October 2, 2022
Adast to Laruns -Cols Soulor and Aubisque
Today was the biggest yet, 54km, 1440m climbing over 2 passes. And it was worth every grunt and bead of sweat.
After 3 major climbs in 3 days straight we were feeling our age and ready for a rest before tackling the final two passes. However, the weather predicted just one more beautiful, clear day before clouding over, so, we said a sad farewell to our comfortable gite and pushed on.
Argeles-Gazost was busy with weekenders on a Sunday morning and a good place to get a baguette for a mid-mountain lunch. The climb started hard, then levelled off, then got hard again and never let up to the top. It was brutal: we were tired, it was hot, there was lots of traffic for the first half and it went on and on. We had pedalled 10km and up 600 m before even getting to the first of the signposts for the "official" 7km Col de Soulor climb. The views down and up were beautiful, but honestly, all I could see through my fogged up sunglasses was my front tire and the road ahead.
At long last we had made it to the Soulor, where we had a snack and a break, and once my heart rate was back near normal, we could appreciate the clear blue sky over the stunning scenes back down where we had come from and ahead over to the Aubisque where we were going.
The signs to the Col d'Aubisque led us to a single-lane and much less travelled road. After coasting down for a few km, steering around horses and cows, we followed the road cut into the cliff, with huge drop-offs, a few tunnels, and then we were in a different valley. Wow, what a ride! Somehow the earlier tiredness was forgotten as we pushed up and over the second pass of the day - and set a new record of 1465m climbed in one day. We had been riding uphill for over 6 hours but were ready to switch tired legs for sore hands from holding the brakes for the 20km of downhill all the way to Laruns.
One never knows what to expect when travelling, but we certainly were not prepared to arrive in the midst of the Laruns farmers' cheese festival. The streets were closed to traffic, strewn with straw and lined with stalls selling cheese, wine, crepes, meats, wool sweaters, and other local products. It could have been fun if we were energetic and had arrived earlier. However, things were winding down and by the time we found our hotel, showered and changed, the food stalls were closed so we wandered for a bit, then found an open restaurant for a simple meal before crawling into bed, exhausted.
When planning this trip, crossing a number of cols in the Pyrenees was but a daunting possibility. It's hard to believe that we have actually done all the passes in Spain, then the 5 cols in France (Peyresourde, Hourquette, Tourmalet, Soulor and Aubisque) and can still stand. It is definitely an accomplishment, but a reminder that most challenges are indeed possible if one takes them a little bit at a time. We are looking forward to a few days rest in the flats around Pau and Toulouse.
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Today's ride: 54 km (34 miles)
Total: 871 km (541 miles)
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