Day three: Col Du Pourtalet

In the morning we drove into Pau and went swimming in an outdoor pool ostensibly to relax and soothe our aching muscles before the afternoon ride.

After two heavy days in the mountains we decided to stay away from the big climbs and tackle the Col Du Pourtalet. The main motivation was to give the legs a workout but not over stress ourselves before Saturday.

To make things even easier on ourselves we drove closer to our destination and parked up in Louvie-Juzon.

Once on the bikes we set a steady pace on the, now familiar, road to Laruns. The weather was slightly worse than the previous two days with low cloud cover and a persistent drizzle.

At Laruns the road forks. The left bend goes up to the Aubisque and the right heads up the Pourtalet. The total distance of the climb is 29K but a lot of the sections are between 4 and 6 percent with only a few stretches of steeper ascent.

I had been feeling nauseous most of the day and after about 10k was beset with stomach cramps which got more severe as the grade steepened. Gary zoomed off leaving me to my fate.

At about 15k into the climb I had to get off the bike and lie on the grass by the side of the road. After a few minutes I started to feel better so decided to continue on with the ride.

Once I got back into a regular rhythm the cramps ebbed away and I was able to get back into a high tempo, especially on the easier sections.

As I neared the summit the temperature started to really drop and the clouds closed in leaving very low visibility. Then just 500 metres from the top the clouds gave way to the first blue sky of the trip.

I reached the summit and crossed the line into Spain, where a shivering Gary was waiting for me.

After a brief pause to take photos I put on a wind breaker and we set off back down into France for an exhilarating descent.

By the time we got back to the car park darkness was looming and we had banked another 85k of mountain riding.

Back into France

Blue sky at the top of Col du Pourtalet

Summit of Col du Pourtalet

Dam half way up Col du Pourtalet

Day two: Luz Ardiden and Hautacam

We decided to do a couple of less well known climbs.

We drove down to Argeles Gazost via Lourdes.

From there it was a 12K ride up to Luz Saint Saveur which is where the ascent of the Tourmalet begins. We made a short foray 2K up the Tormalet route and then returned to the village and onwards to Luz Ardiden.

Just like the previous day's climb up the Aubisque the start was fairly moderate. The gradient started steepening after 3K as we again ascended into thick cloud.

The total distance was 13K with 1100M of ascent. The last 3 kilometres were tough going and, with the thick mist, there was only the immediate 15 meters of road in view.

The conditions at the top were cold so we immediately turned around and headed back down.

After a lunch in Luz Saint Saveur we decided to add another climb to the day and headed back down the gorge towards Hautacam.

This is another ski destination in the valley and equal in length and height to our first climb.

After another tough climb the same inclement conditions prevailed so we did not linger at the summit.
The descent was particularly tricky as the road was quite wet and narrow.

We reached the van after a total of 95 kilometres distance and 2500 meters of climbing.

Quite a draining day in the saddle but still plenty of time to recover before Saturday.

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Summit of Hautacam

The valley below Luz Ardiden

2K up the Tourmalet

Top of the Hautacam

Day one: Col d'Aubisque

We packed up all seven bikes belonging to our peleton in the van and set off for the chunnel on Sunday evening.

After a 12 hour drive through the night we arrived at our lodgings for the week. Gary, in charge of logistics, had managed to procure a fabulous farmhouse high in the hills above Rebenacq just south of Pau.

After grabbing a couple of hours sleep we unpacked our bikes and headed out to climb the Col d'Aubisque.

The route starts by dropping sharply for a couple miles down from the farmhouse to the road to Laruns.

After 25k of mostly flat terrain we arrived in Laruns which is where the ascent begins.

A large group of Spanish riders had just set off when we reached the start of the climb. After a quick photo shot we started the ascent.

The first 5k was very moderate and we quickly overtook reams of riders. It was hard to hold back and I found myself pushing the pace. As the average gradient was between 5 and 6 percent I had no trouble keeping up a high tempo.

This proved to be a mistake because after 7k the gradient increased to 8 percent and 10 percent in parts. That in itself was not difficult but as the kilometres dragged on I could feel the energy sapping from my legs.

The last 3k became a crawl up through the dense mist to the summit.

Visibility at the top was down to 5 feet and we quickly became chilled. We turned around and hit the descent, all 17 glorious kilometres of it back down to Laruns.

After a quick coffee we got back on the road home. Cursing Gary for renting a farmhouse at the top of an extremely steep hill, I arrived back quite spent.

Total distance was 85k with a 1700m climb. When I tackle this climb again on Saturday I shall be sure to take it easy on the lower section and save something for the top.

The bikes packed in the van

Gourette Ski Station - 4K to the summit

Summit of Col d'Aubisque

Our lodgings in the hills of Rebenecq

At the base of Col d'Aubisque

Out of Time

There is now just eight days to go before the Ride. Time to assess if I am ready for it.

The stats from my Strava profile:

YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance	3,238.4km
Time	135hr 7m
Elev Gain	44,484m
Rides	65

In retrospect I could probably have gone a bit harder at the training. I started focusing on hills about a month later than I should have. Ideally I would like another two months.

On the positive side I can feel the acute difference in my fitness level. There were many days when I would not have gone out for a ride but for the fact that I felt the pressure to do so. Looking back at the earlier days when I dreaded riding up hills such as Selsley, I now feel very comfortable handling those climbs.

I should be able to complete the Etape, the bigger question is how much pain I will have to endure to do so.

I leave for France on Sunday. My friend Gary and I plan to ride around in the Pyrenees for five days before the rest of the crew join us. That should give me the opportunity to try out the Aubisque and Tourmalet before Saturday.

That might not be a good idea if I find them to be extremely tough.

Changing Gears

I had never really given much thought to the ratios of my gear  set up until the prospect of riding for an hour an a half continuously uphill started to loom ever closer.

I consulted with a few fellow riders to find out what gear ranges they used and it became apparent that I was putting in way more effort than I ought to be. Of course, that was to my advantage while I was in the training phase. No one that I spoke to was going to be attempting to ride the Etape with a front gear set up of 52/39 which is the standard. Everyone had moved to a compact front crank.

I scrambled to my laptop to scan ebay for a suitable replacement crank. After a week or so I finally landed a Shimano FC-R700 Compact Chainset with a 50/34 gearing.

I popped over to Noah's Ark  cycle workshop and had them fit the new crank before heading straight out to the hills to try it out.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that going up Frocester Hill was no longer an absolute grind. I could actually get a higher cadence going. It did not result in a massive gain in time but I was faster up the hill and expended slightly less effort.

The fact that I have a 25/11 range on the rear means that I don't have an "escape" gear that allows me to  completely relax but I have enough now to confidently get up the Tourmalet, albeit at a slow pace.

Once back from the Etape though I will switch back to the regular chainset to get the most out of my training. That is based on the assumption that I will still want to ride my bike afterwards.

Pembrokeshire hills

A family holiday out in Pembrokeshire provided the opportunity to try out the Preseli hills. None of the climbs are particularly steep but they are longer than the hills around the Stroud escarpment.

Trying to fit in a three hour ride and satisfy the demands of a "family" holiday can be a tricky balancing act. Luckily the appalling weather provided a convenient cover for my extra curricular activity. No one was in a rush to leave the holiday cottage while the wind outside was howling and the rain was coming down in sheets.

I set out at 6.15 am with my full winter gear on. Visibility from the outset was down to 30 metres and I was cursing myself for not bringing my lights. The route started out just north of Haverfordwest and headed northwest up to the start of the Preseli hills. From there is skirted the National Park up to the start of a long downward descent into Fishguard - a picturesque fishing village.

There is a sharp climb out of Fishguard and then a long undulating section on the busy A road to Newport. After Newport there are many different routes to choose to head up the Preseli hills for the real climbing. I chose the main B-4329 route that goes over the pass. The climb starts at Crosswell and, though not overly steep, proved to be a tough climb due to the heavy head wind and stinging horizontal rain. For the last 1 kilometer of the climb I was down to a derisory 5 or 6 kph bent over the handlebars trying to keep the bike upright. The conditions were very similar to Snowdon in a gale. This was perhaps the only time in my cycling career that I wished I was riding a steel frame bike with sandbags hanging off the handlebars. Several times I pondered flagging down passing cars to get a lift as it seemed like an extremely foolhardy thing to attempt to keep going. Visibility was now down to a few feet and I was extremely concerned about the ability of cars being able to see me before I was plastered over their front windscreen.

I finally made it to the summit and the descent proved to be just as tricky. The more speed I gained the less stable the bike became due to wind shear. I had to apply the brakes for most of the ride down and was most relieved to finally reach the relative protection of the hedge-lined roads at the bottom.

The rest of the ride was stress free apart from the occasional seat of the pants scare when large trucks passed me and gave me cause to grip the handlebars with maximum torque.

Foolishly I repeated a similar ride two days later in even more atrocious conditions. I would love to go back and ride those hills on a clear sunny day. I am sure it would be an amazing ride.

The Ladder

My new favourite hill is The Ladder.

It rises out of Nailsworth up to Minchinhampton Common. The road has been newly resurfaced and is super smooth. There are several switchbacks that give you the feeling of being out on the Alps and then it summits into an awesome view of the common. The total distance is not more than 1.5 kilometres and a rise of only 140m or so which means the pain is fairly well contained.

The great bonus though is that once you have climbed it you can turn around and come back down. The descent (http://app.strava.com/segments/720237) is probably the best on the Escarpment. The smooth tarmac allows speeds up to 80kph, although you have to brake hard for the sharp bends.