Our last days in the Pyrenees

 Getting Ready to Leave Argelès-Gazost

Argelès-Gazost: a great town. The star is our accommodation;
the blue oval is where we had a few meals and more than a few beers after rides

It's our last day here in the Pyrenees at Argelès-Gazost before leaving tomorrow morning. We've had a brilliant time and we'd highly recommend this place as a base for cyclists or hikers or general sightseeing. There are a lot of accessible rides and walks from here - although any walking in the mountains would involve at least 30 kilometres of driving. 

Although not currently raining now in the middle of the afternoon, it had done so pretty steadily from about 9 last night until about midday today and we expect it to start again in a couple of hours. We have had a bit to do so that was okay and I'm pleased to have a chance to do this post before we move on to the next destination of our trip

Lac d'Estaing

Up to Lac d'Estaing

Lac d'Estaing is quite a gorgeous hidden gem, off the beaten track. As you might be able to tell by clicking on the image above, it's at the end of a terminating road, which is surrounded by steep high mountains upon arrival:

The lake is a magnet especially for hikers but also cyclists and, surprisingly, wild horse lovers.

When we arrived the roads were still quite wet in the shade from early and even quite recent showers. The ride up was quite cool but what a delight when we arrived:

Di just after arriving at Lac d'Estaing

Check out these amazing reflections:

... and the interaction between people and horses:

We spent a fair bit of time drinking in the scenery ...

... before grabbing a coffee then heading back down the hill. This ride was definitely one of the highlights for us, partly because it was the only one we got to do up into the mountains with our friends Jo, Jose and Matthias.

Mengelle 80

An institution in Soues for 63 years!

The day after we visited Lac d'Estaing was another rainy one in the mountains, but it was also the last chance we had for a ride with Jo and Jose so we resolved to ride down to the flatlands again and ride a slightly different route to revisit the Mengelle Boulangerie Patisserie et Sandwicherie just south of Tarbes.

Instead of riding down the voie verte this time, we exited slightly to the east so we could enjoy a pedal along a road on the other side of the river that I had discovered a few days before and that Matthias and Jose were forced onto from flooding on the voie verte on another ride. 

Here comes, Di, Jo and Matthias ...

... and I enjoyed following Jo down this decline...

For reference, this was the D13 and it took us through some terrific rolling terrain and a couple of villages before bringing us back to the river and a bit of the voie verte to the east of Lourdes. 

Anyway, back to Mengelle.

I'm pretty sure the sign says "Numerous gifts to win here." If we here longer I'd have to investigate!

Apart from the dizzying array of seductive stuff in this bakery, the other delight was our reception upon our arrival. This was the third visit for Dianne and me, and the second for Jose, Matthias and Jo. It seemed like they really appreciated our return visits and our efforts to speak French, so we felt like royalty when they passed a table and chairs out the window which allowed us to enjoy our lunch in relative comfort rather than sitting on the wide window sills. It seems like they don't get many English-speaking cyclists through here, and perhaps especially not four Aussies and a German riding together. I really should have got a photo of that, but we were taken by surprise.

Another day, another great baguette glimpse to be had:

I guess I should include a couple of photos along the route along with admiration of the bakery:

We were a bit surprised to see that roses were finishing here in the Pyrenees.
We get them flowering prolifically right through autumn and some well into winter.

Jo and Di getting a good close look at the water levels, which were well elevated

Jose disappearing around this classic old townhouse

We were back in Argelès in time to have a late lunch at Les Fleurs:

Di is missing from this photo because she decided to go straight back to our accommodation to have a Nana Nap so she would be well rested before we returned later that evening to farewell Jo and Jose who were departing the next morning to return to their home away from home in L'Escala, Spain:

Destination Gavarnie

When Dianne and I hiked across the Pyrenees in 2010, Gavarnie was one of the places we went through, and we went down to Luz Saint Sauveur to have a couple nights rest before heading back up into the Haute Pyrenees to continue our journey eastwards. It is officially classified as "one of the 30 grand sites of France". There is an amazing cirque here - the top of which forms the frontier with Spain - as well as a breathtaking waterfall. The cirque is also well-known amongst ice-climbers as one of the more spectacular places to indulge in that quite esoteric form of human activity. I wanted to ride my bike up to Gavarnie and Di wanted to do a hike and get a little reminder of the landscape up that way, so she took four wheels and I took two to get up into the heart of the high Pyrenees.

Di's Hike

The route Di took on her outing up into the alpage

Unfortunately Di discovered that the track up into the high country had been significantly damaged by the recent heavy rains, making the going a little slower than expected. I think she'd intended to go as far as the Refuge des Espuguettes but didn't quite make it that far. Nonetheless she really enjoyed her break from the bike (😉) and got some good photos:

... and a nice little panoramic video:

She also visited the Cabin Pailla, a rather rustic but very sturdy structure used by folks managing livestock up there in the high country ...

Refuge Pailla visible in the near left of the photo

Inside things were a bit "basic" ...

... but no doubt would have provided a great sense of security when thunder, lightning, wind and rain were pounding away outside the door!

My Ride

Click on the map above if you want to get a better idea of the terrain, but the coloration should give most folks who are familiar a good indication of how this ride takes one right into the heart of the Haute Pyrenees. 

Despite having already been up to Luz Saint Sauveur by bike twice on this trip, I really liked the idea of pedalling all the way up to Gavarnie from Argelès to make the day more of a journey. Besides, the descent from Luz to Argelès is very nice, so why not?

After Di, Matthias and I visited Luz Saint Sauveur earlier on a lovely quiet afternoon and again in similar circumstances with Jo and Jose, I was a bit discombobulated to arrive there with market day in full swing. I had to get off and walk the bike for a few hundred metres before I could remount and escape the press of people. Deciding to look for something quieter up the road, I nevertheless had to stop almost immediately to take a photo of this impressive bridge:

  

A little further along brought me to the lovely town of Gedre for a coffee and muffin. Very civilised:

A pause in Gedre

The climb up to Gavarnie was quite steady and very scenic alongside the river, but I was focussed on getting up there so didn't take many photos. However, closer to the town itself the mountains demanded attention ...

Upon arrival in Gavarnie itself I was quite taken aback - as was Di when she arrived before me - by the changes the town had undergone since we had been through there in 2010.

Nonetheless, I found the path that exited the town towards the heart of the mountains and set off towards the cirque ...

... passing by a beautiful little stone bridge crossing the risseau draining the cirque ...

Unfortunately it was only a few hundred metres past this bridge that the path steepened right up and got quite rough. Were I on my gravel bike I might have continued but I wasn't game to trust the narrower tyres on the Caledonia.

Coming back to the bridge I crossed over, thinking it would be nice to ride down the other side back to the town. And it probably was before the recent flooding but with the path washed away completed in at least two places - the first of which I walked my bike through, the second which turned me back. I recrossed the bridge and rode back towards town ...

The view back along the path towards Gavarnie

There was a bar cafe open where I ordered a sandwich, a coffee and a cookie. Everywhere else I'd been my debit card worked to get me nourishment but not here! The guy behind the bar was quite grumpy that I could only pay for my coffee, but I hadn't touched the food so I'm sure he was going to sell it just about as soon as I left the place as there really wasn't much on the menu.

After a bit more exploration I headed back down towards Argeles, not stopping at Luz because I was keen to get back, relax and have a bit of feed. Unfortunately by the time I did get to Argelès the grill at Les Fleurs had closed. However, a Croque Monsieur was on offer so I gladly accepted - with a Leffe grande of course ...

... which didn't take long to polish off ...

... and that brought to conclusion another fine day in the Pyrenees.

Col d'Aubisque!

VeloViewer's take on the Col d'Aubisque

While the Col d'Aspin was the highlight of the first part of being here in the Pyrenees, for me riding together up the Col d'Aubisque was definitely the high point - metaphorically and literally - of the entire stay. 

Climbing Cols' take on the Aubisque

The Aubisque is the second-most used col in the Tour de France. As such, it is of course steeped in history.  It is also regarded as one of the most scenic. 

I had saved some energy reserves from the day before by not continuing to the Col de Tentes above Gavarnie (which had been recommended by a friend and I would have loved to have a go at if we'd been here longer), and Di had had a relatively easier day too with her hike. The weather forecast was promising so we thought we'd give the Aubisque - one of the cols on my bucket list - a shot. 

While the image above clearly shows that the most difficult part of the ascent is the last 10 kilometres leading up to the Col du Soulor, there is no hint of the confronting little 16% ramp we discovered about 3 kilometres below the Soulor - but at least there was a bit of a run-up!

For the rest of this part of the post I think I'll just let the media tell the story, along with captions. The pictures and sole video are arranged in the order they were taken so this should impart a relatively good idea of what the ride looks like.

One of the villages after the initial steep section leading up out of Argelès

A gorgeous spot with beautiful vistas

Di being chased by someone quite determined to get past her

These sheep were basking in sunshine when I arrived, soaking up heat from the warm tarmac

Looking back, just before the arrival at Col du Soulor

Refreshed and ready to tackle the 10 kms between Soulor and the Aubisque

Di riding through the balcony section between the dip from Soulor to the final rise up Aubisque:

Col d'Aubisque with la Table de l'Aubisque visible on the horizon; horses on the slopes in the foreground

And Dianne Batten grinning, with the summit in sight 😁

Looking down into the valley below

Monument to Lucien Buysse, winner of the TdF 1926

The classic shot of rider with the bikes representing the three jerseys of the TdF

At the highest point. My favourite photo from the trip so far.

The obligatory photo in front of the Col d'Aubisque sign

Wrapping Things Up

The night Jose and Jo left we also had a nice photo taken by Di of Matthias, the two J's and myself in our rental accommodation while having some snacks before going out to dinner:

If you look closely you can see four bikes in the photo. Matthias's steed is sequestered behind and to Di's right.

Unfortunately, Matthias came down with quite a bad cold (much worse than mine) a few days ago and has wisely refrained from getting on the bike while he's been recovering. He's hoping to feel well enough to ride up the Ventoux on his way home to Germany.

Thankful for our good luck in being able to spend time in this wonderful place, we are on our way to Toulouse for a couple of nights before moving on to our next cycling destination, which is in the Dordogne. I hope to make another post in four or five days' time. 

And one last thing for people who like maps before I go: here's a Heat Map from Strava showing where I rode while we were staying here in Argelès-Gazost:

Farewell from Argelès-Gazost!