We declined the breakfast at the Hotel Richelieu and instead headed down the hill to the larger centre of Laruns for a bite to eat. We probably would have stayed there but the one hotel in town must have been full. There were a number of places managed by ¨private hosts¨ but we prefer hotels as the check in process is far smoother with hotels when we are uncertain as to our arrival time.
We had a quick look around Eaux-Bonnes before we left the town. There were a number of men actively working hard to spruce things up. The centre area has a nice well maintained park and kids play area but there are a few older buildings boarded up. A beautiful casino as well as the thermal baths were both closed. Looking at the size of Eaux-Bonnes, the thermal baths must have been a real big thing in the past history. We cannot help to think that COVID may have been the final nail for some of these small spa towns.
In the centre of Eaux-Bonnes. The Thermal baths are on the left.
The road down was quick ride to Laruns in the cool morning air. The natural beauty all around Laruns is stunning. It sits in a bowl with mountains rising sharply all around it and an opening into the D`Ossau valley at one end. The village really has a spectacular setting. We stopped at a cafe and enjoyed coffee and crepes in the sun before moving on to the patisserie to buy a couple of sandwiches for the road.
Black and white. The picture shows a rider in the 1923 Tour de France somewhere in the Pyrenees between Bayonne and Luchon. It was tough on the mud roads back then!
Out of Laruns we returned to the D 934 and about 15KM into the ride we turned off at the the town of Bielle. This was the start of the ride up to the Col de Marie Blanque. Right away the slope hit us with 7-10% grades with an average of over 8% for the next 5KM. This was definitely tough after yesterday`s ride. Once we got past this part, the road mellowed out except for one short steep area before the top. The second part was a very nice and enjoyable ride. I cannot print Pat`s comment on the first part!
The zig zag track on the right side going up looks like it would lead to a great alpine ski touring area in the winter should the area get sufficient snow.
Here we go again! The Tour de France has also used this route a few times but almost always from the much more difficult other side starting from Escot.
There was no coffee stop at Col de Marie Blanque. There were just some cars and some cows so we headed down the much steeper side of the pass. It is hard for us to fully enjoy these downhills as the roads can be rough and so steep that your brakes must be applied at all times. The small wheeled bikes are packing a lot of weight. Scott had another flat on his rear wheel as his single walled rims are getting very hot. He thinks that a spoke may have punctured the tube this time. We quickly repaired it and made it to the bottom of the hill without further incident.
After a short stint on the large but not very busy N134, we turned onto the D918 for an enjoyable 10KM ride through the countyside to Arette, our stop for the day.
We took a picture of this marker heading down that shows a 10% grade for the next kilometre. In fact, the ride up this side never fell below 9% before the summit, and with ramps at more than 15%! So much harder.
