MAD OLD MAN: DAY 2 IN FRANCE

COL DU AUBISQUE

Today was the second ride in France. And as planned yesterday we climb the Cold du Aubisque, which is one of the most beautiful mountains I’ve done in my life. But to get to the Aubisque you need to climb the Col du Soulur from Argeles-Gazost, which is a killer. A total of 29 kilometers of climbing that we completed in 1 hour and 58 minutes.

See after the jump how it went and lots of pictures.

Hoje foi o segundo treino na França. E como planejado subimos o Cold du Aubisque, que é uma das montanhas mais bonitas que eu já fiz. Mas para chegar lá, tivemos que passar pelo Col du Soulour saindo de Argeles-Gazost. Uma subida pesada. No total subimos 29 quilômetros em 1 hora e 58 minutos.

Depois do link tem mais detalhes e várias fotos.

After a rough night sleep (recommendation: never mix roquefort sauce with coca-cola) we woke up to a sunny warm day. Weather forecast was for a hot day around 25 degrees and we were not disappointed. We went down to the beginning of the climb which is 9 km from our hotel. Richard and I turned around on the village of Argeles-Gazost and started the climb.

The road was quite busy with cars and bikers. At the start, my heart rate jump immediately to 178 bpm and I only managed to bring it down to 170 slowing down to 10 km/h speed. A bit disappointing as I expected better results. Especially because that was how the rest of the day would be. Even more because Rich was bragging that his heart rate was around 155 bpm.¥×××

The climb start with 3 kilometers of 8% average which is a hard wake up call. After that it easy up a bit and only after Arres it gets steep again. You go into the village, look at the beautiful church on the left side and you turn right against a nice wall of 9%. It hurts and that is the way it will be until the top of the Col du Soulour.

I kept pushing but Rich dropped me and I was mostly alone. At this point the traffic was gone I climbed mostly alone. Great views of the mountains around us and the silence was a nice change. From the bottom to the top of Soulour it was a 19 kms.

We’ve agreed that we would not stop at the top of the Soulour but keep on going for the top of the Aubisque. Which was a nice way of forcing us not to stop as the Soulour was a relentless climb. With lots of variation of gradients, from 4% to 9.5% and even a 15% somewhere.

From the top there is a 2 kms downhill and than the last 7 kms uphill to the top of Aubisque. A beautifull easy 4% gradients and stunning views. Some goats and cheep on the road and even the eventual cow. Which makes it a bit of a funny climbing. At the top we enjoyed the mandatory Coca-Cola, fantastic views a I had my little attack of cramps. The funny thing on the top was the number of big horses, but they were very friendly despite being huuuge.

To close a almost perfect day (if it wasn’t for my cramps) we wend down back on a great downhill with around 60 km/h average. Great Ride. Enjoy the pictures.

START OF THE DAY FROM THE HOTEL PARKING LOT.