DAY 14 - On the way home

1.4 miles cycled, average speed 8.5 mph, 32 m climbed, 52 kcals used

Cycled to the station!

The Cathedral at the Grotte de Massabielle

Tat for the discerning pilgrim

The last view of the mountains as the rain closes in

Looks like we made the right call on the weather!
If you look closely, you'll see how high the raindrops
were bouncing on the rebound.

Our heros and their bikes, now snug in their bags

DAY 13 - Lourdes to Lourdes via the Aubisque

Lourdes to Lourdes via the Aubisque
54 miles, average 11.9 mph, 1742 m climbed, 3507 kcal used
Weather sunny and warm, windier later on.

Sadly, today was our last proper day of cycling. The original plan was to go out on Saturday too, perhaps to do the Tourmalet, or at least part of it. But the forecast for tomorrow is for very heavy rain and it would not be safe to do the ride in those sorts of conditions. 

Almost as a climatic apology for the up-coming deluge, today the weather was very kind; with the early high cloud dispersing quickly. We started with a hotel breakfast; help yourself, all-you-can-eat, always a dangerous thing to offer to a group of cyclists. We noticed that they were running out of food by the time we left...

We headed out of Lourdes in cool but bright conditions, picking up food for the day at a Carrefour Supermarche, before getting onto the Voie Vert, an abandoned railway line converted to cycle route that heads out into the Gave valley. This is a brilliant facility, with a good smooth surface and info boards along the way. It takes you into the heart of the big Pyrenees and breathtaking views in very short time. 

Voie Vert out of Lourdes

Mountains looming

Gently climbing, we arrived at Argeles Gazost more quickly than we had anticipated, Roy almost overshooting as he hadn't spotted the rest of us stopping for photos. Here we left the Voie Vert and started the big climb. A couple of km at around 10% and then gradually easing off to a flat section in the middle before the final 8 km at 8-9% up to the first Col, the Soulor. Anticipation is half the battle on climbs this big; you know it is going to last a couple of hours and you have to pace yourself. We all appreciated the lighter bikes, without luggage. Fairly soon, though, Rowan's knees began to give him some trouble, so he and I stopped regularly to try to ease them off, whilst John and Roy carried on at their own pace. Again, with this sort of climb, this is what you have to do; everyone needs to find their own rhythm, so we never deliberately climb the big cold in a group.

Half way up the Soulor

Rowan's discomfort unfortunately worsened, particularly on the final 8 km section. Info boards for cyclists at the roadside are placed every km, so these help measure your effort and pace. The stops did allow us to admire the increasingly special views as we got deeper and higher into the mountains. At one point we started hearing the merry jingling of bells, something we had not heard since leaving the Massif Central. As we rounded a corner, we saw why; a whole heard of sheep (with the occasional goat) was coming down the mountain and across the road. We stopped as the tide of animals passed around us.

Sheep stop play ...

Further up the road, as we entered the last 2 km, more bells heralded a heard of cows being marshalled up the road. We briefly saw John and Roy passing them on their way to the top (we found out that John had already been up and had come back down to see how the rest of us were getting on!). Then it was our turn to wait behind, before being beckoned through by the herders. 

Then cows...

We tentatively passed, always wary when in close proximity to such big animals, especially as a couple were a bit frisky. Then we were there, at the top of the Soulor (1474 m)! A quick photo stop for Ro at the top then we met up with John and Roy for hot chocolate at one of the summit cafes.

A young man with sore knees, but a good altitude

We moved to a bench poised above the valleys, surrounded by the high peaks, for lunch where we watched Griffon Vultures and Kites soaring on the thermals.

Best lunch spot yet

A griffon vulture, (thanks to Blogging Support for the ID)

And friends

Panorama of the Soulor

Our ultimate objective was the Aubisque, 11 km on from the Soulor. Rowan's knees were not up to this, unfortunately, so it was decided that he would wait at the Soulor whilst the rest carried on. This stretch of road is a highlight of the Pyrenees, part of it traversing an almost vertical face where it has been hacked and tunnelled into the mountainside. The last two times John, Roy and I had been here, it had been in cloud or rain, so we had never seen it at its best. Today could not have been better, with clear blue sky. We dropped away from the Soulor, before climbing, initially gently, finally steeply to the Aubisque.  The traverse section was breathtaking, with uninterrupted views down to the valley floor almost at your feet and soaring peaks to the other side. 

View from the traverse to Aubisque

Pyrenean landscape at the Aubisque

Spooky tunnel sections chilled the skin. We all reached the Aubisque (1709 m) in good time, conscious that we shouldn't spend too long before returning to Rowan as we had worked out a timetable. So we turned round quickly and headed back. 

Obligatory celebratory mugshot at the top!

Aubisque panorama

John particularly enjoyed the route back. I stopped at the plaque commemorating the spot where a Tour de France rider had gone over the edge in 1951 (he survived and wa rescued by his fellow cyclists who used their spare tyres and inner tubes to make an impromptu rope) and followed on. 

The rider that survived 

Roy on the traverse, going back

We arrived to time, promptly had another cafe stop at the Soulor, before the long descent to Lourdes. It took us 1 hr and 5 mins to get from the Soulor to Lourdes.

Goodbye to the mountains

As I sit and finish off this report on Saturday morning, our decision not to ride has been vindicated as it has been throwing it down all morning. So we will pack our bags with some sadness before heading off on the long journey home this afternoon.  In the meantime, we have the flesh-pots of Lourdes to help us forget our tears, as we goggle at the extraordinary souvenirs that are on show for the pilgrims.

That's Lourdes, pronounced Lurid

Best bits
John - descent from the Aubisque 
Roy - getting to the top of the Aubisque
Jeremy - seeing Rowan get to the Soulor despite really sore knees
Rowan - listening to his audiobook in the grand theatre of mountains at the Soulor, whilst waiting for the rest of the team to return from the Aubisque.

DAY 12 - Plaisance to Lourdes

Plaisance to Lourdes
47 miles, 436 m climb, 12.5 mph average (somewhat spoiled by having to walk a km in Lourdes' one way system), 2219 kcal used
Weather: cloudy and cool to begin with, warming up to comfortable with sunny spells.

Today was about reaching Lourdes, our first objective. With the shorter day that we had done a couple of days ago, we had a bit further to go than originally planned, but at less than 50 miles, today was not meant to be tough. Because of this, we were fairly relaxed about packing up the tents, and we eventually rolled out of the camp site and into Plaisance at about 10:15.

It initially looked like our normal luck with boulangerie shops was in play to begin with, as the first one we saw was not only closed, it was out of business. Fortunately we found a second and it was excellent and full of goodies (less so after our visit!).

Then we went further into town to get more food, to find that we were doubly in luck as there was a market on. We got some very nice cheese from one stall, including a wonderous 'bleu' made from both cows and buffalo milk. 

Market day at Plaisance, very pleasant, as advertised!

Food efficiently gathered, for once, we headed off on quiet country roads, wending in and out of quiet villages, gradually climbing. At about 10 km in, as we came round a corner we could clearly make out the form of the Pyrenees in the distance, a great moment for all of us. The murky weather made them look in destiny to, grey and merged with the clouds, but their presence was indisputable. One of the great pleasures of the day was watching them change and grow through the day.

The "Bench Conjurors" lunch with friend, St Lezer

We lunched on a green in the small village of St Lezer, picnic benches again magicked up as we needed them. There was a display of giant pieces of slate that we didn't understand, but may have been the remnants of some building. A local dog befriended us, and despite our meanness with our food, he stayed with us throughout lunch. In sunnier conditions we set off again, mountains looming ever larger, climb steepening gradually. 

Mountains growing
(Um, I think you're just getting closer, Blog Support)

We reached the outskirts of Tarbes and had to move into major traffic mode for a while; something we had not had to do for a while. But we navigated through safely and continued to climb on. The air was getting cooler as we climbed higher, with villages subtly changing to tighter clusters of grey buildings. Then we were at the final climb, a brutal but thankfully short stretch at 15% into the village of Bourreac (with a nasty little dab of 17%, just for fun). 

Coming to the final climb

Cresting the top

We stopped to admire the view of the now very close mountains (and draw breath!) before plunging down a short steep switch back descent into Lourdes. We were there!

Lourdes at last!

Our routing app couldn't cope with the one way system, so we had to walk the bikes a bit before getting to our hotel, but we still made it by 4:30 pm. The hotel is basic but has all we need, and our bike bags, necessary to get us and bikes back, had arrived safely. After unpacking, the bikes, doing washing and listening to the English batting collapse, we wandered out into the madness that is Lourdes to find some food ....

Best bits
John - coming round the corner in Heres and seeing the Pyrenees clearly for the first time.
Rowan - watching the Pyrenees grow gradually through the day
Roy - first sight of the Pyrenees at 10 km in
Jeremy - lunch; great food, company and surroundings

Aubisque tomorrow .........

 

DAY 11 - St Pierre de Clairac to Plaisance

St Pierre de Clairac to Plaisance

69 miles, 1611 m climb, 3857 kcals, 11.8 mph average

Weather, sunny, coldish strong wind from the NW

We got caught with a heavy shower in the early morning which lead to a late get away as we tried to dry things off as much as possible. We were away just after 10, aware that we had a long hard day in front of us. The entire route would be one of up and down.

The team leave the campsite in the morning sun

We dropped down off the high ridge that the camping site had been at and crossed the Garonne almost immediately, another of France's big rivers. Our first port of call was Caudecoste in the hope of finding breakfast. We found a boulangerie, but, you guessed, Wednesday was their day for closing. On to the next place and sure enough, closed because of holiday. By the time we got to Astaffort it was 11 am and we were 12 miles into the day, still with no breakfast. So you can imagine our despair when the boulangerie there also proved to be on holiday. Fortunately we found a place a bit like a delicatessen and managed to get a slightly strange mix of food for breakfast and lunch, all of which proved to be delicious. 

Crossing another major rive, the Garonne

The first town we came to had a nice centre with
archways, but the boulangerie was shut on a wednesday...

So it was that we set off just about mid-day, only just having had breakfast and with more than 50 miles to go as the day started to warm up. Our initial route was on a small road that wound its way up and down through countryside scattered with hill top villages, occasional Chateau and with the odd large lorry. We passed the impressive bastide of Lectoure by, glad not to be heading up its steep sides. We continued the up and down theme, now along a ridge top with great views, and stopped for a lunch at Terraube. 

Lunch at Terraube

... which is a picturesque place

It was getting quite hot in the sun, although a strong, coolish breeze was buffeting us from the side. All conspiring to dry us out. We battled on, up and down, up and down, passing through the small village of St Puy ('oh no, they have a Saint of hills here' said Rowan). We were now running low on water but, no shops. As we were approaching Vic-Fezensac, however, we saw signs advertising a supermarche, so we were hopeful, and indeed it was there and open. We dived in and bought lots of drinks, consumed half and topped up our bottles with the rest.

Early afternoon, team passing Lectoure

Thus fortified we had our only flat run of the day for about 8 miles. Having looked at the route profile for the day, we knew that the last section had 6 more ups and downs, all relatively steep. We counted them down, one by one. Passing through Lupiac, we noticed signs for a fete d'Artagnion that had been held back in August; it would seem that the village is where he is supposed to have come from. 

Top of last climb of the day, hooray!

Finally the last climb, with a brief stop at the top to celebrate, before sweeping down to the small town of Plaisance. Camp site reception had just shut! But we pitched anyway. Bad ground, rough and hard, but we had fun banging pegs in with shoes and throwing acorns at each other!

Camp ground at Plaisance - with a surface that would make a good car
park, and probably usually does! NB. name of place = false advertising!

One day left to Lourdes...

Favourite bits

Rowan - gorging on all the drinks at the supermarket stop

John - the nice quiet road winding through the countryside just after AstaFfort

Roy - Lunch spot

Jeremy - Lunch spot 

Quote of the day: happiness is realising the strip of tarmac going up the hill is not the one we are going on....

DAY 10 - Salviac to St Pierre de Clairac

Salviac to St Pierre de Clairac

65 miles, 1153 m climb, 3397 kcal, 11.7 mph average
Weather, warm to hot, some cloud, particularly in the afternoon.

We were delighted to find that our spell of finding boulangeries closed was broken, as the one closest to the camp site was open and full of goodies (empty after we had been through)!

Opposite of yesterday! And the sign is a nice touch, as if they
want to rub it in that this time all the boulangeries were open

 The route today was through limestone country, and across the grain. Consequently we had a series of short climbs and descents with varying lengths of 'going along'. Highlights were dropping into the Lot valley at the delightful town of Duravel. Vineyards abound! The gourde of the river Theze was a pleasant surprise too, marked by limestone pillars and arches at the side of the road.

Gorge de la Theze

We heard it through the grape vine in the Lot valley

In the afternoon, after our occult power of magicking up picnic benches was again demonstrated at Tournon d'Agenais, we ended up following the valley of the Petite Seone. Heading into the sun we got increasingly hot, but we passed nowhere with water to top up, so when we reached Puymirol, we were desperate for refreshment. The long climb up into this spectacularly situated Bastide town fortunately proved successful as there was an open bar and epicerie, but only one! We rested under the arches at the centre of the town and enjoyed ice cream and orangina like teenagers (actually one of us is...).

Lunch at Tournon d'Agenais

Shade, cold drink and a restorative ice cream at Puymirol. Definitely needed
after a long hot day. (You're making this look too much like fun guys!)

Viewpoint from Puymirol

We shopped for food for the night and headed off towards the Camping a la Ferme we had identified the previous night. Initial route as suggested by our bike map app took us to a grassy track, so we had to turnaround and take our own route. No signs at all for the place was a worry, but asking a local got us there. It proved to be a quirky place; they let goats graze around the emplacements, which was a bit nerve wracking. But they have kitchen facilities, so we enjoyed a pleasant evening cooking, eating and watching the farm dogs and cats have fun...

Misdirected by the routing software ... we decided
not to follow this route to the camping a la femme

Camping a la Ferme, with hot and cold running... goats... Hmm.

Best moments
Jeremy - Duravel and the Lot
Roy - getting into Puymirol and finding ice cream.
Rowan - getting into Puymirol and finding water!
John - the first taste of orangina in Puymirol

Bit of a theme there...

DAY 9 - Pont de Rhodes to Salviac

Pont de Rhodes to Saliva

65 miles, 1126 m of climb, average 13 mph, 3435 kcal used

Weather was mixed cloud and sun, once early morning rain had cleared. Warming up!

We were a bit late up, possibly due to the thick curtains in the rooms. We ended up leaving not far off 10 am just as a rain shower had finished its work, so it was on wet roads that we left the hotel, immediately tackling a 100 m climb to our highest point of the day. Then it was a bit of up and down before coming into the first major settlement of the day, Sousceyrac, where we hoped to pick up the food for the day. But guess what, Monday is local day for the boulangerie and patisserie to be shut! Our tour seems to be following the shut day around!

This picture represents all of the closed boulangeries and
patisseries that we came across this morning. 

So we headed on and before long were on an exciting descent through forests, with dappled sunlight on patchy damp roads. John and Rowan sped off whilst Roy and I were more circumspect. We all arrived safely at the town of St. Cere, yet another town we have seen overlooked by a 'proper' castle. After a brief hunt, we found a small supermarket open and filled our bags with goodies for the day.

Our route was briefly busy, along the side of the river Bave. We started to see limestone cliffs to the south, and sure enough we were climbing up towards a picturesque village perched at the top of one - Loubressac. The climb was steady and we were rewarded with great views of Chateau de Castelnau on the way up. The village itself was very beautiful for itself as well as its situation, something that was notable for many of the villages in the area. 

The immaculate small village of Loubressac, perched on
top of our second main climb of the day,
now in limestone country

The village itself

As we left the village we came across a memorial that had been erected to commemorate the support of the resistance by US forces during the Second World War. We carried on across the countryside, passing through small villages, eventually stopping for lunch just short of Rocamadour. We noted that it was a very touristy area, one of the attractions being the chevre cheese, as well as foie gras (the goose torturers favourite pate). We lunched contentedly at a picnic site with a rather nicely done carving that had used an in situ tree - without any foie gras.

The WW2 resistance memorial above the village

Nice lunch spot just before Rocamadour.

Wood sculpture at lunch spot. 
Wonder why he's so worried?

Moving on, we were startled to come to the edge of Rocamadour to find it full of tourists and, shockingly, open shops! We were bemused until we saw the spectacular view of the old town built up the side of the deep and steep sided limestone Gorge. After a photo stop, our route then took us along and gradually down into the Gorge, characterised by a bright green bottom and rocky, sparsely vegetated sides. Having reached the base and crossed the river, we then, surprise, surprise, had to climb out the other side. Tired legs needed a rest at the top, and we stopped in the pristine village of Cales at an open cafe (our luck has finally changed!) for hot chocolate, coffee and water refills. 

Spectacular Rocamadour

The Rocamadour gorge which we cycled down into
and then back out of.

Hot chocolate & coffee stop in manicured Cales - note bikes in neat formation

Yet another descent put us next to the A20 autoroute, which we all felt was an ugly scar in the landscape, then our last big climb of the day after going under it was up to Payrac. Mostly downhill after a further climb beyond the village, we made good time into the medieval town of Gourdon, where we stocked up with food for the evening. More downhill and along the river valley to our rest place for the night, the camping municipal at Salviac. A very laissais faire proprietor invited us to find a spot and come back to pay later. Our site is very pleasant, with mint mixed in with the grass to give our every footfall a pleasant perfume. 

Our rather nice camp site at Salviac - the grass contains mint so you
 get a nice aroma as you walk around

Best bits

Rowan - Rocamadour

Roy - the Rocamadour Gorge

John - arriving in Gourdon to find the supermarket open 

Jeremy - arriving at the campsite, not just 'cos it was the end of the day, but because it was such a nice place.

Random thought of the day

Regular readers of the blog may have noticed that this feature has been missing for a while. That's not because we don't have them, it's more because at this stage of the ride, we can't remember them at the end of the day!