Blue sky and perfect conditions greeted us this morning as we were set to try our hand at reaching the top of a real Pyrenees col. Today's ride is often a part of Tour de France races. It is not really long at 14KM but the grade on this almost 1000M climb is fairly consistently on the steeper side. You can reach this col from the east starting in Areau or from the west as we did. We rode to the top and returned to Bagnères-de-Luchon.
The Col Collective website describes the ride like this, ¨The Peyresourde’s a cunning little fox, regularly applying the pressure and threatening to turn you around and send you packing back to Luchon for an early shower. Take your time, keep the faith, and you will be rewarded for all your hard work. With 4 kilometres to go the road opens up to reveal the Midi-Pyrenees in all its finest, putting everything in perspective once more. The climb is one thing but the descent is something else altogether. Without a doubt, an absolute masterpiece of a mountain¨.
We whole heartedly agree. There is indescribable satisfaction to making it to the top of a big hill and the views you receive on route are always beyond compare. They are the reward for the pain. Col de Peyresoude does all this and more.
This restaurant is at the col. We stopped for a coffee here and at one point 5 of the 8 people sitting there were Canadian - 2 girls (in the foreground) from Montreal who were bicycle touring, a man from White Rock BC who was travelling by motorcycle, and the two of us. Go Canada!
Arriving back in Luchon in the afternoon. Looking down the main street with the mountain back drop. It must be a very busy ski town in the winter. Right now, the flags lining the main street are of all the countries involved in the summer Olympics.
Altogether it was a great day. We spent the afternoon watching the rugby Champions Cup final between Toulouse and Leinster. Toulouse won 31-22 after extra time. The city of Toulouse must have exploded, Luchon not so much. But there was some interest - just not as rugby crazy as Toulouse. The evening was a rare sunny and warm night. We enjoyed dinner out on a patio for a real nice change. Tomorrow the guide has another challenging ride in mind.
Today's ride: 28 km (17 miles) Total: 737 km (458 miles)
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David MathersCongratulations Pat and Scott 🥳 Great performance and another Col to add to your growing list 👍🍻 Nice photos! Reply to this comment 3 months ago
