Carol and two inquisitive locals in the Haut-Pyrénées
Carol and two inquisitive locals in the Haut-Pyrénées
(A continuation of the trip report from Part 2: The Dordogne)
Day 16 (60 km): The climb out of Villeneuve is immediate and stiff! There are rolling hills between the Lot and the Garonne. We crossed the Garonne near Barbaste (old fortified mill), then dead flat and fast into Nérac. Only 60 km today - it was hot! The castle of Henri IV ("a chicken in every pot") is here - very impressive. There are two interesting churches. We had a nice meal at Restaurant d'Albret.
Day
17 (90 km): We're into Gascony now. We took
a peek at Fourcès,
a rare (and tiny) circular 'bastide' . At
Montréal-du-Gers there was a busy market
where we bought a bottle of 'floc'
- a grape juice and armagnac mix that's great in a melon. (In the
Cognac region they do the same - with cognac instead of armagnac, of
course - and call it Pineau des Charentes.) There are impressive
Roman ruins just outside of town (a bit of a climb). We pressed on
through the endlessly rolling hills of the Armagnac region to
Aire-sur-l'Adour where we had a good meal at Chez
l'Ahumat. Tough, hot day!
Day 18 (56 km): More hills! We stopped at Geaune for breakfast and to get our "1000 km picture" and a picnic lunch in the tiny village of Brassempouy (cute little church) then on down to Amou. There was a 'fête' on - 'boules' tournament, triathlon (run, bike and kayak), big candlelight parade and fireworks at night. Nice hotel, good meal - the Hôtel du Commerce. A fun day.
Day 19 (75 km): We're heading south again, crossing the Gave de Pau at Orthez. (A "gave" is what they call a river down by the Pyrénées). The hills are getting to be more serious, more woodsy now. We can feel the closeness of the mountains. At Mauléon-Licharre we met a 68 year old Frenchman on a 10 speed bike (no granny gear), loaded to the hilt, front and back, 8 weeks out on a 12 week tour, headed for the coast to start an Atlantic to Mediterranean assault of the Pyrénées!! This guy even had a game leg - you know, with a special boot with a built up sole and heel. And I thought my wife was tough! He warned us not to drink the water in the mountains. "It looks clean, but the sheep are everywhere." We continued on to Tardets-Sorholus where we stopped at the Hôtel du Gave (cheap, pretty good meal). We could see the mountains. It was very exciting. There was a bike race on in the town - fast, young kids! It was a comfortable, sometimes overcast day of cycling.
Day
20 (77 km): We left our panniers at the
hotel and headed south in a slight mist. We stopped at the Gorges
de Kakouetta, a moist, deep, narrow gorge where the
walls were never more than 10 metres apart and at times were so close
you could almost touch both sides simultaneously, yet they ranged
from 50 to 250 metres high! It was rocky, slippery and very
interesting - worth the 20 FF admission. We continued on, paralleling
the Spanish border just 4 or 5 km away, to the hamlet of Ste.
Engrâce with its unique little church and graveyard in
a very alpine setting. I expected to see Heidi at any moment. We had
a huge omelette filled with 'brébis', the
local sheep cheese, for lunch at a little café right by the
church. The ride back down to Tardets was fast and fun. We picked up
our bags and climbed out of Tardets to the east. Both hotels we had
considered staying at were full so we continued on to the little
hamlet of Sarrance where we found a small
'pension' (I think it was called Lesanguet). It was
getting late and we had done quite a bit of fairly mountainous
riding, so this was it. The room was fine (they
always are) and the meal was great! Another pleasant
surprise. The village was very nice - dark and quiet, with black
slate roofs and an interesting church.
Day 21 (44 km): A beautiful day! About 3 km north of the hotel we turned east again and began the relentless 10 km climb to the Col de Marie-Blanque. It was tough!! The last 3 km of the climb averages more than 10% grade! At some points we were going so slowly it was faster to walk. The views from the top were disappointing. It's too woodsy to see much. The descent was fast, even a little scary at times, but the views of the village of Bielle were great. We continued to Laruns where we again had difficulty finding a room. We ended up in a small room on the top floor of a hotel with the toilet on the next floor and no shower. They let us shower in another room that they were making up for incoming guests. This was certainly the toughest ride of the trip.
Day
22 (36 km): East from our hotel we
immediately began the 18 km climb to the Col
d'Aubisque, at 1709m one of the highest in the
Pyrénées. (If you follow the Tour de
France, these names will be familiar to you.) Eaux
Bonnes was a 'fin de siècle' spa
that must have been grand when the rich and famous came to "take the
waters". Now, however, it is in decay, but still an interesting look
back to a different time. Gourette is a modern ski
resort about two thirds of the way up the climb. At one point as we
climbed I pointed to a building about a thousand metres above us and
joked to Carol "We have to climb up there!" About two hours later, we
cycled past the building! In the last couple of km we were out of the
trees and the views were magnificent. There were lots of people at
the 'col', but only a few cyclists, mostly 60-ish
Frenchmen out for a little ride. They'd pass us on the climb and
shout "Bon courage!". From the Col d'Aubisque to the
Col du Soulor we enjoyed what I am sure is one of
the world's great cycling experiences. This road along the Cirque
du Litor is cut into the steep mountainside and the
views are spectacular in every direction, with the deep valley on
your left and the magnificent peaks on your right. Livestock roams
freely - there are no fences - and we had close encounters with
cattle, sheep, horses and most particularly goats (one of which
engaged in a tug-of-war with Carol for possession of her purse). It
was completely exhilarating. (I was back on that same road the next
year with 3 friends. They all mark that day as their best ever
cycling experience!) At the end of the 10 km ride along this
'corniche' there is a short climb to the Col du
Soulor, followed by a steep 8 km descent to Arrens.
(The road down was covered with painted encouragements to the Tour de
France competitors who had climbed that same road less than a month
before.) The village is very pretty with an interesting little church
and awesome mountains all around it. We hadn't cycled far that day
but it's still our most memorable day of cycling!
Day 23 (50 km): We had a fast descent from Arrens to Argelès-Gazost, a busy little town that seems to be a centre for tourists visiting the mountains. We decided not to head south (over the Col du Tourmalet, the highest cyclable col in the Pyrénées) and headed north instead, stopping at Lourdes only to pick up picnic stuff at a supermarché . (Twelve years each of Catholic schools forty years ago deadened our interest in this city of "miracles".) We continued on over uninteresting roads to Bagnères-de-Bigorre, another spa past its prime. Not a very memorable ride today. We should have climbed Tourmalet!
Day
24 (50 km): We're running out of days. We
had a series of long climbs and descents before stopping for coffee
at La Barthe-de-Neste, then a fairly easy ride to
St.
Bertrand-de-Comminges (yet another "Plus Beaux").
There's a magnificent church there - the first view of it from the
west is spectacular. The tiny village is set at the top of a dome and
the massive church overwhelms it. The interior and cloisters of the
church are remarkable. We had a great meal at the Hôtel
l'Oppidum. There was a spectacular fireworks display at the cathedral
that night. At the base of the hill is an archeological dig of some
Roman ruins and there is another large church just a km or 2 away in
Valcabrière. It was an easy day with lots to
see.
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