Bagneres-de-Luchon

June 3, 2014

Over Col de Portet d'Aspet, Col de Mente

We were lucky with the weather again, and got reasonably fair conditions for one of the mountain stages. Visibility was limited by low-lying clouds, but it was dry and comfortable.

We began the morning with a short detour to Saint-Lizier, a world heritage sight, to see its famous 11th century Romanesque cathedral. We weren't there long, but it was definitely worth the visit and wonderful to wander through.

From Saint-Lizier we contined our way west and upstream through lovely subalpine country to Portet d'Aspet for the first of two significant passes for the day. Part way up I realized we were mentally misprepared for it - I had been describing it as the easier climb of the day, but we (and I in particular) were quite challenged by the 5 mile, 7-9% ascent, It became pretty clear today that at least one of the team is due for a day off of the saddle. The pass itself isn't too dramatic, with few views from the top to reward the work. The most notable landmark along the way was the striking and beautiful memorial erected in memory of Fabio Casartelli, an Italian racer who died in the 1995 Tour de France when his head hit the retaining wall in a crash on this descent. This was in the era before helmet usage became compulsory, and the consensus is that a helmet could have spared his life.

After dropping 2000' from Portet d'Aspet, we immediately began climbing again up the somewhat steeper and higher Col de Mente, a significant slog at a steady 8-10% grade for about seven miles. This climb is much prettier and more open, which was great - it gave me a few excuses to stop and take photos on the way up, while coincidentally resting my burning legs a bit. At the summit we found an open auberge, and I felt justified in rewarding myself with a beer there to accompany our picnic fare.

After a fast 2400' drop, we emerged at the beautiful riverside village of Saint-Beat. We found it to be one of the prettiest Pyreneean villages of the tour, and we enjoyed taking our time exploring it a bit before covering the final miles of the day to our endpoint at Luchon. These last miles were expected to be flat, gradually rising upriver to Luchon. Rachael was not amused though by the route I had mapped out - it followed a quiet minor road that paralleled the highway, after first climbing 700' at 9% - in effect, an unexpected small pass after we were already mentally prepared for a simple cruise followed by a pastry foray when we reached town. Fortunately, once we dropped down to the highway again, the remaining miles were a breeze - literally, as we picked up a nice tailwind to blow us home. Our tanks were on empty when we reached the hotel and we were the most wearied we've been on this trip.

The best remedy for exhaustion? Pizza and wine, followed by a rest day. check, and check.

Net elevation gain: 6,100' today, 68,400' total.