Biking Tour De France Routes In The Pyrenees Mountains; or, Why Did I Sign Up For This?

dthorgus
May 15, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Feb 10, 2023

So you are thinking about a vacation plan. Perhaps you’re contemplating a beach and a cold beverage. But have you considered a hill-climbing sufferfest in France?

Chances are you have seen a postcard picture of a group of cows chomping on pristine grass, surrounded by a dreamscape of Pyrenees mountain peaks. I now have sympathy for those cows.

It turns out that they attract biting flies that make piranhas look like peaceniks. If you are sweaty on a breezeless June afternoon, climbing your bike up an unending hill, you will also attract a lot of those buggers. They can chew through lycra bike shorts with ease.

I learned this mid-way up Port de Lers, at the start of a biking trip focused on climbing famous peaks of the Tour de France. I thought I had trained well enough for the trip, but I was wrong. Worse, I paid real money for this.

The next day, as luck had it, I lost all my money. Two hundred Euros and two credit cards, gone.

It happened climbing the legendary 16K Plateau de Beille. I was repeating my favorite excuse for dropping off the pack of stronger riders: “No really, you go ahead. I want to take a picture of that beautiful valley.” The excuse was working out well, until the small plastic case that had reliably carried my essentials became so congealed with sweat that it stuck to my cell phone, and then fell off when I removed my phone.

To be truthful, I dropped my money packet that way on two separate occasions. Normally I would have the mental capacity to shift my valuables to another pocket, rather than repeating my mistake. That day my brain was a muddle, however, focused on barely surviving the Plateau de Beille.

When I got back the hotel and could finally think clearly, I started doing the math and could see I was headed for worse trouble than my cash situation. By way of comparison, I train for months to do a Wisconsin one-day event, the Horribly Hilly 100 KM, which climbs 5,700 feet. In France we would do big climbs almost every day for 9-10 days, some of them as high as 9,314 feet.

Starting the descent of the Tourmalet

These concerns paled in comparison, however, with my anxiety about what was scheduled to happen on day seven, riding L’Ariegeoise. Officially a race–but also a gran fondo for riders who, like myself, have no hopes of winning–it swells every year to 4,000 hard-core biking enthusiasts. As a former bike racer, I have reasonable bike handling skills, but I was concerned about testing my luck on high-speed descents surrounded by large groups of riders. I told my friends Jon and Russell that I was not planning to join them that day.

The person who turned around my understanding of turns, and my confidence, was former US time trial record holder and owner of Madison, WI, Cronometro, Colin O’Brien. While you could piece together an epic bike trip on your own, I am glad that we had joined a group led by Colin. In addition to executing a multitude of tasks related to the trip, along with his assistant, Brian, he taught me how to descend.

The crucial detail, I learned, was to look at friction as a bucket with a limited capacity. At high speed, each turn has a friction threshold involved with braking and turning the bike. If you exceed the limits by braking and turning at the same time, for example, the friction bucket is suddenly emptied. You will lose grip on the road and, thus, your control of the bike.

It follows that to maintain control at high speed, you have to make a leap of faith. You need to brake before the turn, and then lean into it while letting go of the brakes. Being in control requires letting go of control.

After Colin’s instruction and doing many high-speed turns, I trusted that the bike and I had previously unrealized capabilities. I decided to ride L’Areigeoise.

The day of the race the weather was cool, and the mood electric. It was exciting to be in the company of so many strong riders. The French townspeople, some of them in costumes, lined the road and cheered us on. A group of support vehicles followed the leading riders, some of whom were competing for professional racing team contracts. It was a fantastic day. Even the flies were absent.

Among other climbs that day, we rode Port de Lers, the same mountain that had caused me such misery earlier. It is hard to explain, but I felt a kind of strength within myself that I hadn’t experienced since my days of being a wrestler in high school and college. Riding down the mountain peaks, I leaned into the curves, letting my hands off the brakes.

It was tremendous to experience France in the company of two great friends, Jon and Russell. We had a great deal of fun, and felt stronger on the bikes every day. We also made new friends, including Brian, who has since ridden across Iowa with us twice.

From the time I saved my newspaper delivery money as an eight-year-old kid to improve components on my first bike, a Schwinn banana seater, I have always loved bicycling. Riding speaks to me of freedom, adventure, exercise, being in the company of great friends… so many good things. Whatever your interests, I wish you similar joy.

Morning view from balcony of L'Arrieuat Hotel, in Argeles-Gazost

France is a remarkable place. It is inspiring to see the “liquid gold” of wheat fields, eat a dinner prepared by a master chef like Stephone, walk medieval streets, and especially, to ride the mountains. In the event you are looking for inspiration for a similar adventure, here is detailed information about our trip (with thanks to Russell, who kept a journal of our trip):

Day One:

On my 50th birthday, flew to Toulouse, France, by way of Dublin, Ireland, with Jon and Russell
Picture of Buddy helping me with packing

Day Two:

Stayed at Pullman Hotel,Toulouse
Ate dinner at a restaurant called L’Entrecote. It wasn’t attracting more or less attention than the other restaurants in the vicinity, but we thought it was fantastic. Beautiful building. Walnut Salad. Incredible, thinly sliced beef main course. A desert to die for, ice cream with meringue.

Day Three:

Rode 27 miles, 2,812 feet of climbing
Stayed at Hotel Barguillere, in the small town of St. Pierre, up the hill from famous cycling destination, Foix. As you can see in center and left-side pictures, the hotel has a beautiful backyard, looking out on amber fields. Excellent continental breakfast and dinners. As was the case for the other hotels listed below, professional cycling teams stay at Hotel Barguillere when racing local stages.
First ride: logging roads, up through Brassac on D111
Foix is a lovely town. In the picture taken from the height of the castle, you can get a flavor of the narrow streets and courtyards.

Day Four, first big day of climbing:

Rode 31 miles, 6,034 feet of climbing
Scouting out the route for L’Areigeoise
Ride started in Tarascon
We climbed Col de Port (here is a cool video of going the reverse direction, down, really cruising)
Descended into Massant
Climbed Port de Lers

Day Five:

Rode 32 miles, 5,777 feet of climbing
Climbed Plateau de Beille
Beautiful and scrumptious dinner at Hotel Barguillere

Day Six:

Easier (“flatter”) ride, 36 miles and 2,690 feet of climbing, saving energy in anticipation of L’Areigeoise next day
Visited the start line to pick up our race packets
In afternoon, explored castle Chateau de Compte Foix

Day Seven, a day to remember:

L’Areigeoise
66 miles, 8,117 feet of climbing
Rest stops offering big chunks of cheese and sausage

Day Eight:

Rode 23 miles, 3,774 feet of climbing
Move to a new hotel in Arreau, Hotel d’Angleterre. Very comfortable. Courtyard behind hotel pictured on right.
Arreau is a beautiful place, with a mountain stream going through the middle of the town.
Climbed the legendary Peyresourdes

Day Nine:

Rode 26 miles, 4,419 feet of climbing
Climbed Horquette d’Ancizan
Climbed Col d’ Aspin in the rain
Cool video of two French guys doing same route
Incredible meal at the hotel.

Day Ten, the biggest climbing day:

Rode 50 miles, 9,314 feet of climbing
Again Col d’Aspin
Descended into St. Marie d’Campon
Climbed legendary Tourmalet
Picture of Russell replicating statue of Eugene Christophe, who was penalized during the Tour for accepting help from a seven-year-old, who operated the bellows when Eugene fixed his broken bike fork in a forge.
Move to new hotel, L’Arrieuat Hotel, in Argeles-Gazost