run down to the start of the climb is 15 miles and about 2800ft downhill - Great. Part of this is through the Gorge de Luz which is a deep gorge with the road cut into the side wall.

Gorge de Luz
At the base of the gorge the valley opens out with a few villages dotted here and there not far down the road the climb starts.

In normal big climb style we soon got in our own rhythm and started to split up. Soon enough we came out of the lower sloops and onto the high pastures where the road sweeps upto the Tour du France finish. After this the road climbs for another mile to the very top and a cafe. We'd spotted a nice looking Auberge on the way up so soon headed back down for a fantastic 15 min descent.

Looking down into the valley 
Station du Hautacam. The top
After a 3 course Plat du jour. We headed off for part two of the day - Luz Ardiden. This climb was made famous (or should I say more famous) when Lance Armstrong was brought down by a spectators bag during the 2003 Tour de France, on the opening slopes. He got back on and went onto win the stage - in true Armstrong style.

The climb starts from Luz St Sauveur so we had to peddle back up the gorge, and then the climb.
About half the climb is in the trees with long straights and the odd hairpin, is only when it gets out into the open that the true awesomeness of this climbs stands out - its a beauty.

In search of rule 68.
This picture goes some way in capturing the essence of the climb. For a better perspective check out the video before the 'day 1' post.

Luz Ardiden - The top.
Another fantastic descent that was over far to soon and we were back in the valley. The temperature had sored to the low 30's and we still had the last climb back to the hotel to do! Only 5 miles and 1700ft to go!

Day 2: 56 miles and 10,500 ft of climbing.


Monday 11 June 2012

Pyrenees 2012 Day 1. 'The Tourmalet'

Lance Armstrong was wrong - It is all about the bike

The boys went for another trip away at the end of May/early June. This time to the Pyrenees to ride the classic Pyrenean Tour de France climbs.

As expected, with no families to look after and big boys packing for themselves, it all started in chaos before we even left the UK. With confiscated flammable aerosols and endless deliberations over compressed gas canisters. - What do you means its the rules? How are you supposed to oil your chain with no can of oil spray and blow up my tyres with no air?

So the planned 'we'll have breakfast in the airport as there's always loads of time' turned into 'shit we take off in 10 mins where's our gate?' So we legged it in the general direction of the departure gates while one of the party was checking that no-one was oiling any aircraft wheels with his confiscated £2.50 can of GT85 spray.

Has anyone noticed that Manchester airport have now put a slalom course through duty free before you get to any departure gate, a bit like sweets at a supermarket, no f'ing good when your in a hurry!

Anyway we got on the plane with a few minutes to spare, the 2.5 hour flight 'flew in' (sorry). Our transport was waiting for us as agreed along with a large trailor to take the bikes carefully stowed in rather large boxes, or in some cases big padded bags.

So after about a 3 hour drive we arrived in the village of Bareges and the Hotel du Tourmalet which is about 25 miles South of Lourdes and just about half way up the Western slopes of the Col du Tourmalet. We arrived in the first throws of a thunder storm!

Hotel du Tourmalet
First things first, I need to explain about the rules: Velominati.com is a cycling web site that has a tongue in cheek set of rules which to most keen cyclists make perfect sense.

Rule #4 - Its all about the bike.
Or to put it another way :
The Bike. It is the central tool in pursuit of our craft. A Velominatus meticulously maintains their bicycles and adorns them with the essential, yet minimal, accoutrement. The Rules specify the principles of good taste in configuration and setup of our machines, but within those principles lies almost infinite room for personal taste.

So as we've travelled all this way with a big box's full of bikes, or at least that's how they left the UK, we needed to check out the bikes. In about an hour of reassembly and test rides we were ready for a proper test.

What better than the Col du Tourmalet the summit is about 8 miles and roughly 3000 ft climbing from the hotel, the thunderstorm had passed over and the night was clearing up so off we headed.

I supposed I should introduce my fellow Velominatus, so here in no particular order:

Gareth

Peter

Alan
David (aka Procy)
Bob
Keith
Nearly at the top

Yours Truly


L to R - Gareth, Procy, Keith, Bob, Alan, Peter
Day 1: 16 miles and 3000ft of climbing.
Day 2 to follow.


Video of the tour to the Velomanti theme 'Obey the Rules' below.