What a day! I started off feeling distinctly dodgy, most likely something I ate yesterday. Didn't sleep much either: not the best preparation for a big day with 5 cols.
First up was the Col de Port, a relatively gentle climb up through some trees in the rain, but I soon realised I wasn't firing on all cylinders. I met Dan and Chris at the top, and rode with them for the descent to Tarascon, followed by a long and unpleasantly busy drag up to Ax-les-Thermes. I struggled even to stay on their wheels, let alone contribute at the front. By the time we reached Ax I was shattered, and more than a little worried about the 4 cols ahead. The others went on but Craig & Mark were buying sarnies so I sat and had a coffee with them, had some snacks from the van then bought a truly enormous sandwich to stash in the van for lunch at the top of the first col.
The Col de Pailheres rises from Ax at 720 m to a mighty 2001 m : almost as big as the Tourmalet, so I set off with some trepidation. I chatted to Mark on the way up at a slow pace, and as we got higher it started raining again. I found this really hard going and it seemed to go on for ever, but eventually we reached Alan with his ever-present support van, where I knew my sandwich was waiting! It was pretty cold and wet, so I quickly donned some extra layers, then Mark and I sat in the cab of the van, silently devouring our beloved sandwiches.
The descent was narrow and full of tight hairpin bends so required a lot of concentration, but the wind chill made it extremely cold. At about two-thirds the way down we stopped at a cafe at Mijanes for a hot choc to warm up, and met some others including Thierry who had ground to a halt while climbing and fallen off, badly cutting his elbow.
We carried on, keen to get this one out of the way and warm up, but of course that only meant more climbing. By now we were into very remote landscapes, with what seemed like a deserted village lining the bottom of a gorge. The only way was up, in our case the Col des Moulis, followed by a small descent then up again to the Col de Garavel ...both fairly non-descript and a bit disappointing ...you can tell I was having a bad day. However I started to feel better as we moved down the valley to the base of the Col de Jau, where a tactical banana seemed to reconnect the power to my legs and suddenly I felt able to climb "properly" again. I'd been careful to keep eating & drinking all morning, but to no avail. Now, it seemed, I'd "ridden out" whatever problem I had.
Motivated by the knowledge that this was the last Col of the trip, I charged onwards and even managed a big-ring spurt on the final plateau at the top. Greeted by Alan and some others, I could now actually see the Mediterranean sea in the distance for the first time.
The landscape changed dramatically on the descent, to Mediterranean villages, old castles and a pleasant warm feeling in the air as we hurtled towards Prades and found the hotel. It's great to know that all the hard work is done now: just 100 km tomorrow with a downhill followed by rolling coastal roads to the finish in Cerbere. And rumour has it the weather might actually be nice!
(photos to follow tomorrow when there's some more WiFi)
First up was the Col de Port, a relatively gentle climb up through some trees in the rain, but I soon realised I wasn't firing on all cylinders. I met Dan and Chris at the top, and rode with them for the descent to Tarascon, followed by a long and unpleasantly busy drag up to Ax-les-Thermes. I struggled even to stay on their wheels, let alone contribute at the front. By the time we reached Ax I was shattered, and more than a little worried about the 4 cols ahead. The others went on but Craig & Mark were buying sarnies so I sat and had a coffee with them, had some snacks from the van then bought a truly enormous sandwich to stash in the van for lunch at the top of the first col.
The Col de Pailheres rises from Ax at 720 m to a mighty 2001 m : almost as big as the Tourmalet, so I set off with some trepidation. I chatted to Mark on the way up at a slow pace, and as we got higher it started raining again. I found this really hard going and it seemed to go on for ever, but eventually we reached Alan with his ever-present support van, where I knew my sandwich was waiting! It was pretty cold and wet, so I quickly donned some extra layers, then Mark and I sat in the cab of the van, silently devouring our beloved sandwiches.
The descent was narrow and full of tight hairpin bends so required a lot of concentration, but the wind chill made it extremely cold. At about two-thirds the way down we stopped at a cafe at Mijanes for a hot choc to warm up, and met some others including Thierry who had ground to a halt while climbing and fallen off, badly cutting his elbow.
We carried on, keen to get this one out of the way and warm up, but of course that only meant more climbing. By now we were into very remote landscapes, with what seemed like a deserted village lining the bottom of a gorge. The only way was up, in our case the Col des Moulis, followed by a small descent then up again to the Col de Garavel ...both fairly non-descript and a bit disappointing ...you can tell I was having a bad day. However I started to feel better as we moved down the valley to the base of the Col de Jau, where a tactical banana seemed to reconnect the power to my legs and suddenly I felt able to climb "properly" again. I'd been careful to keep eating & drinking all morning, but to no avail. Now, it seemed, I'd "ridden out" whatever problem I had.
Motivated by the knowledge that this was the last Col of the trip, I charged onwards and even managed a big-ring spurt on the final plateau at the top. Greeted by Alan and some others, I could now actually see the Mediterranean sea in the distance for the first time.
The landscape changed dramatically on the descent, to Mediterranean villages, old castles and a pleasant warm feeling in the air as we hurtled towards Prades and found the hotel. It's great to know that all the hard work is done now: just 100 km tomorrow with a downhill followed by rolling coastal roads to the finish in Cerbere. And rumour has it the weather might actually be nice!
(photos to follow tomorrow when there's some more WiFi)
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