Photos
While the pros had spent their rest day at nearby Pau, where the previous stage had officially started, we spent ours based at Bagnerres. I had booked three nights accommodation here so that we could relax and not have to pack and unpack the van so much. It was also near the start of the following stage in Lannamezan.
After the previous two day’s glorious weather, we had high hopes of a sunny day: some sunbathing by a river or maybe even a gentle canoeing trip. Sod’s law it rained and rained and we were pretty much stranded with little to do.
After a lie in,listening to the rain outside, and leisurely breakfast, we headed into town and found a laundrette to wash our smelly kit. While this was taking place we popped across to a supermarket to stock up on provisions.
A little look around our quaint hotel, revealed a very old fashioned drawing room/lounge and we had lunch in there. We laughed at the old fashioned decorating, stained headrests on the chairs, and the way the carpet had been roughly cut to fit around the furniture! On the bookshelf was a telephone directory from 1965! Indeed, our rooms were also something out of Fawlty Towers with wallpaper on the doors! That said, the place was comfortable and served us well but really could have benefitted from a clean. At one point we saw the chef painting the hotel sign and reminded me of Inspector Clouseau: “What is this? A chef who thinks he is a gardener??!”
That afternoon we felt we had to do something, so we made a trip up the road to a local cheese shop we had passed a couple of days earlier. After finding the local caves shut we decided to go and have a go at crazy golf before getting some food at a local pizza takeaway.
It was sad that the day had been so miserable but the golf had definitely been a highlight!
Setting off on Le Tour - Brest, Brittany
.JPG)
Ian (Left) and Matt (Right)
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Stage 10: Pau - Hautacam 156km 16/7/08
Photos
This was a fairly early starter as we had our first two Hors Categorie (above categorisation) climbs – the most climbed Col in the tour – the Tourmalet (2,115m) and then the Hautacam (1,520m).
As we had overhit the distance the previous day, we decided to start a little way from the real start (about 10km in) in the small town of Rebenacq - very close to the pleasantly named Reataurant La Bastarde, which is what we thought of the Tour route organiser!
Straight from the off we had a short sharp little climb which really made us feel where we had put in the effort the previous day. So, both feeling very sluggish we pottered on through some rolling countryside over two 3rd Cat climbs which took us across a couple of valleys and through the “tat-central” town of Lourdes, which was over-stocked on dosey tourists wandering around in the middle of the road. Having negotiated the dopey buggers, we continued on to and through Bagneres (where we were based for the three nights) and to the small town of Beaudean, where we stopped for a shaded lunch stop 25km shy of the summit of the Tourmalet (or 10km from the base of the climb proper).
The road climbed up the valley through Campan and Sainte-Marie de Campan before the climb proper started at a gentle pace before beginning to kick up through a couple of tunnels and into the trees and some very welcome shade. Team Kate was once again present to furnish us with drinks, gels and bars as required and provide moral support, including letting us know we were going at least as well as some other people on the climb. I (Matt – so Ian doesn’t get in troubleJ) caught up with a woman mountain biker whom I have to admit to slipstreaming for a little longer than was necessary! You have to find some way to make these climbs easier, you know!
As the tree line thinned the ski-resort town of La Mongie appeared in the distance and the road kicked up to an evil 10%+ in stretches. Indeed as you climb these cols, there are markers at the side of the road telling you how far to go, your current height, and the average percentage for the coming kilometre – this doesn’t often make for pleasant reading!
La Mongie I have rechristened La Mangy as it is one of the most hideous eyesores ever constructed on the side of a mountain and ruins a beautiful view back down the valley. Eejit constructors!
The arrival of La Mongie heralded the last 4km and these were twisty-windy to the top and ever steepening with increasing numbers of Tour riders’ names adorning the tarmac – some dating back many years (Fignon, Virenque, Jalabert) – this really is an epic climb.
Team Kate were there to meet us at the top with fresh drinks, food, warm clothes and plenty of encouragement. The feeling of cresting this massive climb was, once again, staggering and all the effort appeared worthwhile. We had our photos taken at the top of the climb with the statue of Octave Lapize (the first Tour de France cyclist to crest the summit in 1910, who famously labelled the bystanding timekeepers as “assassins” before heading off down the mountain). Conditions on the road have considerably improved in 98 years and while we were fairly all-in, I don’t think either of us was about to keel over, thank goodness.
The descent was a fast one as always and Ian and I regrouped in the village of Saint Luz to tackle the more gradual descent through the gorges towards Argeles and the foot of the climb to Hautacam. This would be a spectacular road to cycle, but for the constant stream of traffic, which of narrow roads with overhanging rocks, makes for an altogether more nerve-wracking experience!
The foot of the climb found and we dumped all the gear we could with the girls and headed off up the climb – 13km of climbing to rise to 1,520m at the ski station of Hautacam. This climb has been the site of several recent tour spectacles, including Bjarne Riis’ attack on Indurain in 1996, and more recently of Lance Armstrong in 1999(?).
The climb was an odd one consistently flattening and then steepening which took away any rhythm from the pedalling and we probably looked like we were being controlled by some manic puppeteer as we sat down and then sprang back on the pedals only to relax back down again with head almost resting on the handlebars and with shoulders swaying to get as much force into the pedal stroke as possible.
The day had cooled down considerably and constant water supplies were not as necessary – though Team Kate continued to help out with cheers and such. The summit of the climb came surprisingly quickly (after the longer ascent of the Tourmalet, this isn’t a surprise) and a last minute dash of the line for both of us left us feeling that we had well-earned our rest day the following day!
10 days in the saddle without a day off was quite some amount of cycling to do! We had completed the stage in 7:23:05 (with 10km off at the beginning – so add about 25 mins) at an average of 12.404mph compared with L Piepoli (Ita) in 4:19:27.
The first 10 days had seen us cover 1,090.49 miles in 70:35:38 at 15.447 mph average compared to Cadel Evans (Aus) 42:29:09. We felt good – but very tired!
This was a fairly early starter as we had our first two Hors Categorie (above categorisation) climbs – the most climbed Col in the tour – the Tourmalet (2,115m) and then the Hautacam (1,520m).
As we had overhit the distance the previous day, we decided to start a little way from the real start (about 10km in) in the small town of Rebenacq - very close to the pleasantly named Reataurant La Bastarde, which is what we thought of the Tour route organiser!
Straight from the off we had a short sharp little climb which really made us feel where we had put in the effort the previous day. So, both feeling very sluggish we pottered on through some rolling countryside over two 3rd Cat climbs which took us across a couple of valleys and through the “tat-central” town of Lourdes, which was over-stocked on dosey tourists wandering around in the middle of the road. Having negotiated the dopey buggers, we continued on to and through Bagneres (where we were based for the three nights) and to the small town of Beaudean, where we stopped for a shaded lunch stop 25km shy of the summit of the Tourmalet (or 10km from the base of the climb proper).
The road climbed up the valley through Campan and Sainte-Marie de Campan before the climb proper started at a gentle pace before beginning to kick up through a couple of tunnels and into the trees and some very welcome shade. Team Kate was once again present to furnish us with drinks, gels and bars as required and provide moral support, including letting us know we were going at least as well as some other people on the climb. I (Matt – so Ian doesn’t get in troubleJ) caught up with a woman mountain biker whom I have to admit to slipstreaming for a little longer than was necessary! You have to find some way to make these climbs easier, you know!
As the tree line thinned the ski-resort town of La Mongie appeared in the distance and the road kicked up to an evil 10%+ in stretches. Indeed as you climb these cols, there are markers at the side of the road telling you how far to go, your current height, and the average percentage for the coming kilometre – this doesn’t often make for pleasant reading!
La Mongie I have rechristened La Mangy as it is one of the most hideous eyesores ever constructed on the side of a mountain and ruins a beautiful view back down the valley. Eejit constructors!
The arrival of La Mongie heralded the last 4km and these were twisty-windy to the top and ever steepening with increasing numbers of Tour riders’ names adorning the tarmac – some dating back many years (Fignon, Virenque, Jalabert) – this really is an epic climb.
Team Kate were there to meet us at the top with fresh drinks, food, warm clothes and plenty of encouragement. The feeling of cresting this massive climb was, once again, staggering and all the effort appeared worthwhile. We had our photos taken at the top of the climb with the statue of Octave Lapize (the first Tour de France cyclist to crest the summit in 1910, who famously labelled the bystanding timekeepers as “assassins” before heading off down the mountain). Conditions on the road have considerably improved in 98 years and while we were fairly all-in, I don’t think either of us was about to keel over, thank goodness.
The descent was a fast one as always and Ian and I regrouped in the village of Saint Luz to tackle the more gradual descent through the gorges towards Argeles and the foot of the climb to Hautacam. This would be a spectacular road to cycle, but for the constant stream of traffic, which of narrow roads with overhanging rocks, makes for an altogether more nerve-wracking experience!
The foot of the climb found and we dumped all the gear we could with the girls and headed off up the climb – 13km of climbing to rise to 1,520m at the ski station of Hautacam. This climb has been the site of several recent tour spectacles, including Bjarne Riis’ attack on Indurain in 1996, and more recently of Lance Armstrong in 1999(?).
The climb was an odd one consistently flattening and then steepening which took away any rhythm from the pedalling and we probably looked like we were being controlled by some manic puppeteer as we sat down and then sprang back on the pedals only to relax back down again with head almost resting on the handlebars and with shoulders swaying to get as much force into the pedal stroke as possible.
The day had cooled down considerably and constant water supplies were not as necessary – though Team Kate continued to help out with cheers and such. The summit of the climb came surprisingly quickly (after the longer ascent of the Tourmalet, this isn’t a surprise) and a last minute dash of the line for both of us left us feeling that we had well-earned our rest day the following day!
10 days in the saddle without a day off was quite some amount of cycling to do! We had completed the stage in 7:23:05 (with 10km off at the beginning – so add about 25 mins) at an average of 12.404mph compared with L Piepoli (Ita) in 4:19:27.
The first 10 days had seen us cover 1,090.49 miles in 70:35:38 at 15.447 mph average compared to Cadel Evans (Aus) 42:29:09. We felt good – but very tired!
Stage 9: Toulouse - Bagneres de Bigorre 224km 15/7/08
Photos
Left hotel at 06:10 due to length of stage. Also Team Kate’s first day of supporting and they had to get van from Toulouse.
Really didn’t want to get lost today and unfortunately the road numbers disappeared after about 25km and we added an extra 2km by the time we corrected our mistake.
Shortly following this Matt punctured on a roundabout and the replacement tube used was faulty leading to extra time being lost while this was replaced. The road down to Lezat-sur-Leze was an unpleasant and busy road but did pass through some nice towns on the banks of the Garonne. We stopped in the small town of Carbonne for some breakfast of croissant etc and duly headed onwards to our arranged meeting spot with Team Kate outside of Figarol.
By this point we had covered three 4th Cat climbs with one remaining plus one 3rd Cat and two 1st Cats still to come.
The route from Figarol took us through the town of Aspet which sits at the foot of the infamous Col de Portet d’Aspet (site of the untimely death of Fabio Casartelli in the Tour in the mid 1990’s). Our route today took us up the less well known 3rd category climb of the Col des Ares which wound nicely through wooded slopes at a gentle gradient and allowed us a pleasant respite from the rapidly increasing temperatures out of the shade.
A sweeping descent took us back to the banks of the Garonne (I believe!) and we headed towards Luchon and our lunch stop with the two Kates. This was taken up a steep hill (which we negotiated in the van!) with wonderful views up the river valley to the snow capped Pyrennes in the background.
Having sated ourselves it was onwards to Luchon and the base of the Col de Peyresourde – a climb the Tour visits on a fairly regular basis. This was steep from the start and the prescence of recent roadworks made the steep gradient all the more taxing. Ian soon opened a sizeable gap and was going well. The bottom of the climb rose from the valley into some small roadside villages which were fairly pretty before the trees subsided and the sun really started to make an impact.
The extremely hot conditions meant regular stops for the girls to exchange bottles and water and energy drink with us as we used them up within a matter of kilometres. The climb was long at 15km and an average gradient of over 7% (a climb of over 1,050m – about the same as Ben Nevis from sea level).
However, as the kilometres counted down and the summit approached I found renewed energy (aided by a couple of SIS energy gels with added caffeine!) and passed Ian to crest the summit in about 1 hour and 10 mins. The emotion of coming over the top of one of the famous Tour cols and realising that I could do it was all a bit much and I did shed a tear or two – Ian on the other hand is not nearly such a soppy bugger and just had a big smile on his face!
Team Kate greeted us at the top and we dressed for the descent which took in some wonderful sweeping bends and down into the town of Arreau from where we started the final ascent of the day of another famous Pyrennean col – the Aspin. This started off in a much more forgiving manner and twisted and turned a lot more than the Peyresourde while remaining more in the shade.
So with helmets discarded for the climb and with drinks and gels were dispensed again at regular intervals to aid us on our way we plodded on up the climb. Once again Ian headed off up the road before I found my hill legs and caught him up again.
When you remember to stop struggling against the pain and heat of these climbs and take look to your left or right you are really greeted with a fantastic scene. The Pyrennes stretching into the distance all around and above you, and the small ribbon of road below you which you have successfully conquered.
The climbing of these cols is really a mental as well as a physical struggle and you need to find something on which to focus the mind, whether that be singing a little tune, chanting a little chant and summing a little sum (or anything else for that matter!) Simply looking upwards and going “Crikey, it a long way and it’s awful steep” won’t get you up there. The feeling of immense satisfaction of having done it is staggering though - and so worthwhile (especially when you have people with you saying “I don’t know how you did that – it was hard in a van” – does boost the ego a little J).
So from the Aspin it was the matter of a simple 26km descent into Bagneres de Bigorre and to bed for the night (except that there was a bike race in town and we couldn’t get the van in)! Irony, eh!
147 miles in 10:05:58 compared with R Ricco (Ita) in 5:39:28, though he was later kicked out for doping!
Left hotel at 06:10 due to length of stage. Also Team Kate’s first day of supporting and they had to get van from Toulouse.
Really didn’t want to get lost today and unfortunately the road numbers disappeared after about 25km and we added an extra 2km by the time we corrected our mistake.
Shortly following this Matt punctured on a roundabout and the replacement tube used was faulty leading to extra time being lost while this was replaced. The road down to Lezat-sur-Leze was an unpleasant and busy road but did pass through some nice towns on the banks of the Garonne. We stopped in the small town of Carbonne for some breakfast of croissant etc and duly headed onwards to our arranged meeting spot with Team Kate outside of Figarol.
By this point we had covered three 4th Cat climbs with one remaining plus one 3rd Cat and two 1st Cats still to come.
The route from Figarol took us through the town of Aspet which sits at the foot of the infamous Col de Portet d’Aspet (site of the untimely death of Fabio Casartelli in the Tour in the mid 1990’s). Our route today took us up the less well known 3rd category climb of the Col des Ares which wound nicely through wooded slopes at a gentle gradient and allowed us a pleasant respite from the rapidly increasing temperatures out of the shade.
A sweeping descent took us back to the banks of the Garonne (I believe!) and we headed towards Luchon and our lunch stop with the two Kates. This was taken up a steep hill (which we negotiated in the van!) with wonderful views up the river valley to the snow capped Pyrennes in the background.
Having sated ourselves it was onwards to Luchon and the base of the Col de Peyresourde – a climb the Tour visits on a fairly regular basis. This was steep from the start and the prescence of recent roadworks made the steep gradient all the more taxing. Ian soon opened a sizeable gap and was going well. The bottom of the climb rose from the valley into some small roadside villages which were fairly pretty before the trees subsided and the sun really started to make an impact.
The extremely hot conditions meant regular stops for the girls to exchange bottles and water and energy drink with us as we used them up within a matter of kilometres. The climb was long at 15km and an average gradient of over 7% (a climb of over 1,050m – about the same as Ben Nevis from sea level).
However, as the kilometres counted down and the summit approached I found renewed energy (aided by a couple of SIS energy gels with added caffeine!) and passed Ian to crest the summit in about 1 hour and 10 mins. The emotion of coming over the top of one of the famous Tour cols and realising that I could do it was all a bit much and I did shed a tear or two – Ian on the other hand is not nearly such a soppy bugger and just had a big smile on his face!
Team Kate greeted us at the top and we dressed for the descent which took in some wonderful sweeping bends and down into the town of Arreau from where we started the final ascent of the day of another famous Pyrennean col – the Aspin. This started off in a much more forgiving manner and twisted and turned a lot more than the Peyresourde while remaining more in the shade.
So with helmets discarded for the climb and with drinks and gels were dispensed again at regular intervals to aid us on our way we plodded on up the climb. Once again Ian headed off up the road before I found my hill legs and caught him up again.
When you remember to stop struggling against the pain and heat of these climbs and take look to your left or right you are really greeted with a fantastic scene. The Pyrennes stretching into the distance all around and above you, and the small ribbon of road below you which you have successfully conquered.
The climbing of these cols is really a mental as well as a physical struggle and you need to find something on which to focus the mind, whether that be singing a little tune, chanting a little chant and summing a little sum (or anything else for that matter!) Simply looking upwards and going “Crikey, it a long way and it’s awful steep” won’t get you up there. The feeling of immense satisfaction of having done it is staggering though - and so worthwhile (especially when you have people with you saying “I don’t know how you did that – it was hard in a van” – does boost the ego a little J).
So from the Aspin it was the matter of a simple 26km descent into Bagneres de Bigorre and to bed for the night (except that there was a bike race in town and we couldn’t get the van in)! Irony, eh!
147 miles in 10:05:58 compared with R Ricco (Ita) in 5:39:28, though he was later kicked out for doping!
Stage 8: Figeac - Toulouse 172.5km 14/7/08
Photos
We set off in straight from our hotel in the morning and in thick, thick fog. This necessitated an extra climb out of the town of Figeac before we actually reached the route which was a shame but did help on the old warm-up (though the downhills were distinctly cool!). Matt’s parents set off later (after finding a launderette to try and dry some of our clothes which we had attempted to wash the previous night in the bath) and were due to pick up support team #2 (Team Kate – made up of Ian’s girlfriend Kate and her friend Kate!)
The stage included two 4th cat and two 3rd cat climbs overall, but stacked towards the beginning of the day. As the fog cleared the day became increasingly hot – it was good to feel the sun after so many days of distinctly average weather.
We aranged to meet after having completed all of the day’s climbs and managed to do so for lunch after the village of Cestayrols. A little spot by the countryside road next to a field of corn and overlooking some blooming sunflowers provided a very pleasant setting and a first meeting with Team Kate.
The roads today were very quiet due to the fact that it was Bastille Day. We didn’t see any evidence of celebration but maybe everyone was steeling themselves for the forthcoming evening.
Over the course of the day the landscape changed noticeably to become more Mediterranean.
From lunch we set off to cover the remaining downhill and flat miles to Toulouse and accomplished this ahead of schedule – all in all a good day. We had passed through Gaillac – a noted wine region, some of which we later sampled a couple of bottles of in an excellent Moroccan restaurant with very poor service!
We were late to bed which was a shame as we had to be up very early the next day to set off on the mammoth 224km stage from Toulouse to Bagneres de Bigorre in the heart of the Pyrennes.
It had been unfortunate not to see more of Bastille day celebrations but we were too tired and knew we had to be up early.
Finished in 6:49:33 (average of 16.3mph) compared to the pros (led in by Bristain's Mark Cavendish, picking up his second Tour stage) who finished in 4:02:54.
We set off in straight from our hotel in the morning and in thick, thick fog. This necessitated an extra climb out of the town of Figeac before we actually reached the route which was a shame but did help on the old warm-up (though the downhills were distinctly cool!). Matt’s parents set off later (after finding a launderette to try and dry some of our clothes which we had attempted to wash the previous night in the bath) and were due to pick up support team #2 (Team Kate – made up of Ian’s girlfriend Kate and her friend Kate!)
The stage included two 4th cat and two 3rd cat climbs overall, but stacked towards the beginning of the day. As the fog cleared the day became increasingly hot – it was good to feel the sun after so many days of distinctly average weather.
We aranged to meet after having completed all of the day’s climbs and managed to do so for lunch after the village of Cestayrols. A little spot by the countryside road next to a field of corn and overlooking some blooming sunflowers provided a very pleasant setting and a first meeting with Team Kate.
The roads today were very quiet due to the fact that it was Bastille Day. We didn’t see any evidence of celebration but maybe everyone was steeling themselves for the forthcoming evening.
Over the course of the day the landscape changed noticeably to become more Mediterranean.
From lunch we set off to cover the remaining downhill and flat miles to Toulouse and accomplished this ahead of schedule – all in all a good day. We had passed through Gaillac – a noted wine region, some of which we later sampled a couple of bottles of in an excellent Moroccan restaurant with very poor service!
We were late to bed which was a shame as we had to be up very early the next day to set off on the mammoth 224km stage from Toulouse to Bagneres de Bigorre in the heart of the Pyrennes.
It had been unfortunate not to see more of Bastille day celebrations but we were too tired and knew we had to be up early.
Finished in 6:49:33 (average of 16.3mph) compared to the pros (led in by Bristain's Mark Cavendish, picking up his second Tour stage) who finished in 4:02:54.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Latest Update 23rd July
Matt & Ian have not been able to update the blog due to lack of internet availability at their various overnight stops. Everything is on schedule with over 1600 miles behind them in just 15 days! They have successfully negotitated the Cols of the Pyrenees and 40 degree heat on Stage 13 to Nimes. Today they are enjoying a well earned rest day after completing Stage 15 to Prato Nevoso (Italy). Tomorrow features two Hors Category climbs one being the highest paved road in Europe at over 2800 meters. They hope to be able to post further details shortly.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
Stage 7: Brioude - Aurillac 159km 13/7/2008
Photos
After a night in a rubbish Logis de France (really wouldn’t recommend them – unless you are a fan of restaurants that close at 8:30pm and have no staff present between 10pm and 8am the next day). Anyway enough of my moaning.
We set off from Besse at about 8:50am for the 70km trek down to Brioude aiming to start at about 10:20am for what looked like a shortish stage which we could just knock off. Alas, this was not the case.
Right from the start, the road headed uphill and we had our first 3rd category climb of the day at 11km – this meant that we were slogging along at a very slow pace which was fairly depressing and Matt was certainly feeling very sluggish and mentally and physically fatigued after a hard day on Stage 6 and a late night.
After only 19km we missed a turning which was not signposted and headed off in the wrong direction – it was only when we descended sharply into the amusing named St Poncy (well I laughed) and climbed steeply out of the other side that we realised that we had gone wrong. A quick call to the support team and we were directed the best way back to the route – another wrong turning had Matt jumping up and down and swearing at the consistent failure of French roadsign makers – a distinct gap in the market for those of you with a signmaking bent!
Anyway, after struggling up more hills we met for lunch at the top of a hill somewhere outside St Flour and regrouped. The next part of the route took us on three sides of a square South of St Flour with a little climbing but nothing significant and we were able to get into more of a swing of things.
Matt started to perk up and was soon singing away and waving at cows again as seems to be a common theme during the daytime! I’m sure this is a sign of madness which has been enhanced through excessive exercise and too little sleep.
A short catch-up stop in the unpronounceable Valuejols and we knew we only had about 36km until we crested the second of two 2nd category climbs in short sucession. The support met us at the top of the Col d’Entremont (or Col d’Entrapment according to Ian) to hand out rain jackets as the temperature plummeted and the rain came down – France in the summer appears a little too much like Scotland for my liking – we had not booked weather like this!
Anyway after the descent into Le Peuch (another source of laughter for Matt), we had the 7.8km ascent of the Col du Pas de Peyrol to contend with. This started nice and gently and then with 1.75km to go a sign informed us that the average gradient to the ascent was 9.72% with a brutal hairpin in. As Ian and I crested the summit together it really felt like we had arrived on the Tour – the summit was shrouded in mist with a little hill top station for provision of sustenance to walkers et al. We grabbed rain jackets for the descent of 31km to Saint Simon which was to be our finishing point for the day (our detours of the previous day having added 13km and the detour on this stage having taken in an extra 3rd cat climb we were happy to stop 11km short if the town.
Total time: 6:34:01, 14.2mph average compared to L Sanchez (Esp) 3:52:53.
Stage 6: Aigurande - Super Besse 195.5km 12/7/2008
Photos
Today was my (Matt’s) Dad’s birthday and as a present he had decided that he wanted to ride the stage with us. This was very welcome as it gave us someone else to ride with and share the load and it had been a long time since I had been able to spend his birthday with him.
We drove to just outside of Aigurande and Mum saw us on our way on forgivingly rolling roads. After yesterday’s very dull scenery, it was pleasant to head into more interesting countryside and more into the type of landscape which was typically French. Small villages of winding roads, stone-built houses and pretty little churches all surrounded by golden fields of crops, rolling hills and old French farmers wearing black berets, sporting grand moustaches and driving ancient tractors!
The cycling wasn’t half bad either and we met up with Mum for a top up of drinks after 2 hours almost exactly to schedule.
The terrain from here was a little lumpier and continued through lovely scenery with short sharp climbs from villages with names as diverse as Crocq, Giat and Verneugheol – not typical French names!
We stopped for lunch atop a hill in Fernoel witth views overlooking the distant Massif Central – our destination for the evening in the ski village of Besse (having first climbed to the ski station at Super Besse).
The ride became increasingly tough for Dad as the distance began to tell. We descended into La Bourboule for our third meet up of the day.
Our first 2nd Cat climb of the day followed which was a nice gradual ascent, providing us with a good level of comfort over our prospects for the coming days. Matt’s Mum provided support for us on the way up and with cool weather we all managed up OK. At a distance covered already of over 100 miles, this was the furthest Dad had done in a while.
The descent down was stunning with sweeping turns all the way into the valley. Due to poor route directions we got lost on the way to Super-Besse and this led to us being over an hour later than estimated into the ski station. We arrived at top of the very unpleasant climb to find that Mum was not there as she had got worried and left to go to the hotel in the hope of finding us there.
We were supposed to be meeting up with Team Kate but an accident on the road up to Besse on the motorway led to them being stranded and unable to reach us. Fortunately they were OK, although their van was not so well and they ended up spending the night in a grotty hotel in Brive apparently.
The Logis we stayed in was awful with lousy service – the standard of these things has really not endeared the network to us for future visits!
Time for the stage was 8:51:36 for 130.39 miles of travel (including getting lost) at an average of 14.717mph compared to the R Ricco (Ita) who took 4:57:52. He was later kicked out for doping.
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