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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
more rain... but a good day in the mountains
I did have an awesome sleep, maybe too
good as I have the kind of sleep hangover that sees me stumbling into walls and
frames during failed attempts to actually walk through doors
....
Distance: 145
km
Time: 05:06
Ave Spd: 28.4 km/hr
Cols: Col d'Aspin, Col de Coupe and a bunch of other hilly stuff...
8.30am... Took advantage of an opportunity for an early brekkie today so I don't have to ride on a full stomach so now I have some time to kill (got coffee!) before venturing out into the cold, windy, showery day we seem to be stuck with. My plan is to head over the Col d'Aspin today and drop down to Ste Marie de Campan before returning via the valleys in the foothills, the loop is approx 180-190km from what I can measure on the map....... How good I'll feel on the bike remains to be seen, I did have an awesome sleep, maybe too good as I have the kind of sleep hangover that sees me stumbling into walls and frames during failed attempts to actually walk through doors .... the skin is slightly better though.
The berber omelette I made last night was ace, really chunky and spicy with courgette, tomatoes and chilli. Used a whole half dozen of those Pyrenean eggs, which not surprisingly tasted just the same as the Cornish ones :o)
7:15pm Before I forget I had an unusual dog-meets-cyclist experience on the road today... As always when approaching large dogs in the road I was ready with a well-aimed kick and a sprint but this one I think had a bad experience with a cyclist somewhere in it's past, as soon as it saw me it was gone.... legging off the road and across the neighbouring field... Never had that happen before.
OK, the ride... I guess plans are meant to fall apart. I had woolly legs and a headwind all the way to Arreau so stopped some 5km from the foot of the Aspin for a quick coffee to help me up the climb. It's a lovely climb, this was my 2nd time up it..... Last time it was sunny, this time however the heavens opened as I started the climb. I really don't mind the rain, there's something mesmerising about the steady drip-drip of water off the brow of my helmet, and the cold water did a better job than caffeine at clearing my head - I flew to the top 11km later. No summit photos today though, not much to see in the swirling wet mist. Decision time too - whether i carried on to Ste Marie or backtracked to Arreau it was set to be a freezing cold and slipery descent..... Arreau and it's cafes was closer so I simply plummeted back down into the valley and parked my bike up at the same cafe I stopped at 4 years ago.... The girl in there was really nice, sorted me out with a large coffee and a metre long ham & cheese baguette while I dripped water all over the floor.
I could see clearer skies back down the valley so changed my plans and with muscles wooden from the cold cruised back down the valley into the foothills before heading west into the beautiful valleys beyond the Col de Coupe.... Where it was sunny, yay!
The valley riding is stunningly beautiful but if anything tougher than riding the big cols as there are no opportunities to recover, it's closer to Cornish terrain in that respect. A flattish tailwind blast home at the end of the day felt fantastic, I'd finally found my legs in the warm sunshine only to get wazzed upon by a passing storm with just 500m to go :o(
Not a particularly long ride but a hard one in terms of pace and terrain so the rest of the afternoon was frittered away in horizontal fashion, thunder rumbling away outside, on the sofa with a selection of DVDs and a large pile of snacky things (healthy ones, honest) while waiting for dinner, which was ace as usual and took the form of a few pork chops, brown rice and veg all cooked in a sweet mustard sauce..... yum.
Time: 05:06
Ave Spd: 28.4 km/hr
Cols: Col d'Aspin, Col de Coupe and a bunch of other hilly stuff...
8.30am... Took advantage of an opportunity for an early brekkie today so I don't have to ride on a full stomach so now I have some time to kill (got coffee!) before venturing out into the cold, windy, showery day we seem to be stuck with. My plan is to head over the Col d'Aspin today and drop down to Ste Marie de Campan before returning via the valleys in the foothills, the loop is approx 180-190km from what I can measure on the map....... How good I'll feel on the bike remains to be seen, I did have an awesome sleep, maybe too good as I have the kind of sleep hangover that sees me stumbling into walls and frames during failed attempts to actually walk through doors .... the skin is slightly better though.
The berber omelette I made last night was ace, really chunky and spicy with courgette, tomatoes and chilli. Used a whole half dozen of those Pyrenean eggs, which not surprisingly tasted just the same as the Cornish ones :o)
7:15pm Before I forget I had an unusual dog-meets-cyclist experience on the road today... As always when approaching large dogs in the road I was ready with a well-aimed kick and a sprint but this one I think had a bad experience with a cyclist somewhere in it's past, as soon as it saw me it was gone.... legging off the road and across the neighbouring field... Never had that happen before.
OK, the ride... I guess plans are meant to fall apart. I had woolly legs and a headwind all the way to Arreau so stopped some 5km from the foot of the Aspin for a quick coffee to help me up the climb. It's a lovely climb, this was my 2nd time up it..... Last time it was sunny, this time however the heavens opened as I started the climb. I really don't mind the rain, there's something mesmerising about the steady drip-drip of water off the brow of my helmet, and the cold water did a better job than caffeine at clearing my head - I flew to the top 11km later. No summit photos today though, not much to see in the swirling wet mist. Decision time too - whether i carried on to Ste Marie or backtracked to Arreau it was set to be a freezing cold and slipery descent..... Arreau and it's cafes was closer so I simply plummeted back down into the valley and parked my bike up at the same cafe I stopped at 4 years ago.... The girl in there was really nice, sorted me out with a large coffee and a metre long ham & cheese baguette while I dripped water all over the floor.
I could see clearer skies back down the valley so changed my plans and with muscles wooden from the cold cruised back down the valley into the foothills before heading west into the beautiful valleys beyond the Col de Coupe.... Where it was sunny, yay!
The valley riding is stunningly beautiful but if anything tougher than riding the big cols as there are no opportunities to recover, it's closer to Cornish terrain in that respect. A flattish tailwind blast home at the end of the day felt fantastic, I'd finally found my legs in the warm sunshine only to get wazzed upon by a passing storm with just 500m to go :o(
Not a particularly long ride but a hard one in terms of pace and terrain so the rest of the afternoon was frittered away in horizontal fashion, thunder rumbling away outside, on the sofa with a selection of DVDs and a large pile of snacky things (healthy ones, honest) while waiting for dinner, which was ace as usual and took the form of a few pork chops, brown rice and veg all cooked in a sweet mustard sauce..... yum.
Posted: Thu - May 3, 2007 at 05:36 PM