Dutch Wheelman Bicycle Tours

After a good breakfast, where we ate enough to satisfy a persons daily intake, our roads led us back to Luchon. Some of us ended up with a 3rd day to put us over the 10,000 ft mark. Due to a closed road we tackled the tough col de Mente for a 3rd time before we headed for a short stint into Spain. The temperature quickly soared to 95 degrees as we reached the Portillon, which would direct us back into France and Luchon. As we reached town, we still had one job ahead of us. Climb another 4,000 ft to the top of Super Bagneres, which had the great battle between Greg Lemond and Laurent Fignon in the 1989 Tour de France. Another great day on an already great trip!

Besides all the cows, we also had to deal with intense fog at the top of Col d’Agnes. We had to use extreme caution on the descent.

As we were leaving Foix under sunny skies, the mountains were coming up in quick succession to add to our climbing total. The highlight of the day was the ascent of the Col d’Agnes where we were greeted by lots of cows and their calves forming a road block. At the end of the day we enjoyed a long slightly downhill road into St Girons, where we stayed at the nice hotel Eychenne, were some enjoyed the pool.

Another beautiful day took us through the heart of the Pyrenees, with lots of climbing and fast downhills. We ended the day in Foix, where we got greeted  by the sight of the castle overlooking the town. The town was very vibrant with lots of tourists being there and enjoying shopping and sightseeing. Our hotel was very nice and we had dinner right along the river. They all sang Happy Anniversary, since Cheryl and I were celebrating our 37th.

Today we were greeted by the best weather so far. Under a sunny sky we left Tarascon and we were back in the mountains. After an unknown climb we set off for one of the highest peaks in the Pyrenees. Before we got to the Pailheres, we went through lots of old mountain villages and by old castles that were nestled high up. After the Pailheres, which topped out at 6600 ft after an 11mile climb, we went down the mountain into Axat and along the the river and thru a beautiful gorge to Quillan

Today all but one enjoyed a well deserved rest day. Most of us spent some time at the market and a stroll through town, which is full of old historic buildings. There is also a monument for fallen French soldiers during many of the 20th century battles that France was involved in. Our lone biker for the day was Thorr who set out to climb Plateau de Beille.

Our longest day of the tour started early out of Luchon and our hardest climb of the day came after 10 miles. A very tough Col de Mente was awaiting us for a 9 mile trek up a mainly 10% grade. Next up was the col des Aspet where we passed the monument for the young Italian Olympic champion Fabian Cassertelli, who died there during the 1995 Tour de France. After 90 miles and a few more climbs, we finished in Tarascon with a total of 10,000ft.

The prettiest climb of the trip so far was the Port de Bales clmb from the Luchon side. Quaint little villages dot the hill side. The weather was beautiful and on the top we encountered a traffic jam of hundreds of sheep. They must let all animals roam free, because there are also cows and goats along the roads.We also climbed  col des Ares and a very tough col de Mente.

Wednesday’s ride started in Lourdes and we headed south east to the Tourmalet, which was just climbed during the Tour de France. It was a long hard climb filled with hairpin turns and narrow roads without guard rails.. It was also very cold at the top. We also climbed the col D’Aspin and the col de Peyresourde before we finished in Luchon

A mecca for many of the catholic faith, we were glad to arrive here today. We visited the grotto where it is believed that Bernadette saw the virgin Mary. We witnessed thousands of believers, hundreds of them in wheel chairs and hospital beds. They came with the believe that they could perhaps be spirituality or physically healed. The service was presented in 6 different languages and words can not describe the emotions felt. Amazingly as the sun set a hilltop building became radiant as seen in the pictures.