Layover in Saint-Girons

June 2, 2014

Separated by Col d'Agnes

I'm confident that today's ride will stay on the short list of ones we're least likely to forget. We will probably keep going over for years the key events of the day, what went wrong, and what could have been done to avoid the situation.

The ride began simply enough. The intended route for the day was a loop to the small mountain spa Aulus-les-Bains, crossing Col d'Agnes on the way in and possibly Col de Latrape on the return if we felt like adding some challenge. Col d'Agnes has a bit of a reputation as a difficult climb with dramatic views from the summit. The weather forecast (which proved to be off a bit - it stayed dry but pretty grey throughout the day) called for partly sunny skies with highs in the low 60's, so we anticipated another great outing.

The first 20 miles went well, as we rode upstream alongside the rushing Salat and then its tributary the Arac to the small village of Massat, deep in the valley we had gazed down into yesterday from Col de Peguere. With a mild tailwind and a gentle gradient the miles went by quickly, and we were soon in Massat and stocking up with a wedge of fresh-cut cheese to enjoy on the other side of Agnes. Then, off we went on the 12 mile, 3000' push up the north and easier approach to the pass. Not long out of town I stopped to shoot a few photos of the valley, and Rachael continued on ahead, seeking a secluded spot to pull off the road for a nature break.

We didn't see each other again for almost four hours, finally reconnecting partway down the other side of the summit. There are two sides to this event, so let's start with mine.

Scott's story: I soon got back on my bike and resumed climbing, watching for her bike as I went. The further on I went, the more surprised I was to not encounter her. I'm used to her biking on ahead of me on climbs - she likes to keep her momentum up, and I would like to stop and smell the flowers more (if I had a sense of smell that is) but settle for pulling out my Panasonic instead. Perhaps an hour later I reached the first landmark, the turnoff to Pert de Lers, still barricaded for the winter. No Rachael.

This was very unusual - we are very careful to not continue on alone beyond junctions like this, so this was the first time I suspected l had missed her and unknowingly passed her by. After waiting a while and scanning carefully down the switchbacks below, I decided to continue on the half mile to the final summit in case she had plowed on. Among other things, I was getting worried about her exposure - I had most of her extra layers, and I was picturing her shaking with cold at the summit, impatiently waiting for me and mad for not keeping better pace.

But, not there either, and no trace of her along the last few miles of road below and behind me. So, I headed back down to the first turnoff - it is the default spot we would have reconnected, and the most likely place to find her. Somewhere along this stretch, I stopped to ask a British couple walking from their car into the fields if they had seen her. Turquoise coat? Same type of bike as yours? Yes, she's on ahead. So, I left them with instructions to meet me in Aulus if she saw them, returned to the summit, and descended the other side. Along the way I contacted a motorcyclist and two other bikers, asking if they had seen her and leaving a message to pass on if they did.

Seven miles and a very steep 2700' drop later, I reached Aulus. A quick circuit of the small town made clear that she was not here either, so for lack of a better plan I reversed course and slowly headed back uphill. I have to say, this was a pretty disheartening climb for me. Besides the anxiety over what might have happened and the growing lateness of the day, the difficulty of the ascent ahead was very fresh in my mind after just having coasted the other way. For miles I looked with hopeful anticipation around each new switchback, but started running plans through my head for what to do if she didn't show up. I finally concluded that the best option would be to backtrack the whole way to the hotel and then contact the police. Five miles up, about 700' from the summit, she finally appeared. We joyously reconnected, talked through what had just happened to us, realized we were both cold and starving, and charged down to Aulus to break for a very late lunch.

Rachael's story: after passing through the last of a series of small villages, she came to the first suitable spot to pull over. She left the road, put her bike a bit out of obvious view, briefly communed with nature, and hopped back on her bike, certain that I was still behind her. An hour later, she reached the summit - no Scott, but no surprise. After waiting 15 minutes though, she decided something must have gone wrong and retraced her steps, anxiously looking for me and increasingly fearful that I'd suffered a mishap of some kind. Her plan, if she didn't find me, was to backtrack to the hotel - the only sure route she had, since it was tracked on her GPS.

After dropping three miles and a thousand feet, she was pulled over by a British couple in a car, who told her I was going in the opposite direction. So, still perplexed by the situation but relieved to hear of my whereabouts, she headed back uphill. Along the way she was stopped by a motorcyclist and then another biker, confirming that I was ahead and waiting in Aulus.

Lots of material for discussion here, and another good one for the memory books. But, as the bard said, all's well that ends well. After gorging ourselves in Aulus we headed the 20 miles downriver to our hotel, elated to be together again and anticipating warm showers and dinner. First though, one more unexpected holdup - behind me I heard her hollering for me to stop and calling for help. Her shoelace had become untied,wrapped itself around her sprocket a few times, and wrestled her to the ground. Icing on the cake.

Net elevation gain: 6,000' today, 62,300' total.

Video clips:
At the summit: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!557&authkey=!AOXljRq_3Mm5-es&ithint=video%2c.mp4
On the descent: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!556&authkey=!AM4f-ZohBs_tbZU&ithint=video%2c.mp4