oday we had mapped out a ride to summit the Col de Marie Blanche (in reverse from day 1) followed by the Col de Aubisque and finished with the Col de Souler.
We knew it was going to be a big day, but the first challenge was finding our way out of Oloron. Navigating this city is a near impossibility, but with the help from some locals we finally got on the way to the Col de Marie Blanche. Climbing up this side of the Col started easy, but soon rose to a heart melting 13% making us question following climbs to come. After a brief break on top we put on our jackets and blasted (except for Tom, Lisa--very controlled) down and met Dan (driving duties today) for pizzas and tarts.
After this snack we made our was to the infamous Col de Aubisque for 15k of fun up to 1709m. The climb wasn't to bad until about 8k when the pitch steepened and the effort began to take its toll. The climb just didn't seem to end and soon we were riding in the clouds to the top of the Col for coffee, Coke and questionable water.
T
We basted down Abubisque avoiding the cows, goats and walkers, managed to navigate one very dark tunnel and made the quick climb to the Souler. From the top we had an never ending descent, passing cars left and right riding two corners ahead as we made our way to the town of Argeils-Gazost This seems like a really neat town which several of us plan to walk around tomorrow after a short ride. We had cheese burgers for snack this afternoon with a Heffe. It was a good cheeseburger, but a French variation for sure.
Today's city sprints were won by Dan (met us after driving to the new hotel) as dirty tricks by others played against Ryan.
GPS
1 comment:
Hey guys- sounds "fun"- really, it does except you keep writing about these hard, hard climbs. Glad I'm not the sad sap that has to race you guys in cross this season.
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