The Pyrenees!

teagar

So, as I've mentioned various times, tomorrow, I'm off to do some proper road cycling in the Pyrenees. It'll be the first time I'll have cycled properly abroad, and, naturally, it'll be the first time I tackle some proper mountains.

I figured (hoped!) you'd all like to know.

It's a group of 18 or so riders, all around the age of 30(well, most) other than me (I'm 21), with some knocking on 50, though they have been doing this kind of thing for a while.

We have a van which will carry all our belongings behind us, and we'll be staying in hotels, so there will be no need to carry lots of stuff up the mountains! We'll share the driving of the van between the whole group.

More importantly for you guys, here's the itenery I was sent. It's just a list of the cols we do each day:

DAY ONE - Sun 23rd AUGUST - Depart ST JEAN PIED DE PORT

COLS
1 - Haltza - 782m
2 - Burdincuruchetta - 1135m
3 - Bagargui - 1327m
4 - Larrau - 1573m
5 - Lazar - 1129m
6 - Eraice - 1578m
7 - Pierre St Martin - 1760m
8 - Soudet - 1540m
9 - Labays - 1351m
10 - Bouezou - 1009m
11 - Lescun - 700m
END - LESCUN

DAY TWO - Mon 24th AUGUST - Depart LESCUN

1 - Marie Blanque - 1035m
2 - Aubisque - 1709m
3 - Soulor - 1474m
4 - Spandelles - 1378m
5 - Luz Ardiden - 1735m (SUMMIT FINISH)
END - LUZ ST SAUVEUR

DAY THREE - Tues 25th August - Depart LUZ ST SAUVEUR

1 - Tourmalet - 2115m
2 - Hourquette de Anquiran - 1538m
3 - Peyresourde - 1569m
4 - Superbagneres - 1831m (SUMMIT FINISH)
END - LUCHON DE BAGNERES

DAY FOUR - Wed 26th August - Depart LUCHON

1 - Portillon - 1320m
2 - Mente - 1349m
3 - Porte D'Aspet - 1069m
4 - De La Core - 1395m
5 - Latrape - 1520m
6 - D'Agnes - 1570m
7 - Port De Lers - 1571m
END - VICDESSOS

DAY FIVE - Thurs 27th August - Depart VICDESSOS

1 - Plateau De Beille - 1750m
2 - Port De Pailheres - 2001m
3 - Croix de Morts - 898m (eng. translation 'The Cross of Death')
4 - St Benoit - 614m
5 - Espinas - 494m
END - LIMOUX


As you can probably tell, the first day is an absolute killer, and there's little rest from thereon in.

I've been training for this since around may, taking it very seriously from early June onwards.

Luckily, I'm quite a small light guy, (around 55kg or so), and some of the guys on the trip are real heffers, so hopefully i'll be alright!

My bike is pretty average really (a 2005 specialized allez with xero xrlite wheels), which just got a brandnew casset, chain, and (after much consternation with the bike mechanic...), a new bottom bracket. The sora shifters are getting quite old now, and there's a bit of chain rub in the bottom gear, but they've served me well for a long time, and I can't afford anything else!

Unfortunately, having left Sheffield University for the final time, I havn't had that much training in the hills recently, since I now am based in Cambridge, but at least I've got good practice in keeping the power on for hour after hour.

I even shaved my legs in anticipation!

I'll give updates if and when I can!

Anonymous

So, teagar, you have mentioned this trip several times, yet you still haven't spelt Pyrenees correctly!

Heh heh, sounds awesome mate, have a good time.

teagar

NapoleonD wrote:

So, teagar, you have mentioned this trip several times, yet you still haven't spelt Pyrenees correctly!

Heh heh, sounds awesome mate, have a good time.

:P

Corrected!

sonny73

Awesome, I rode in the Alps and France for that matter, for the first time this year and it was simply the best; I truly envy you.
Have a great time

nick hanson

That first day looks a BRUTE!
It will be awesome,IMHO the Pyrenees is the best place in France.
Just don't overcook it on that first day

Le Commentateur

nick hanson wrote:

That first day looks a BRUTE!

Especially if it is low cloud, as it can often be at the Basque end of the Pyrenees.

Done most of those climbs on a coast to coast trip and loved them. The Pailheres from that side is a slog though, but a lovely descent on the butressed hairpins as a reward afterwards.

If you are finishing day three at Superbagneres, with it's weird deserted hotel perched on top, you could opt for the scariest cable car ride down to Luchon. The cable appeared to be going down a cliff at an 80 degree angle at one point.

dilemna

Day 2 looks a killer as well. The Marie Blanc although not that high is still a brute of a climb IMHO as it is straight up very few if no bends.

LOL your description of some your fellow riders. You hope they don't frequent this forum :roll: .

Still the Fenland wind is good training for climbing.

Bon route et vacance!

Anonymous

Good luck, very jealous. Now all you need to do is find some VOL to rub your legs down after each day.

nmcgann

Fantastic!

I've got my first ever Pyrenees trip coming up in mid sept. So far I've only got Hautacam, Luz Ardiden, Soulor, Aubisque and Tourmalet on the must-do list.

Not 32 Cols like the OP!

Neil

teagar

dilemna wrote:

Day 2 looks a killer as well. The Marie Blanc although not that high is still a brute of a climb IMHO as it is straight up very few if no bends.

LOL your description of some your fellow riders. You hope they don't frequent this forum :roll: .

I've heard the Marie Blanc is a real killer in disguise.

I've never actually met most of the people on the trip. It is just what I've been told! Honest!

Le Commentateur

I've heard the Marie Blanc is a real killer in disguise.

Only if you if you don't leave something in reserve for the last couple of kms. It is a classic concave profile climb, the first couple of kms being little more than false flat but second half is significantly steeper.

http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/gorge/2922/F/FB34.gif

That's a slightly deceptive list becuase with some of those you won't be descending very much before reaching the top of the next col -- the Aubisque and the Soulor, for example, or the plateau between the Burdincuruchetta and the Bagargui.

teagar

Well, I am back from my trip.

Firstly, a few corrections.


Most of the guys on the trip were in and around 30, and it seems most of them have done or are planning to do an Ironman very soon. It seems I was in much fitter company than I realised!

As a result the so called big heffers were in fact just very very fit men who were just built quite large.

The first day did not go that well to be honest. I hit the first climb, which had some 3ks solid of over 13%, which were not great, especially when the rather racey looking casset on the back which the service mechanic insisted would be low enough clearly wasn't. I was grinding like you wouldn't believe, while the others spun away from me.

It was a bit of a mental blow from which I didn't recover from untill half way into the next day.


Without going into all the details of each individual climb (etched onto my brain permenantly!), suffice to say it was much, much, harder than I had anticipated.

While I knew it would be pretty tough on the body, I hadn't remotely prepared myself for the sheer mental strength required just to scale the mountains. My brain permenantly was doing somersaults, convincing me that it was all a big mistake, that I would never climb it, (especially with my ridiculously overgeared bike - my lowest(largest?) sproket was a 21, which is high for the steep gradients of the Pyrenees, even with a tripple). In fact, it seemed that the mental state I was, was probably the single biggest variable on my performance up each incline.

Unfortunately I didn't climb all the climbs listed. After skipping the final 40km or so of the first day out of sheer mental and physical shock, I managed to cycle door to door for all the rest of the days, but did not do the "extra" climbs the more experienced took on at the end of the day: Superbagneres, Spandelles, and Luz Ardiden.

My cycling began to improve after the second day when I managed to grind my way up the steep part of the Marie blanc, with some cheerleading from the others, and I had a real epiphany moment when I reached the top of the aubisque having climbed it on my own, even taking a few scalps on the way up. It was a bit of a big mental blow though that at the other side of the Aubisque, at the bicycle shop, I was told my 8 speed was so old they had no replacement cassets.

I continued day 3 with my grinding up the Tourmalet, and even attacking the Aspin. Before I'd been too indimiated by the mountains and too unsure of how my body would react. I really noticed how much experience seems to count in terrain as tough as this.

I'd never quite been as tired waking up before as I did on day 4, with very little motivation to get on the bike and a digestive system that was increasingly protesting at the sheer quantity of food and sugary gels and supplements that it had to process. Luckily, this was tempered by a improved casset done by a french mechanic which gave me a couple extra dinner plates at the back for some insurance. Finally I could spin!

I started day four quite conservatively, now that I could, and found that my form relative to the others was getting better and better.

The day was very long, (a 5 col day), and since we had to wait for the slowest person at the top of each mountain, we only hit the Agnes, at 6pm, and arrived at the hotel around 8, so late in fact, that we had to eat dinner in our cycling gear. That was the first day when the weather was hot, and I suffered badly on the cold de la core, partly since the signing was wrong, telling me there was 2km to go when there was 5km (it's all in the head!), and partly because I don't think I quite ate enough. I made up for it though for a strong performance over the last 2 cols, getting increasingly closer to the elite group of experienced riders.

I woke up on the final day feeling pretty strong, and felt that I had a good chance to "bag a col". I planned to attack, full gas, on the Pailhares, after the tguys decided that we wanted some more time to celebrate a great ride and so skipped out the Platteu de Beille.

It all went well, with a fast blast through the valley before going straight up which seemed to suit me more than starting the climbs cold after a food stop at the base. I found myself quickly in the big elite group at the lower slopes, and was feeling very strong. Unfortunately, 4kms in i dropped my water bottle, and given the ferocious heat, I had little choice but to stop and retrieve it. I chased the group as hard as i could, gaining ground, but by the time I got remotely near, the group had split up.

I managed to get one scalp, though he was bonking, and set on chasing the guys 3rd and 4th on the climb. I got close, but as soon as I did they kicked away again, which dented my confidence to such an extent that I think I lost the real fight. My mental strength let me down again.


So after a very tough and depressing first day, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

I found myself caught between the faster group of the experienced riders and the group of experienced and older riders, so I did a lot of climbing on my own, so I was by no means the weakest there!

It was trully horrible cycling up those climbs, having to burry yourself both physically and mentally, not to mention the permenant necessity to eat and eat and eat. I spent most of the trip in physical and mental turmoil, worried about what my digestive system was about to do, and how my body would react to such intense and prolonged riding. The climbs were trully intimidating, and I think i will need plenty more practice before I can trully give my best in them. The mental side really took my by surprise and I can imagine that that side will be much harder to work on than the body side.

Yet, only a couples days after, I want to get back on my bike (it's still in transit!) and prove to myself I can burry myself on my bike and spend myself so that I have no change. Totally smash myself. I've decided that I want to ride and train harder, and have vowed to train through the winter for the first time. Hopefully starting racing next year will help with the intensity needed for these kind of trips.

I wrote some big cheques on the flight back about beating the real experienced riders next year...

Anonymous

Nice one mate!

Sounds like you had, erm, a good time?

Anonymous

Cash those cheques next time Teagar and make sure they don't bounce,

Well done mate.

dilemna

Sounds like you had a good tour. Some speccy views on those climbs.
You're only 21 so have lots of time on your side. At your young age your body will recover quite quickly compared to an old heffer .

What made you take a 21 sprocket as your largest?

Highonbikes sell 8 spd cassettes. You can get a Record cassette with a 26 sprocket as the largest for about £35.

Told you the Col de Marie Blanc was a killer. At least you were prepared for it.

Rest those legs Teagar.

Any pics?

teagar

dilemna wrote:

Sounds like you had a good tour. Some speccy views on those climbs.
You're only 21 so have lots of time on your side. At your young age your body will recover quite quickly compared to an old heffer .

What made you take a 21 sprocket as your largest?

Highonbikes sell 8 spd cassettes. You can get a Record cassette with a 26 sprocket as the largest for about £35.

Told you the Col de Marie Blanc was a killer. At least you were prepared for it.

Rest those legs Teagar.

Any pics?

I didn't realise (through technical naivety) that a 21 sproket even on a tripple would be too high.

I can find 8 speeds here fine. It was trying to get them in France!

A small selection of pics are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/booksnake/ ... 8888/show/

(Not taken by me, but taken by the guy with the in the white top and black shorts on the first group pic on the far left).