After two days in the saddle, my Garmin was in a conflicted mood. Despite having warned me yesterday that I needed a rest day, it upgraded me from "maintaining" my fitness to "productive" after the ride up Tourmalet. Today, it rabbited on again about taking a rest day. It told me that my readiness to do training today was 3/100! Bloody technology telling me things I don't want to hear. So today we would do our longest ride yet as we would circle around and tackle Tourmalet from the La Mongie side.
Th,ankfully the day started with a downward cycle into Lourdes, and then across the small part of the mountains with only a Category 3 climb in the way. It led us to the town of Begneres de Biggore. I stayed here in 2010 and so had a few fond memories. We needed coffee, and we needed patisserie. They had to be sourced from two different stores. The boutique Patisserie had some great-looking treats, but probably not conducive to riding large hills, so it was only a Petite Suisse Chocolat for me!
From Bagneres it was about 20km to the foot of the climb. To get to the foot of the climb you have to go up about 350m of elevation, but then the real climbing starts.
The other side of Tourmalet was 19km at 7.4% average, while this is only 17.1km at 7.3%. Piece of cake! This side starts a lot easier, meaning the last 5km are probably a bit tougher than yesterday. It was a beautiful mixture of farmland, ski fields and forests as you climb. We made it to the top and made a speed descent back to our accommodation. I must admit that I am feeling the accumulated impact of the last few days now. Over 30 degrees each day, about 6.5km of elevation gain, and 270km. I have a renewed respect for the tour riders; they are amazing.
After some protein, a nap, and a shower, I am back down to grab some wifi at the bar. In my defence, it is the only place I know with wifi.
There is also a change in the weather. You will notice in the picture that there is something we have not yet seen... clouds. It looks like a mountain storm is on the way!
Anyway, tomorrow we watch le tour! We will be on the last climb of the day and can't wait to see the pros do these climbs properly. Until tomorrow, signing off!
No comments:
Post a Comment