10 Août

10 Août
Col de Palomère à Cerbère
About 95 km via
Col Xatard, 752 m
Col Du Fourtou, 655 m
Total ascent: 818 m
Total DESCENT: 1853 m

Je suis fait avec la route des cols. Je suis très fatigué.
Je vais dormir ce soir, magnifiquement.
It was all downhill with a tailwind à la mer Méditerranée. From my sweet perch, I sang down through the two cols listed above. They were descents, not climbs. The hills towns of La Bastide, Prunet, Calmeilles, Oms, Llauro and Vivès were absent of people. Beautiful, but empty. People obviously live in them, but no one was home when I passed through. Plenty of cyclists, though! And cork trees.
It was very hot once on the flats. About 40°C. Waited out the hottest of the heat in a tiny salon de thé, Étape Amistat, in Le Boulou. From there to the sea it was all on piste cyclable.
Then the work started. From Argelés-sur-Mer to Cerbère, it is up and down for every bend in the coastline. But I am not complaining! The towns become nicer and nicer the further south you go.
At last I reached the terminus of La Route des Cols, asked where I could lay this tired body pur la nuit, was directed in the most kindly fashion to several hotels which turned out to be "complet," and ended up backtracking a few km to the shady Camping Municipale. I hear the ocean lapping the shore as I type this.
Bon nuit!

Map for today: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=uqfswmocrerceugb

Camping Municipale

Sunrise over la mer Méditerranée from la Camping Municipale

La fin de la Route des Cols

Cerbère sur la mer Méditerranée, et la côte de l'Espagne

Hey, it's mostly gluten free...

You mean I could've flown here?

Lunch buddy

Cork tree

Camping sauvage

La Bastide

Dawn from Col de Palomère

The map for 9 Août

http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xlizjueyixrdypts

9 Août

9 Août
Sorgeat a Col de Palomère
About 125 km via
Col de Pailhères, 2001 m
Col de Moulis, 1099 m
Col de Garavel, 1256 m
Col de Jau, 1506 m
Col de Palomère, 1036 m
Total ascent: 3345 m
What a grand day out of the high Pyrénées! A bang, not a whimper. Woke to a blue sky with puffs of cloud whisking from the west to east. A cool, sometimes downright cold, wind urged me along all through the day. Was practically pushed up Col de Pailhères, where I sheltered behind a shepard's hut with a physics professor from the university in Toulouse and his three young companions. He rides up from Mijanès every year. I saw why as I traded in my potential energy for a LOT of kinetic energy. It has got to be the most serpentine climb in the entire range, beautifully paved, well loved by Le Tour, and well populated by cyclists. I counted more than 50 climbers during my descent.
I soon passed into much quieter, more remote country. The sheep owned the road. Rugged and much drier. Many narrow gorges and tall, forlorn pics.
Once over Col de Jau, it felt as though I had entered a different world. The massive Pic du Canigou dominates her surroundings like a queen directing her minions. It seems that one cannot escape her regal gaze, nor would one wish to.
She followed my progress down the gorges of La Castellana on the sculpted highway until I reached Prades.
Skipping quickly through Prades and heading up the shadowy canyon of the Lentilla, I had hoped to find lodging or camping in either Baillestavy or Valmanya, but struck out comlpletely. So much for flying by the seat of my pants! Therefore, seeing as it was my last night in the mountains, I used my
lack of planning as a justification for doing some "camping sauvage." At the summit of the col, I followed a side road leading further up. Quite steeply up. Finding a somewhat flat spot with a panoramic view of Perpignan and environs, I set up my tent where it did minimal damage to the vegetation and let the wind whistle me to sleep.

The Queen.

Perpignan from my perch.

Merci!

D13 is worth following!

The canyon of the Lentilla

Pic du Canigou

Along La Castellana

Mosset

Look, il est potable!

Future cheese.

Never far from a meal!

Descent from Col de Pailhères

Col de Pailhères with some friends

8 Août

8 Août
Sorgeat et Ax-Les-Thermes
COLD in the morning. My eyrie was shrouded in blowing mist. Walked the 6 km downhill to Ax-Les-Thermes, where it was une jour touristic. Hid from overcast skies in a tiny Salon de Thé, drinking tea and using the excellent WiFi. Backpack filled with groceries, walked to the edge of town and put out my thumb. Within 30 seconds I was in the back seat of a well-used Citroen, visiting with a couple of locals heading up past Goulours for a hike. They dropped me off in Ascou. Did some birdwatching on the 2 km hike back to Camping Chez Jeannot.
Il est facile de monter dans une voiture.

The high life in Sorgeat

My eyrie

Understood.

The velo club in Sorgeat

Maps for days seven and eight

Day Seven: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ulolxafkkjrcpobl

Day Eight: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kczukslkzzvzplhw

7 Août

7 Août
Vicdessos a Sorgeat
About 70 km via
Col de Marmare, 1361 m
Col de Chioula, 1431 m
Total ascent: 1499 m
A rough morning, rain spattering the tent, was set right when Stephane courageously introduced himself to me. Before long we were telling travel stories, laughing together, finally conscripting his three children and their friends for a photo that became a tutorial for Alex in counting to 100. A happy time, indeed.
Nice to start with a downhill run. Made the detour to La Grotte de Niaux, second only to Lascaux for the quality of the Neolithic Cave Art (and you get to see the real works, not reproductions). Sadly for moi, all tours were booked. Must return sometime with a booking in hand. Got to see the outside, though!
At the bottom of the hill, in Tarascon-sur-Ariège, it was a confluence of bands. Lively music from every quarter of downtown, singing and dancing in the streets. Time for a toe tapping cafè au lait!
Picked up Le Route des Corniches at Bompas. Quiet road, slightest of slopes, brought me to Lordat and Les Aigles du Château de Lordat (www.aigles-chateau-lordat.com). Spent a good long while communing with the raptors in the ruins.
From Lordat, an incremental grade leads first to Col de Marmare, then onto Col de Chioula. Compared to previous Cols, these hardly qualify.
Met Joe at the summit, an Irishman living in Amsterdam, working as a carpenter, currently touring from Barcelona back home, via the Alps. Hmmmmmmm. Got my mind spinning with another tour....
Descended perfectly banked corners into Sorgeat, where I have camped for two nights. Perched at 1100 m, overlooking the spacious Vallee de l'Ariège.

Playing "Hello, Dolly!" at the moment...

My kind of town.

Anna, Paul, Eliott, and a friend

Anna en velo avec Stephane et Diana

Stephane et amis

Next time!

Route des Corniches

La Grotte de Niaux

Le Château de Lordat

Will you please let me fly away?

Marie Blanque

Buse de Harris

3%

Joe atop Col de Chioula

6 Août

6 Août
Castillon-en-Couserans a Vicdessos
About 85 km, via
Col de la Core, 1395 m
Col de Latrape, 1110 m
Col d'Agnes, 1570 m
Port de Lers, 1517 m
Total ascent: 2547 m
If Col de Portet d'Aspet threw down the gauntlet, then Col de la Core beckoned this cyclist to her summit with whispers and shadows. 800 m of ascent over 14 km, an average of gradient of 5.9%, with a maximum pitch of 7.5%, winding incrementally up La Vallee de la Bethmale until one is held in the very palm of the majestic Tuc d'Eychelle. Just a gentle nudge around the corner, and one stands at the summit.
The descent into Seix was every bit as satisfying as the climb to the Col. Laid low at El Picoline drinking cafe au lait and eating Ben & Jerry's glace until the heat of the afternoon passed.
Started upward to Col de Latrape at 5ish. Again, a gentle climb along a rushing stream. Was this to be the hallmark of the day?
Ah, non.
Col d'Agnes waited. Seemingly every meter of pavement inscribed with encouragement. Contador, Voeckler, Virenque, the brothers Schleck, even Cadel got some cheers. Jan Ullrich was faintly visible at several locations. It is easy to imagine the crowds lining the narrow roadway shouting for favorites, running alongside, waving flags. For moi, it was quiet, serenely beautiful. Except for the swarm of black flies that insisted upon accompanying me for the entire 10 km of the climb, I had the road to myself. The massive walls of Pic Rouge de Bassiès grew larger with each curve. The evening light brought the relief of the mountain into sharp focus.
Lingering at the summit, a couple in a Citroen wagon stopped to chat. She had climbed the Col yesterday. The descent was "Whooooosh!"
With a "Bon courage!" they were off and so was I. Down and up once more. Port de Lers is surely only a bump on the descent from Col d'Agnes, but it was getting late and my legs were tired. Surprised a herd of cows with my headlight, disturbing the hungry nursing calves. Désolé.
The descent to Vicdessos was definitely Whooosh! Astonishing to consider the peleton descending this narrow, tightly winding, rolly poley supersteep stretch of road at speed. At least they do it in full daylight. For moi, it was dusk. Glad to have 800 lumens igniting the roadway. Arrived at camping Municipale just in time to set up the tent by headlamp as a rain shower began. Bon chance!

Dinnertime.

Pic Rouge de Bassiès

The road to Col d'Agnes

Finally, Cadel gets some encouragement!

La Vallee de la Bethmale

Tuc d'Eychelle