Where to stay in the Pyrenees?

janesy

A couple of mates are thinking about going to the Pyrenees either late April / May or late September.
Any recommendations of where to stay. We love BIG mountains and will not shy aware from doing some serious mileage and altitude.

Definitely want to do the 'big' cols;

Col du Tourmalet
Hautacam
Col d'Aspin
etc

Any ideas welcomed.
Thanks

ugo.santalucia

My favourite town is Bagneres de Luchon, but it's a bit far from the Aubisque and Tourmalet... closer to Peyresourde and at a stretch Aspin.
I suppose you can stay in Lourdes, although prices might be high as it's a popular pilgrimage destination.

Argeles Gazost is squeezed between Tourmalet and Sulour/Aubisque... didn't think much of the town itself, but logistically well placed. Bagnere de Bigorre is the other option.. never been though, so can't tell

the_jackalcp

I can recommend the perfect place. Look up Allez Pyrenees, its run by an English couple and is located in bagneres de bigorre. Beautiful house, nice town, large bike store area and the hot tub is awesome after a day of riding. Andy, the guy that runs it with his wife Caroline, cycles so can easily advise on routes. Its about 15km from the base of the Tourmalet and Aspin, spot on for a warm up if you ask me. Access to plenty of other climbs such as hourquette d'ancizan, Peyresoude, plat d adet, hautacam etc etc that can be incorporated into loops. I would recommend September as there is almost no chance of snow closing the roads.

JonEdwards

I'll second Bagneres de Luchon.

Some mates run a (mainly Mtb) holiday company based there A Quick Release, and they've got full workshop facilities, and ain't slow on tarmac either. (Kate is an ex-world cup XC racer)

Accomdation - Gite Le lutin. Accomodation is towards the basic but serviceable end of the scale, but Russ the owner/chef produces some truly incredible food in cyclist sized quantities. Very, very recommended.

Riding wise the Peyresourd, Potillion, Porte de Balles and the run up to Superbagneres are all minutes away.

proto

I'll third Bagnere du Luchon. Lovely little town. Peyresourde is next door, Port de Bales just round the corner,

We stayed with this fellow, Mike Jones, a really nice guy, even though he 'went native' and became Mayor of Luchon a year or so back. Great accommodation, great food, couldn't be better. He'll ferry you (and ride with you) to the climbs. Top bloke.

http://www.peak-times.com/Pyrenees%20Cy ... lidays.htm

il_principe

St. Lary Soulan. It's a lovely, quiet little town.

You have the Pla d'Adet & Col d'Azet on the doorstep - both featured in the tour last year. Other tour climbs near by include Peyresourde, Aspin, Tourmalet and luz Ardiden. Then at the end of the valley is the Cap de Lac de Long - Wonderful climb up to a Hydro dam. Dead end road so no traffic and a fantastic cafe at the top.

diy

I camped here http://www.peneblanche.com/ for a few days. did a bit of paragliding too.

Moldy

I'm actually staying with some mates at Allez Pyrenees last week of May. Let me know if you're in the area, could all meet up for a few Cols!

stifflersmom

I can recommend Paddy Sweeney at Velopeloton in Saint Savin (in the Lavedan Valley between Lourdes and Luz). Bike specific hostel, great food, transfers etc etc. You can see Hautacam across the valley and it's really close to tick off the following:

Tourmalet
Luz Ardiden
Hautacam
Soulor
Aubisque
Coraduque
Borderes
Cambasque
Pont D'espagne
Gavarnie/Col du Tentes
Cirque de Troumousse

http://velopeloton-cycling-pyrenees.bike/

rc856

Another vote for Velopeloton

Great base and home cooking

janesy

thanks for all input. what about best times of year? we are pretty much free June, July and august.

ive had a few emails with Paddy and looking to stay there. just trying to decide on dates as they are pretty booked.

sbbefc

I like both Argeles Gazost and Luchon.

Cycled through Arreau and it looked like a really nice village, I'd maybe give there a try if I went again.

Bagneres de Bigorre didn't look as inviting with the main road going through it.

stifflersmom

janesy wrote:

thanks for all input. what about best times of year? we are pretty much free June, July and august.

ive had a few emails with Paddy and looking to stay there. just trying to decide on dates as they are pretty booked.

I went early September and pretty much had the roads to myself. Going out of school holidays will be much quieter, which mrans you can take full advantage of the great descents.

jasonbrim

Luz-St-Saveur or Argeles-Gazost would be my suggestions. Luz is better and is a really nice town with a few good restaurants. Lots of Brits live there as well, which makes some things easier - even the bike shop is run by a Brit

KnightOfTheLongTights

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Argeles Gazost is squeezed between Tourmalet and Sulour/Aubisque... didn't think much of the town itself, but logistically well placed.

Yeah it was a bit of a ghost-town in when I stayed there for a few days one summer (either late June or late August can't recall).

chrisw12

I had the same question last year my mate and I (plus families) wanted to do the Pyrenees and more by luck than judgement,we ended in Luz Saint Sauveur. Nice little town, not much there but ok. Down the road you've got the bigger Argheles and of course Lourdes which in my non religious opinion is worth a visit.

The beauty of Luz. if you want a long climb you can do the tourmalet but if you're there for the holiday and can only spare a hour or two then Luz Ardiden is a great 'quick' climb. Then on the bike days you can go down to Argeles and do Soulor/Aubisque and Hautacam.

As mentioned above there's also some non famous climbs in the area as well.

tubaonwheels

We stopped at campsite in Luz last May/june for a week. I managed Luz Ardiden and Tourmalet. Great spot.

Aigars HC Bike Tours

Hi, I recommend Argeles Gazost and them move to Luchon too. Those are 2 very central places so you can reach a lot of most famous climbs in that area.
But listen, don't go there late April/May! The high climbs like Tourmalet, Aubisque and some others will be still closed because of the snow!!! Usually, the roads are open end of May or even June. Definitely September would be the best choice - not too hot, less tourists and better accommodation's prices.
Contact me if you need more details. I ride my bike in the Pyrenees very often.

Aigars HC Bike Tours

By the way, look at the picture below. It's mid of May, 2014. The Tourmalet was closed around 2-3km before the summit.
Col_Du_Tourmalet_May-2014_Aigars_Paegle_David_Ossip_HC_Bike_Tours_Express_Pyrenees_Private_Tour by HC Bike Tours, on Flickr

tubaonwheels

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =1&theater

This was the end of May when I rode up, still closed :P

lemon63

Another recommendation for Paddy's place Velopeloton.
Ideal location for Hautacam, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden, Aubisque plus great home cooking.

mrc1

Given your Col hit list the best place is going to be as others have said, the Luz, Argeles-Gazost, Saint Savin valley as this gives easy access to Hautacam, Soulor, Aubisque, Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden etc etc.

That being said, it may be worth investigating a multi-base tour if you have more than a few days as this means you maximise the number of Cols you can bag without retracing your tire tracks too much. The ultimate end point of this sort of plan is to tackle a challenge such as the Raid Pyrenees, but even opting for a two base tour in say Luz and Saint Lary Soulan, would open you up to a much wider number of rides and Cols, without too much in the way of logistical faff.

Timing wise, my advice if you want to be sure that snow won't stop play and want the best chances of good weather* is to push your tour into late June or July/August as the roads never really get that busy apart from when the TdF is in town even in the absolute peak of the season.

* Good weather is never guaranteed in the Pyrenees, with plenty of freaks, such as boiling weather in one part of the week followed by snow and sleet a day later etc etc, particularly in the early (May/June) and late part of the season (September), so always plan for the worst and hope for the best kit wise!

e17blade

RC856 wrote:

Another vote for Velopeloton

Great base and home cooking

Another vote for staying with Paddy & Olive from me. Top place.

ecrinslodge

I have just come back from a quick pre season tour of the Pyrenees to check out some new properties. Amongst various others, I found a fantastic place just outside Saint Marie de Campan and the start of the climb to both the Col du Tourmalet and the Col d'Aspin. Its owned by a South African/English couple who are keen cyclists. IN addition, their son runs his own cycling tour operator, so can provide guiding, assisted rides and even training camps. The Property has 3 self-contained Gites, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and a 3 bedroom. Plus they have a fantastic secure bike shed with bike tools.
http://gitebellevie.com.