Quillan to Ax-Les-Thermes

May 11, 2024

A Big Day

I awoke in an anxious place about the planned day. There was 1350 meters of climbing in store. I am still wearing light hikers and not clipping in, which makes serious climbing sort of annoying. I am managing okay with my ankle but it is still a stress and the twisting associated with clipping in & out is bothersome; plus I just lack confidence thinking of a big ride, due to both my ankle and right knee. Good grief.

We got on the road at 9:30 which is early for us and the mountain climbing was immediate. It was a beautiful day and perfect for riding. It was also Saturday so a lot of folks were out recreating, which meant lots of cyclists (although not many tourers) and motorbikes, which stinks, but we all need to learn to co-exist…… The initial road out of town was busy with a grade of 5 to 7 percent. I just hunkered down in tour mode on my bike and Dave graciously dealt with my slow riding all day. We went over a number of cols but the first 11 km were the hardest and slowest. It was great that the small burg of Coudons had a potable water pump for us to refill our bottles. We had steady climbing until the Col de Coudons. After that we had a small but enjoyable descent and then some rolling terrain until our break in the small town of Belcaire where we swooped into the Superette grocery store at 12:20 to buy Fanta and Orangina just before they closed for the afternoon. We had a well-deserved break on a bench in the shade under the eves of the market.

It was a beautiful ride with wildflowers everywhere.

We then had the second part of the climbing day; an equally stiff ride up to Col de Sept Freres and another 600 meters. The scenery was superior as Dave’ photos will show. Late in the day we had one final break at a perfect cafe outside Prades, Perrier for both of us and a cafe for Dave. We had one last push on the climb up to Col Chioula and stopped for a photo celebration.

The descent down was A+, even for Jill, who typically does not like steep descents; the road was well paved and not too steep and we swooped into Ax-Les-Thermes around 4 pm. I was very tired. A superior day of riding and I felt pleased with managing a big ride.

Ax is an old mountain town, built around its thermal capabilities. It’s charming and a little run-down, like a lot of small towns we see in this part of France. Our inn, Le Chalet, is the same, nice enough if not overly fancy and a little tired. We had a hard time finding a place for dinner (everything was booked ) but had an interesting meal at a Chilean place, Patagonia, that served empanadas. Jill’s brother-in-law is Argentine so Dave and I actually have had some exposure to the ins and outs of empanadas and what makes a good one. The staff - two people - were run off their feet but we enjoyed it and thought the empanadas were worthy, not to mention the great salad that went with it.

The descent into Ax-les-Thermes with the town showing way down there.

One of the therapeutic baths and our hotel in the background.

A view of La Teich thermal spa center and the town downriver.

While we ate we discussed the next day’s plan. We had planned to ride over the Col Pailheres to Mijanes, but it is a very stiff climb (3000 feet) and the weather forecast was for thunderstorms starting at 11 am with the possibility of hail, which sounded terrible. Added to the stress was the fact that our inn in Mijanes would not let us check in until 5:30, so if we rode early to avoid bad weather we would be stranded for quite a while. We concocted an alternative plan, which was to spend an extra night in Ax to wait out the projected bad weather and ride south to Puigcerda the following day on a more direct route.

I had looked at this option when I originally planned the trip so I had it in the back of my mind as an alternative. When I looked at it again I realized why I had rejected it. The ride south to Puigcerda goes through a 16 km tunnel. Interestingly, komoot shoots you through the Tunnel du Puymorens with no discussion, but the very scarce discussion I found elsewhere online said bicycles were prohibited (although I found nothing official saying that.) I did see a photo of the tunnel and told Dave I probably would have a panic attack in a 16 km tunnel. (We did a fair amount of tunnels in Norway, and I hate them.) The alternative to the tunnel involves a climb of an additional 400 meters over the Col de Puymorens, which is what we will do. The upshot of all this is that the southerly route will be another stiff climbing day but this way, we get a day of rest off the bikes and avoid the thunderstorms (and hail). So, that is the plan. Our hotel is empty and it is no problem extending our stay an additional night.

Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 497 km (309 miles)

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