Bradley on the box

Lunchtime lasted for several hours, no climbs for the rest of the day! We’re chatting and watching Bradley Wiggins in the Worlds TT, he’s doing pretty well too. It’s actually very chilled atmosphere. Our ‘post ride recovery drink’ is a rather nice bottle of vin rouge, steak, salad, crepes and chocolate sauce. For some the rest of the day is spent washing kit and at the Internet cafe, working… for others the rest of the day is spent on the sauce. Then a big meal at a fabulous Restaurant at the end of the high street. A great day. We all loved Luchon.

Day 6 – Luchon to St. Marie de Campan
• Col de Peyresourde (1565m) 1st Cat – Recent Tour battleground: ’95, ’98, ’01, ’03 & ’05
• Pla D’Adet
• Col d’Aspin (1490m) 1st Cat – Recent Tour battleground: ’95, ’98, ’01, ’03 & ’04

Pla D’Adet!
Hangovers all round this morning, as we (sadly) leave Luchon and the long luncheon behind us. Seeing as Luchon is in a valley we’re climbing almost immediately. The Col de Peyresourde is a stinker, especially with lead-like legs and a need for more caffeine. The descent is open and fast, like most pyrennean descents you have a mixture of open fast curves and cambered hairpins. It’s like it was made for cyclists, which in a sense it was, the Tour has paid for many local authorites to metal the roads over the years. So these are our hills, they belong to cyclists and cycling folklore. We all feel at home, like a big adventure playground for lycra louts.

We’re on a ‘three Col day’ and next up is the Pla D’Adet – Armstrong famously kicked the crap out of the peloton here and Dave Duffield shouted it’s name and Armstong’s over and over. Guy P does a great impression. On the way up the earlier group are coming down and they’re looking happy, or perhaps that’s a grimace…

Going off in small groups is a great idea in the mountains, you can ride at your pace this way, however fast or slow you want to go. Most of us are medium paced plodders but the smaller group approach means that there is no need for re-grouping, you just keep going. James makes sure we all know were we are heading and always waits for the last rider where he said he will. The highlight of the day is the steady climb up to the picturesque Col D’Aspin, it’s a lush green hillside with great views. The late afternoon, late summer, golden sun casts long shadows across the road. I have to say it’s the most beautiful bike ride, it was a slow start but an epic day, most of us are finding our climbers legs although they hurt like hell. At last we manage to start enjoying them, a bit.

Day 7 – St. Marie de Campan to Argeles Gazost

The day’s Cols:
• Col de Tourmalet (2115m) H Cat – Recent Tour battleground: ’95, ’98, ’01 & ’03

• Luz-Ardiden (1000m) H Cat – Recent Tour battleground: ’01 & ’03

• Hautacam (1618m) H Cat – Recent Tour battleground: ’00

Tourmalet.
This mountain was in the stage two years ago, when Ullrich attacked on the Tourmalet and Armstrong crashed on Luz-Ardiden. The Tourmalet is literally hell, as a hill. From the hostel it’s 18kms to the top. The signs that mark the kilometres and percentage of gradient start early today – I’m beginning to hate them. We ride through La Mongie on the way to the top. La Mongie is a dump, no wonder Ullrich upped the tempo here I bet they couldn’t wait to get out of the town. The Tourmalet is long and the pace means holding a wheel is a desperate struggle, a grovel – treat it with the respect it deserves.

At the top it’s 10 degrees colder (at least) and there’s a brisk wind to add to the freezing fun. The cafe is suitably warming and suitably overpriced. The descent from the Tourmalet to Luz isn’t the nicest experience, as you are fighting the wind and cold as well as your tiring brake fingers. It’s very fast through Luz and to the bottom of Luz Ardidien – the longest downhill of the week. This is the climb that did for Ullrich in 2003, it all happened here and we’re trying to spot the places where riders were dropped and where Armstrong fell off…

What’s amazing is the point where he attacked and the the distance from the top it is. It sums up the confidence that Lance must have had, that he could get rid of the group and climb alone for so long. Luz is steep and long and quite hot. It’s also pretty pointless as we simply turn around at the top to descend to lunch. Which is an excellent 3 course slap-up in Luz.

Hautacam is a hill to far for most of us (mainly me, as I chuck in an attack early, then really regret it soon after) yes we’ve raced a few hills, but cruised most of them. Although we’re happy to be near the end, as we grovel to the summit of Hautacam, I kind of wish I could do a few more… my legs remind me that it’s horrid going up, but awesome coming down. I also love the Pyrenees, the views, the villages, the people – it’s gritty, yet beautiful. Above all it’s an area that loves cycling. So we sweep into the town square, like battle-hardened tour riders arriving at a stage finish – a fantastic feeling.

James Thompson
Our ride guide (pictured here securing Simon Old’s Hammond organ to the van’s roof rack) was James from Marmot Tours, he works for Exodus on these Classic Cols trips. He knows the area inside out. He waited at the top of the middle Col of the day for all the riders to arrive and made sure that we all had a fill up of water and enough clothes for the very chilly descents. He made sure our luggage was delivered to the hotel in the evenings, ordered the wine and food and generally helped us through the day. His experience of adventure trips is vast – from dog sledding and snow shoe-ing to hill walking and the Argieose bike marathon, he’s covered it all. Living locally means he can be on call all the time. He made our trip run very smoothly, he was never rushed or stressed and always had a smile. Thanks James!

Conclusion
All in all it was a great week of riding. The point to point nature of the trip means we tackled all the major Cols we wanted to make the trip feel like a mini Tour de France. All of these hills are etched with history and most still show the painted names of the riders that have passed by.

We all seemed to have a favourite Col too (Col D’Aspin for me) and also a least favourite (Col de la Core). As a pre-cursor to next year’s Etape it was spot on as all of us improved our descending and we came back tired but no doubt fitter. In true Exodus style it’s also a bit of an adventure too, the hotels, hostels and auberges are mixed, some very basic and some suitably releaxing – but when you’ve hammered over three cols in a day you really could sleep anywhere.

Everyday we discussed how hard it must be to race in these hills, it must be brutal. Respect oozes out of our tired bodies for the tour riders who do this day after day in the heat of summer – and a fair bit faster! But the trip was a wonderful way to wind down to the end of the summer, we had great weather every day (apart from the top of the Tourmalet) and wonderful company with a group of RCUK readers who really know how to have fun. The food was plentiful too.

Obviously for all of us on the trip the memories are tinged with a huge degree of sadness, Ibbo’s passing away on our return was a shock for all of us. He made his mark on every member of the party and I’m sure we’ll stay friends because he bonded the group and helped us all – which says a lot about the man he was. So, as we raise a(nother) glass – Chapeau Ibbo!

Ibbo and Dave discuss training	Powdrill nails another apple puff	The route in all its glory