Layover in Quillan

May 28, 2014

Loop ride over the Sault Plateau

We're in the middle of what looks like an extended period of unsettled weather, with most days having a significant chance of rain. It's not unexpected in the Pyrenees of course, and we have no complaints - we came prepared for rain, and have actually been very lucky so far, staying dry other than for a very soggy 10 minutes on our way into Vernet.

Today's forecast is typical - clear and cold in the morning, with rain likely by early afternoon and a steady downpour expected in the evening. Accordingly we hit the road early, leaving the hotel just after 8 for a loop ride over the Sault Plateau and hoping fair skies would last until our return.

The plateau, a lovely upland area surrounded by ridges and mountains, begins only about a mile or two from Quillan as the crow flies - much of this distance being straight up a cliff. Bike Fridays are great machines but they don't have wings - so rather than take the crow's route we followed the road as it snaked its way up and out of the Aude valley for about 10 miles, gradually gaining 2000' before cresting the ridge at a small pass.

Once on top, we enjoyed some beautiful cycling through a broad, open, largely empty expanse that was generally flat for about 10 miles before slowly climbing another thousand feet to our turnaround point, the evocatively named Col de Sept Freres. I tried without success to find the origins of this name, but the commemorative cross at the summit with the dates 1743 and 1873 does suggest a set of brothers.

Our work for the day was pretty much done at this point, with nothing but 25 miles of downhill/downriver ahead of us: first down D20, a very quiet single lane road that felt more like a bike path - I think one car passed us in 5 miles; then along the Rebenty for an hour or so, including a jaw dropping section through the Joucou defile; and finally back into town again along the Aude with a repeat through the St Pierre Lys defile we were astounded by yesterday. All in all, another terrific ride. We arrived back in Quillan about 2, happy to be dry, and stopped in at the first creperie in town to refuel. The rest of the day was pretty lazy - we wandered around Quillan a bit and then loafed around our hotel room until dinner.

Net elevation gain: 3,500' today, 41,000' total.

Rachael's video clips: Rebenty gorge: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!549&authkey=!AECCGiqBl1_c8Sk&ithint=video%2c.mp4 Defile de Pierre Lys: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!548&authkey=!AGBVdMcBj8xA64Y&ithint=video%2c.mp4