Quillan

May 27, 2014

Over Col de Jau, and down Gorge de l'Aude

A superlative day - longest so far, most climbing so far, and especially the most spectacular terrain so far. Epic!

We had a lot of distance to cover and rain was a threat later in the day, so we pushed ourselves out the door a bit earlier than usual and were on the road by 10. We didn't get far though - a few blocks from the hotel we stopped to chat with a British couple for about 10 minutes or so. He tried to convince us that we were going in the wrong direction if we were going to Col de Jau, so we compared maps and talked it over a bit before concluding we had it right the first time.

After that we made better time - we dropped a thousand feet over three miles before being called up short by the striking fortified medieval village of Villefranche-en-Conflent. That certainly called for at least some exploration, so we didn't really get started until nearly 11 - almost time for lunch already, with 55 miles and a 4000' climb still ahead of us!

We kept at it after this, climbing pretty steadily to the summit of Col de Jau with only a stop or two for photographs. It's a pretty long slog - 15 miles or so - but actually a pretty easy climb from the southern side. Not too dramatic other than offering some nice views to the south and Mount Canigou, but the forest vegetation toward the top was stunningly green - almost radiant.

At the top, we went through what I see will become ritual on this trip - quickly throw on some clothing as protection from the biting wind and to prepare for a long, cold descent, look around a bit, take a few photos, and plunge down the other side before getting any colder. The descent on the northern approach is a bit steeper than the climb, I think - also a bit rougher, with a bit of sand and gravel here and there that kept us from letting loose too much. It was also greyer, so we didn't see much sun as we dropped three thousand feet in the next 12 miles.

We turned off from the descent onto tiny D17, for a tacked on side loop through Escouloubre and then back along the Aude. Immediately we were warmed up again as we encountered the steepest climbing of the day. After stopping by the side of the road to down our lunch we climbed on, gaining back another 1500' and crossing over the small pass of Col du Garabel into the Aude watershed. Then, again: add on clothes, look around, drop off the other side.

The remainder of the ride, a 22 mile, 3000'+ descent along the Aude, was nothing short of amazing. What a wonderful ride! The first 10 miles were smooth surfaced, very quiet, gradual enough to be able to enjoy the descent, and with almost no traffic. We loved dropping into the narrowing gorge, seeing the cliffs start rising up vertically on either side and listening to the rushing of the river as we whizzed past it. After that we rejoined the main road and picked up some traffic, but the gorge became ever more spectacular. The road passes through two remarkable stretches here, the Gorge of Saint Georges and the Defile de Pierre Lys, where the rock faces are beyond vertical and overhang the road.

And, as if this weren't enough, we arrived in Quillan dry. Can't ask for more than that out of a day, other than a decent meal and dessert. Which we did, and had.

Net elevation gain: 5,500' today, 37,500' total.

Rachael's video clips: Col de Jau: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!546&authkey=!AGWHo3ZIeeAhxX0&ithint=video%2c.mp4

Gorge de St Georges: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!547&authkey=!APyPNR6hCiYatso&ithint=video%2c.mp4