VIELHA – SUPERBAGNÈRES
120km, 3900m climbing
I guess the third day is when fatigue
starts to set in. I think it has.
I still finished inside the time limit but that last climb up to Superbagneres was hard going. And you’ll never know quite how hard because the Garmin had a conniption about 5kms from the top and stopped working. Grrr.
The day started in Vielha which is a ski
resort I think. Sort of Spanish Jindabyne. But only sort of. Dinner last night was quite funny. When the hotel buffet opened up they were
immediately charged down by hungry cyclists who ate pretty much everything - in
large quantities. I’ve been struggling
to find enough protein in Spain and even though there were baked beans on offer
for breakfast, I couldn’t quite stomach them unfortunately.
It was cold when we set off on the 20km
neutral section down a main road, under escort. Somewhere we crossed the border
but it seems it is very porous. I was carrying my passport just in case but
never got to show it to anyone.
The first climb up Col du Portilion was
steep but a mere 8km and felt good. But
the descent was scary. Very, very steep
and I spent most of it on the brakes.
Along the way we passed a sign that seemed
to indicate a Bear Park. Either that or
wombats with long legs which is unlikely.
Another sign pointing to the same place had a wolf and a deer on it. Poor deers – presumably lunch for the other
two. Do they have bears in France/Spain?
Then a 40km stretch through a valley where
I was lucky enough to hang off the back wheels of some Australians from Perth
who were chivalrous enough to swap turns on the front and not ask me to do any
work. Result!
The second climb to Col du Port Bales started
off gently through some cute villages, around here I realised we were actually
in France as suddenly I had a bit of a clue what the signs meant (that
schoolgirl French coming handy for once). And it was a lovely ride up a valley
alongside a river, in the shade and the occasional farmhouse.
But then it got steeper, then steeper and I
believe there was a fair section of 14%.
But I didn’t look at the Garmin.
Didn’t want to know. Finally the
top and my legs were feeling fairly shot at that stage. But I had passed a couple of people on the
climb so decided to keep going and maintain my advantage – distance from last.
Then another scary descent where we had
heard there were “100m drop-offs with no barriers” at the briefing the day
before. Most of the descent, for no good reason at all, I spent puzzling over
how they arrived at the figure of 100m.
Really, it didn’t matter because if you went over the edge you were
cactus anyway. That descent made my feet
hurt something serious and I wanted it to end.
I’ve figured out right handers now by the way and can just about get
around them functionally, if not with panache.
A short flat bit to the town of Bagneres du
Luchon where we are staying tonight.
Maddeningly we had to go right past it and then up the mountain to Superbagneres (no prizes for
guessing why it’s called that) which is a ski centre of 1860m and above the
snow line.
Around here I started riding with Nick, a chap I chatted to yesterday but riding solo today and
we dragged ourselves up the mountain and motivated each other. It was hard, hot and we were both pretty
tired. But best that there’s someone to
chat to and to negotiate things like “when we get to the first bit of shade on
this side of the road, or the 5km-to-go sign, we’ll stop and have a drink of
water.” It’s pretty hard to keep the
fluids up on those relentless climbs because as you get more and more tired, it’s
challenging to take your hands off the handlebars.
But the views were spectacular and not done justice by the picture (taken at a brief stop). There's still snow up in them thar hills!
But the views were spectacular and not done justice by the picture (taken at a brief stop). There's still snow up in them thar hills!
We eventually made it with about 45 minutes
to spare. Should have been a quick
turnaround and then downhill all the way another 20kms to Bagneres du Luchon
and my hotel.
Stay positive Eleri! You are doing it and are still in front of the dreaded Sag Wagon. And hey, if you are allowed a Nutella crepe at the end of the day then that is certainly something to look forward to.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Jo T might be getting the Baum after all... ;-)
Did I know she was contemplating that? Cool!
ReplyDeleteHaha. Did you read the forum? She said if you are sick of cycling she will have the Baum even if she is taller than you. I said if she gets the Baum, clearly her 808's won't fit so I will have them. :-)
ReplyDelete