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Published On: May 15, 2007 04:23 PM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: May 15, 2007 04:23 PM
Renewing my acquaintance with the Pyrenees
I'd just about run out of food and had one of those
brief out of body experiences when the head is doing one thing and the legs are
totally detached and doing something else as the blood sugar dropped... I didn't
escape the rain either, it pissed it down as I passed the summit
Distance:
144km
Time: 05:00
Ave: 28km/hr (I was tired from the flight and taking it easy:o)
Cols climbed: Col des Ares (twice, one in each direction), Col de Larrieu, Col de Portet d'Aspet
Plus a couple of other smaller ones whose names escape me.
Cool day, but I'll start at the beginning... I'm sharing a room with a chap from London, turns out he's a banker... Which means well moneyed, has a house on Hampstead Heath with Boy George as a neighbour... I was half expecting him to turn out this morning fully equipped in Rapha head to toe and riding either a Cervelo or a Condor - the stereotype would have been complete... But I completely misjudged him, aside from being a thoroughly decent chappie there wasn't a thread of Rapha in sight and neither was he riding either of the aforementioned machines. Not perfect though... he snores.
Anyway, enough of that - what about the riding? Wicked in a word. Ace to be back riding in the Pyrenees. I was thick in the head for the first hour and tired from the trip yesterday but then the adrenalin and endorphins got the better of me and for the rest of the day the pedals were turning by themselves!
I relived a lot of memories this morning as I headed east to St Girons following the same route as on the Pyrenees coast-coast 4 years ago... Mostly happy memories, just slightly darkened by a particular toerag I had the misfortune to be riding with who simply couldn't deal with the fact I was fitter than him (back then I gave up being nice and diplomatic by day 3 and just rubbed his nose in it on the next big col.)
Weather was ace as far as St Girons, hot and sunny, from there though I was chased by building stormclouds up towards the Col de Portet d'Aspet... Incentive to hammer it up the climb. I'd just about run out of food at this point and had one of those brief out of body experiences when the head is doing one thing and the legs are totally detached and doing something else as the blood sugar dropped... I didn't escape the rain either, it pissed it down as I passed the summit and for the next 20km or so. I was robbed I tell you, robbed of an enjoyable descent by dripping wet hairpins and an excess of gravel. Ho hum.
Found my legs again after a while in the cold, wet air and flew the last 40km home, flat out at 45km/hr into a headwind for the last 10km to try and beat the huge storm moving down from the head of the valley. I won that race but I fear I'll suffer tomorrow from that last gasp effort - my legs are pulp.
The piccy is a particularly nice stretch of road skirting a long just to the north of the proper mountains... look - no potholes, yellow lines, dead badgers or assholes in cars... perfect!
Time: 05:00
Ave: 28km/hr (I was tired from the flight and taking it easy:o)
Cols climbed: Col des Ares (twice, one in each direction), Col de Larrieu, Col de Portet d'Aspet
Plus a couple of other smaller ones whose names escape me.
Cool day, but I'll start at the beginning... I'm sharing a room with a chap from London, turns out he's a banker... Which means well moneyed, has a house on Hampstead Heath with Boy George as a neighbour... I was half expecting him to turn out this morning fully equipped in Rapha head to toe and riding either a Cervelo or a Condor - the stereotype would have been complete... But I completely misjudged him, aside from being a thoroughly decent chappie there wasn't a thread of Rapha in sight and neither was he riding either of the aforementioned machines. Not perfect though... he snores.
Anyway, enough of that - what about the riding? Wicked in a word. Ace to be back riding in the Pyrenees. I was thick in the head for the first hour and tired from the trip yesterday but then the adrenalin and endorphins got the better of me and for the rest of the day the pedals were turning by themselves!
I relived a lot of memories this morning as I headed east to St Girons following the same route as on the Pyrenees coast-coast 4 years ago... Mostly happy memories, just slightly darkened by a particular toerag I had the misfortune to be riding with who simply couldn't deal with the fact I was fitter than him (back then I gave up being nice and diplomatic by day 3 and just rubbed his nose in it on the next big col.)
Weather was ace as far as St Girons, hot and sunny, from there though I was chased by building stormclouds up towards the Col de Portet d'Aspet... Incentive to hammer it up the climb. I'd just about run out of food at this point and had one of those brief out of body experiences when the head is doing one thing and the legs are totally detached and doing something else as the blood sugar dropped... I didn't escape the rain either, it pissed it down as I passed the summit and for the next 20km or so. I was robbed I tell you, robbed of an enjoyable descent by dripping wet hairpins and an excess of gravel. Ho hum.
Found my legs again after a while in the cold, wet air and flew the last 40km home, flat out at 45km/hr into a headwind for the last 10km to try and beat the huge storm moving down from the head of the valley. I won that race but I fear I'll suffer tomorrow from that last gasp effort - my legs are pulp.
The piccy is a particularly nice stretch of road skirting a long just to the north of the proper mountains... look - no potholes, yellow lines, dead badgers or assholes in cars... perfect!
Posted: Sun - April 29, 2007 at 05:03 PM