Pyrenees trip with GKV 2023

Rather than this be a blow by blow account of a week long holiday in the Pyrenees, it seems like it would be an idea to give an edited highlights of the whole thing. That being said- I'm writing this at the beginning... so have no idea quite what this will turn out like. 

Let's start at the beginning:

A post went out a while back asking if anyone from Glossop Kinder Velo (GKV) would like to go on a cycling holiday, ideally somewhere mountainous. The pyrenees was suggested, 4 of us dibbed in, and at least 3 of us are on the "no fly if possible" camp, and so a bit of logistical jiggery pokery went on. A massive hat tip has to go to Bryn for sorting out a) logistics and b) the accommodation and c) everything else really. He was the teflon grease that made the whole thing work (and yes, that is meant to be a compliment). 

Sat 17th In order to make the holiday work without flying, trains were booked a decent way in advance,but it was decided that rather than trust our entire holiday to the whims of the UK train network, we would do the UK part in a car. Bryn (who had done a 100miler on Friday) drove around picking us up on what was *technically* saturday morning, but was more like friday night, and drove down to Folkestone to catch the Eurotunnel. 3 bikes on the roof, 1 in the boot, along with 3 more bike bags and our luggage made for a bit of a cramped car. 

Once through the tunnel we pitched up at a carpark next to the TGV station and had a rapid disassembly of bikes and packing into bike bags, locked the car, checked it was locked at least 3 times, and then headed for the station. 

The TGV journey to Paris was very smooth, whereupon we disembarked at Gare du Nord and had a fairly frenetic Tube journey to Montparnasse Station. We only needed to take a single line, but on the Tube with bike bag and luggage and lots of people was a bit reminicent of London. We had 2 hours to make the journey, which took about 40 mins, and then sat for a short while before getting to the platform for the TGV to Lourdes. Again, relatively calm and stress free. Our bike bags (carefully measured beforehand) fitted into the luggage racks quite happily, whereas the Austrailians with bike boxes on the same train- could not. There were bikes *everywhere*. 

As the train went south (the leg from Paris to Bordeaux is insanely fast) the train got more and more empty, and we arrived in Lourdes and were greeted by Andy from AllezPyrenees who transported us and our luggage to their guest house. And an amazing house it is as well. 

Caroline had booked us into a restaurant, (where my sole regret of the holiday happened... that I didn't have the profiteroles), we got back, built up the bikes, listened to the rain and thunder and planned for our first day of riding. 

Sun 18th 

Yes, it was raining and thundering when we arrived in Bagnieres de Bigorre, but that didn't put us off plans for rides. The most important thing was that today was Riccardo's birthday and he wanted to do the Tourmalet. Of course he did. It's literally just up the road from where we were staying. After a breakfast with VAST amounts of coffee we saddled up and headed off. The sun was out, though we still decided to take some wet weather gear. The forecast was all over the place. Normally it is very stable at this time of year, but the weather models were really not coping with the complex amount of stuff that was kicking around in the area. 

Up the Tourmalet... 3 words. Let's just say it took quite a long time. The views were spectacular, the road was excellent, the top was brutal. 5 degrees and raining. EVERYTHING went on and I didn't hang around (to be honest, I didn't even see the gift shop/refuge thing). In order to get warm I figured the best thing to do was to keep cycling, so I went back down to find the last member of the team and would cycle up with them. Seemed like a plan- and by the time we got to the top it was still cold and wet, and we could see people in this structure above the road. There wasn't a lot in it, but it was a place out of the rain and wind. 

Bryn on a moody (and cold) Tourmalet

A short team talk, and enough time to buy a buff each to kind of try to keep warm on the way down, and we went down. The other side. 

18k of wet and windy roads. Soaked feet, cold hands, drenched to the bone. I was cursing my decision to leave the mudguards at home. After looking through the food options in Luz Saint Saveur (the place next to intersport was not, shall we say, welcoming), we stopped in a small cafe and had Pizza to warm up. Steve went off to buy more clothing and Riccardo fixed a puncture. We stayed there, dripping, for quite a while, trying to get warm as the rain bounced off the road and pavement outside. 

Refuel!

Eventually the rain (kind of) slackened off, and we headed off up the hill again. A few growls of thunder made me a little nervous (steel bike +lightning probably isn't the greatest and most intelligent thing to do), however, as we climbed, the weather became better, layers came off, and by the time we hit the brutal final kilometre, it was a fully beautiful day- what a contrast! More photos were taken- which looked a little less atmospheric this time, as the sun was out, before we descended back to home for a well deserved dry off and out for food. 

Look how different the weather is this time!

Monday 19th 

So, having vaguely dried out from yesterday's epic up tourmalet, it was decided that we'd have a bash at the Hautacam today. To say it is a climb with a bit of a reputation is somewhat underplaying it. So many brutal moments of the Tour de France have played out here- so why not have a bash? 

After an excellent breakfast (it goes without saying really), we took a very pretty back road route across to the next valley, picked up an excellent cycle way - flat and beautifully tarmacked, and flew down the valley. The weather, again was a bit changeable, but considering the length and distance of the climb, layers were stripped. 

It's a beautiful climb, but the middle few kilometres are fairly unforgiving. You can't really see the top of the hill either, so I didn't manage to get any photos of it.... the signs also lie. The "top" of the climb is a massive carpark... but the road continues up for another kilometre or so. I wondered whether to stop at the "top" or carry on... well... if there is more road, you might as well cycle it.... so I carried on to the top top. 

This was very much an out and back day, but we continued north into Lourdes for a minor sightseeing bit through the town. Couldn't find a cafe, so had an impromptu lunch from a supermarche, and then got refused entry into the huge church that is the main "bit" of Lourdes. I can't imagine why. 

Food in the evening was provided by our hosts who proved that they REALLY know how to cook. 

Tuesday 20th 

Luz Ardidens was the aim for the day. A beautiful climb with a ridiculous number of hair pins near the top. It was a warm day which just got hotter. The same route to the next valley over provided us with a nice little warm up, and then we cruised down to the base of the climb, taking in a short coffee stop on the way. The climb starts out.... oh who am I kidding? I can't remember the bottom of the climb, they're all starting to mulch into one. What I *do* remember are the incredible swooshy hairpins closer to the top, the heat, and the ski station. 

Bryn on the hairpins at Luz

Fantastic. What made it better was the fact we took a slightly lesser used route on the way back down that was a little, um... gravelly, which suited me just fine. (We set out from the top a little after a *very* fast Slovenian guy who shot off down the main route, we took it fairly gently down the other way, and were calmly standing around taking off gilets etc on the main road at the bottom as he came pelting past us with a somewhat puzzled look on his face). 

A gentle ride back was punctuated by quite a shower which fortuitously arrived just as we stopped for lunch at a snack truck. Good timing.

Wednesday 21st

Wed was a long day, and we decided to ask Andy for a lift over the hill to cut out the first part of the day. The climb up the Soulor was excellent fun. I had the bit between my teeth, and really nailed it up the climb. Again, it was somewhat damp, but hey, we're used to worse. 

Thunder still rolled sporadically, but the main danger on the climb was a cow that basically refused to move. (it was still there when I went back down 10 mins later), and a bunch of horses that were cavorting all over the road. After the obligatory photo and sticker stop we went along the truely delightful road that connects the Soulier to the Aubisque where we had lunch.

The cow that wouldn't mooooooove.

There *was* an idea to descend and then turn back around and do the Aubisque from the other side, but we had other fish to fry. The Cauterets/Cambasque. A climb that is in this years tour for the first time ever. So post lunch, we wrapped up for the descent back to where we came from, went down the same valley for the third time in 3 days, and searched out the route to the Cauterets. 

Ok. So we've been going for a few days now, and this is not the first climb of the day, but it was long and fairly brutal. Some ramps were quite tough going, but the final kilometre to the ski resort is a lot less work, and absolutely beautiful.

 On the way back I decided to take a bit of a detour to pick up some more Veloviewer squares. Some of the back roads are MUCH harder than the big name climbs- if only for their gradient, not their length. If you head out this way, there is a lot of fun to be had away from the main climbs.

Random church on the long way home

Thursday 22nd 

Final day of cycling and bums were getting sore. A short day at 70k, but still 2 cols. The Hourquettes, first, which is a beautiful climb through a couple of magnificent valleys.

Hourquette gravel

When we were there they had been road dressing, and they appear to have been taking leafs out of Derbyshire county councils notebook. Loose gravel for about 3km. I was quite happy on my steel gravel bike- the others on their carbon road bikes, not so much. 

Up, over and a decent descent, followed by the longest wait for 2 pizzas ever, and a final climb up the Col d'aspin. Sun blazing, amazing weather- what a way to finish a holiday, followed by a very very quick blast back into Bagneres on the tail of Bryn who was putting out some serious watts.

 

Friday23rd 

Early up- the bikes had already been packed away the night before, and then a return to the train station (via a wonderful boulangerie to pick up lunch), train to Paris, a slightly frenetic trip back across the Paris tube network, and then train to Calais, find the car, head to the eurotunnel terminal and a drive back up the M20 and M1 to get home at 2am. 

Quite a holiday. 

Thanks so much to Andy and Caroline at allezpyrenees. They were amazing hosts, have fantastic knowledge about the area, are great cooks and provide such excellent add-on value to the holiday that I can't even express it here. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending their services to anyone. They are *that* good. 

There you go, it wasn't so bad was it? Just a taste of what it was like.... It was excellent.